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Sikhs divided over dress code

Neena Chaudhary in Chandigarh

A major debate is raging among Sikhs on whether girls should wear skirts, jeans or sleeveless blouses when visiting shrines and educational institutions.

The highest temporal and spiritual seat of Sikhism, the Akal Takht, has been approached by a dominant faction of the apex body managing historic shrines in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), to issue an edict banning what clerics called "provocative" dresses.

The controversy emanates from a reported statement by recently appointed president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), Avtar Singh Hit. Reports said that the DSGMC had prohibited women and girls from wearing skirts, jeans and sleeveless blouses in its gurudwaras and educational institutions.

Even Sikh men have been asked to sport proper turbans when they enter a shrine or an educational institution. Caps and handkerchiefs have also been disallowed.

Though nothing has been stated about non-Sikh male devotees visiting shrines, women wearing skirts, jeans and sleeveless blouses will not be allowed.

A faction in the SGPC, loyal to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, and sought an edict. They argued that the ban was necessary to enforce the code of religious conduct.

Activists of the All India Sikh Students Federation owing allegiance to Badal claimed that the Akal Takht jathedar, while assuring support, expressed concern that Sikh boys and girls had forgotten the traditions and sacrifices by gurus.

Factions of various organisations owing allegiance to Badal favoured a ban, but those aligned to rival G S Tohra opposed it.

In Ludhiana, Tohra said Hit had imposed the ban to ''gain cheap media mileage''. He said Hit was not authorised to issue such orders.

Tohra said there were only three restrictions on anyone visiting shrines. Visitors' heads must be covered, they should be barefoot and should neither be under the influence nor should carry any intoxicant, when entering any shrine.

Tohra said that under religious practices, no restriction could be imposed on anyone, from any part of the world or practising any religion from entering a gurudwara. He argued that if men could be attired in western dresses, how could women be stopped. "What about foreigners who visit our shrines? What will be their dress code?" he asked.

Tohra lambasted Badal for denigrating religious institutions and pointed out that it was mandatory for all contesting elections for the SGPC and DSGMC to declare under oath that they were baptised Sikhs. Tohra charged that many fielded by the Badal faction for elections to these management bodies had partaken holy nectar after assuming office. He said that none had raised the issue of violations at critical junctures.

The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, had visited the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs in 1998. While Tohra was SGPC chief, Badal was chief minister and puritan Bhai Ranjit Singh was the jathedar of the Akal Takht. The Queen had worn a skirt, a hat and was not barefoot, raising many eyebrows.

At the height of terrorism, militants had ordered girls to wear the traditional salwar kameez with heads covered with a dupatta when they attended school or college.

While the militants had also issued orders on social behaviour, like restricting numbers at marriage parties, in 1998, Bhai Ranjit Singh as jathedar of the Akal Takht had banned the holding of Sikh marriage ceremonies in hotels and palaces.

However, the most controversial edict issued by Bhai Ranjit Singh was a ban on the use of any furniture when devotees partook in community meals in gurudwaras and at other religious functions. They were directed to squat on the ground, in queues, for such activity.

The pro-Badal faction had resented the "extra-puritan" approach of Bhai Ranjit Singh. Tohra loyalists had then supported the edicts.

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