Kirpan Wielding Sikh Tweets He Was Denied Entry To NBA Game
SACRAMENTO, CA (IANS) – A Sikh man has claimed that he was denied entry to a basketball match because he was carrying a ‘kirpan‘ — a small dagger, which practicing Sikhs are required to carry at all times along with other articles of faith.
Mandeep Singh had gone to watch a basketball match involving the NBA team Sacramento Kings, here.
Sharing his photos from outside the venue, Singh said he spoke to multiple people regarding the issue, which he called “religious discrimination”, but to no avail.
“Unfortunate experiencing religious discrimination and being denied entry at the @SacramentoKings game tonight b/c Im #Sikh. Wouldn’t let me in bc of #kirpan. Spoke w/ multiple people up the security chain and none seem to understand. Been a fan since 96. Not so much anymore,” he tweeted on March 14.
In continuation of his tweet, he said he went because he received an email from Sacramento Kings last week inviting him to a game as “community ambassadors”.
“Working as a community organizer with the Jakara Movement, I’m intimately involved with our #Sikh Community in #Sacramento. We have participated in Sikh Awareness nights.A@SacramentoKings JUST emailed us last week to come table at the Knicks game to be community ambassadors.”
Flagging off Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Sacramento council member Katie Valenzuela in his tweet, he said: “Not taking my kirpan off for the @SacramentoKings…ABtw, this is how your city treats its Sikh Community.” Singh’s tweet invited sharp reactions from the twitterati with one of the users saying: “It will never be our land and their rules will always stand.I would hope the Kings don’t discriminate based on religion. I’ve seen the Kings represent Sikhs with Sikh Heritage Night and I think it’s great. I think the Kings didn’t allow your Kirpan in for public safety reasons, not because of religious discrimination,” another user wrote
Harpreet Singh Toor
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Why would you use the word Wielding Kirpan instead of Carrying an Article of Faith?
March 17, 2023SS
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Has he tried flying on a commercial flight with this religious symbol?
March 17, 2023Anil
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The Gurus instructed the Sikhs to carry a Kirpan for a reason.
1) That was to protect the Indian communities in India from invaders who looted and kidnapped young boys and girls and killed Indians. Canada is not India and does not need that protection
2) The Kirpan was to be carried out by the Sikhs of the Gurus and not by their family members or anyone who declares themselves as Sikhs
3) Sikh Gurus were Vaishnavs and not another religion “Sikh”.
This is not religious discrimination. It is just application of the laws of that country.
Just like Khalistanis demanding a country Khalistan forget that there were people living in that region well before Guru Nanak was born. Imagine the natives saying “give us back our country and leave our country”. Will all the Khalistanis in Canada and USA leave and hand over their assets to the natives.
March 17, 2023Sy Hussaini
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Al these religious traditions are just that, traditions. Most of them don’t make pragmatic sense.
We are programmed from childhood in some of these religious things and they own us even though in today’s day and age they don’t make much sense at all. Wearing some type of garment or a head covering, like turban, hijab or yarmulke for example has nothing to do with simple humanity and common civic duty.
Do what you want, it is a free country but understand that not everyone should be expected to comply with your religious traditions, as innocuous as they might be.
March 17, 2023pemba
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Sikhs are sick, instead of thanking USA, Canada and other Western Countries which allows them to wear turbans and terrorizing beards,
March 18, 2023they claim the right to go about with “kirpan”.
If they are not happy here, they can all simply pack their bags and go back to their country.