Rajasthan govt permits sikh religious symbols during exams after ‘anger’ in community

The Rajasthan government has reaffirmed that Sikh students can take competitive exams while wearing their religious symbols, following "anger in the Sikh community" after a baptised Sikh student was allegedly turned away from the Rajasthan High Court Civil Judge recruitment exam while wearing a kirpan.

According to a December 2019 circular from the Ashok Gehlot-led erstwhile Congress government, the Bhajan Lal Sharma administration has said that “the candidates of Sikh religion should be allowed to appear in the examination wearing religious symbols like Kada, Kirpan and Pagdi etc. in various competitive examinations conducted by Rajasthan Public Service Commission, Rajasthan Staff Selection Board and other departments such as Technical and Higher Education, Medical Education, School Education, Director General of Police, etc,” Indian Express reported.

The government has indicated that Sikh candidates may be asked to arrive at exam centres an hour early as part of general instructions. However, officials emphasised that if any candidate is found to be concealing suspicious items within their religious symbols during screening, they will not be permitted to carry those items into the examination hall.

The issue gained attention after a candidate named Gurpreet Kaur from Punjab’s Tarn Taran district posted a video from outside an exam centre in Jaipur, alleging that she was barred from entry due to wearing articles associated with the Sikh faith.

Her claims sparked criticism from multiple groups, including Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj, the Acting Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib. He reportedly described the incident as a violation of constitutional rights and a form of religious discrimination. He referred to Article 25, Explanation I of the Indian Constitution, which explicitly upholds the right of Sikhs to wear the kirpan as part of their religious identity.

The Jathedar pointed out that a similar controversy had arisen during last year’s recruitment drives in Jaipur and Jodhpur. He said that despite written appeals from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and other Sikh bodies to the Rajasthan government, the issue remained unresolved, leading to a repeat of what he termed as a serious injustice.

Following the latest incident, the Rajasthan State Minority Commission reportedly issued a letter to relevant authorities, referencing previous occurrences. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Bhaskar A Sawant acknowledged in a directive that the failure to properly implement a 2019 circular on religious freedom had led to such incidents and noted growing discontent within the Sikh community.

The directive further referred to the 2019 circular affirming the constitutional right to religious freedom, as well as a Delhi High Court ruling that allows individuals to carry religious symbols into examination centres.

BJP MLA Gurveer Singh from Sadulshahar also weighed in, expressing gratitude to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma for addressing the matter with what he described as clarity and sensitivity. He emphasised that it was now the responsibility of Sikh students to preserve the sanctity and moral significance of their religious symbols.