A Sikh student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte was allegedly detained on the campus for wearing a Kirpan, one of the integral parts of five Sikh Kakars, the student said.
The video of the incident was initially shared by the student named Amaan, who posted it on Twitter saying that the police handcuffed him for resisting letting the officer take his Kirpan out of the miyaan.
The video has amassed more than 2.2 million views.
“I got cuffed for “resisting” because I refused to let the officer take my kirpan out of the miyaan,” said Amaan.
A prominent Sikh Body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) condemned the incident. Its president president Harjinder Singh Dhami took it up with Indian ambassador in US, Taranjit Singh.
Sikhs from all around the world reacted angrily to the incident.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa wrote, “Despite numerous global campaigns to create awareness about Sikh Kakars, 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.
“We demand an apology from Campus Police and Univ Admn at @unccharlotte that detained a Sikh youth for his Kirpan, a quintessential part of Sikh Kakars. We are in constant touch with @IndianEmbassyUS and @MEAIndia to ensure the Amritdhari student is released with due respect,” Sirsa, a former legislator, said in a tweet.
“I must appreciate the Sikh student who explained the significance of Kirpan with such faith. We demand an apology from @unccharlotte admn on this racial attitude. I also urge @DrSJaishankar Ji to address the issue of discrimination faced by Sikh students at global level,” he added.
