The Indian government has requested that the French remove the rule that Sikh men must remove their turbans for identity photographs. According to minister of state for external affairs Preneet Kaur, India has taken up the issue of French authorities taking photographs as identity markers and conveyed that if Sikhs are photographed without turbans, it would create a faulty database. “The plea that we have taken is that the French government is taking photographs and fingerprints as identity markers. However, if Sikhs are photographed without turbans, then they are accumulating wrong records because normally, a Sikh will always wear a turban,” Kaur said.
So far, all attempts made by Sikhs to convince the French government have failed. The 4,000-strong Sikh community in France maintains that it needs a commitment in writing from the French government ensuring that Sikh children who have graduated from the French education system will be free to work in any government job with their turban.
