In a shocking incident, a Sikh student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the USA was arrested on campus by the police for wearing a small Kirpan as part of his religious code.
Despite numerous global campaigns to create awareness about Sikh Kakaars, it’s disheartening to see the Campus Police at University of North Carolina detain a Sikh youth for his Kirpan. I condemn the discriminatory attitude of University authorities towards Sikh students. @UNC pic.twitter.com/10UkIZ3WT8
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) September 24, 2022
The student uploaded a video of the incident on Twitter and said that the police had handcuffed him for refusing to let the officer remove his Kirpan from the miyaan (scabbard).
In the video caption, he said: “I wasn’t going to post this, but I don’t think I will receive any support from @unccharlotte. I was told someone called 911 and reported me, and I got cuffed for “resisting” because I refused to let the officer take my kirpan out of the miyaan.
Sikhs from all around the world and other social media users have condemned the incident.
One user said in a country where people go around carrying guns, its sad indeed that a person who meant no harm to anyone has been picked up from a university campus.
Sharing the video on Twitter, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote: “Despite numerous global campaigns to create awareness about Sikh Kakaas, it’s disheartening to see the Campus Police at University of North Carolina detain a Sikh youth for his Kirpan. I condemn the discriminatory attitude of University authorities towards Sikh students,” Sirsa tweeted.
I wasn’t going to post this, but I don’t think I will receive any support from @unccharlotte . I was told someone called 911 and reported me, and I got cuffed for “resisting” because I refused to let the officer take my kirpan out of the miyaan. @CLTNinerNewspic.twitter.com/Vk9b0Tspvm
— امآن وڑائچ (@thatsamaan) September 23, 2022
The video has amassed more than 21,00,000 views, over 56,000 likes and several comments. Social media users gave a sharp reaction to the manner in which police treated a college-going student.
An upset social media user wrote that it was “very unfortunate that you got arrested with no provocation or threats made. Many Americans legally carry small handguns in their holsters, they don’t get arrested. I hope the complaint gets dismissed & an apology is issued,”. Another user wrote, “This must be looked into and the officer must be reprimanded and trained so that he knows the legality of baptised Sikhs carrying religious items. There have never been any problems with Sikhs carrying these for many years.
A person wrote about the significance of having a basic understanding of religion in the multicultural society of America, “Everyone should have basic knowledge Of all religions, including Sikhism and the 5 K’s”.
