Turban search creates uproar among Sikhs in US

A new US federal policy that subjects air travellers wearing headgear to additional screening has set-off uproar in the country's well-organized Sikh community, The Washington Post has said.

'To many, the new rules seem to cross a line from inconvenience to insult, from prudence to prejudice,' The Post said.

It points to the fact that the new measure by the Transportation Safety Administration, the agency that enforces security at airports, has led to protests by the country's well-organized Sikh community, whose members are sensitive to religious slights and are on guard against being unfairly suspected as terrorists.

The turban searches by the TSA have riled the Sikh community, The Post said in a news story taking the example of Gurpreet Singh Tuteja who wears his turban as a sacred symbol of his faith and its values of discipline and austerity.

Tuteja felt shocked and humiliated when several weeks ago while boarding a flight in Iowa to Washington he was pulled aside to 'pat down' the turban as a part of a new policy.

'For us, the turban is a sign of respect for God. It is not like a cowboy hat. It was very uncomfortable having someone touch it,' Tuteja told The Post.

'I am all for the security of the United States. I am an American too. But it should not come to the point where civil liberties are denied. I want the airways to be safe, but I also want my rights,' he added.

The new TSA policy, enacted on August 4 along with other rule changes, gives airport screeners additional discretion to search passengers' headgear, including turbans, which could conceal plastic or other nonmetal parts of explosive devices.

Agency officials said the policy is not meant to single out any groups.

'We were looking at where people can hide' bomb components, TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said of the policy in a recent interview to The Post.

'Whether it's a cowboy hat or a turban, this is what it is. And it was not directed at any one type of person or religion. It was directed at keeping bomb parts off of airplanes,' Hawley added.

About a half-million Sikhs live in the United States, with 10,000 in the Washington region.

Many are technology and science professionals, and most are first-or-second-generation immigrants from India. Sikh groups have said that about 50 Sikhs have had their turbans inspected since August 4 and the policy change goes against an agreement they made with TSA officials after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Under that agreement, The Post points out, Sikhs were allowed to wear turbans through airport detectors when other passengers had to remove their hats. If the machine did not beep, the traveller could continue. If it beeped, the turban would be screened with a wand, patted down, or removed and examined in a private screening area.

Under the new rules, even if there is no alarm, a TSA screener can ask to examine a turban.

As a result of the outcry, TSA officials have spoken with Sikh groups and plan to meet with them this week.

Officials, according to the report, have said they would normally have alerted Sikh groups to the changes but were focused on other adjustments.

The TSA promised last month to implement additional cultural awareness training for its transportation security officers and continue dialogue with Sikhs and other groups on the issue.