DSGMC hails UK govt for exempting Kirpan from list of banned weapons

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 20

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has appreciated the British government (UK government) for exempting kirpan from the list of banned weapons.

In a joint statement, DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa and general secretary Harmeet Singh Kalka said the British government has not included kirpan, one of the five kakaars of the Sikhs, in the new act of dangerous weapons. 

This is an appreciable step of the UK government.

The Sikh leaders said as incident of crimes using knives are on rise in England, the UK government has formulated a new law banning such knives to control these kinds of crimes.

But kirpan has been exempted from the list of banned knives. They said the UK government had taken care of the Sikh sentiments by not including kirpan in banned weapons.

"We are grateful of the UK government for this and we thanked them," the Sikh leaders said.

The DSGMC leaders said time to time information of imposing ban on kirpans has been coming from different countries. Sikhs are also being asked not to go to office wearing kirpan. 

This has been criticised by the Sikh committee now and then.

But keeping in view the Sikh sentiments, the British government has kept Kirpan out from the act that has banned weapons like knives, the DSGMC leaders said.