NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26, 2004
IANS

: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Friday his government would try to resolve the problem faced by Sikhs banned from wearing turbans in state-run schools in France, and explore ways of easing the community's access to Guru Nanak's birthplace in Pakistan.

As he paid homage on Friday at the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, Manmohan Singh also gave a call for peace and unity.

Responding to the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee's (DSGMC) plea protesting against a ban on religious symbols, the Prime Minister said he was in touch with the French government.

He hoped the issue would be resolved soon. The French government has barred students in state-run schools from wearing religious symbols, and Sikh boys have been told not to wear the turban, which is seen as a religious symbol.

The DSGMC fears that if New Delhi does not take up the issue strongly at the diplomatic level, other countries could follow with similar ban on turbans.

The committee also asked the Prime Minister to start a direct bus service from New Delhi to Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak in Pakistan, and to do away with the quota system for pilgrims going to Pakistan.

Manmohan Singh assured that his government would explore all possible ways to ensure that Sikhs were able to travel freely to gurudwaras in Pakistan.

He also pledged to look into a request that monetary contributions made by Indian Sikhs for kar seva (voluntary labour) at Nankana Sahib from Friday be exempt from income tax.

Manmohan Singh, the country's first Sikh Prime Minister, spent 45 minutes at the Bangla Sahib gurudwara with his wife Gursharan Kaur. He was presented a siropa or a ceremonial sword, a shawl, a plaque and a book on Sikhism.

He called on Sikhs to start a movement to ensure women's empowerment and education for both boys and girls.

"Sikhs should ensure that every Sikh child, whether boy or girl, is in school," Manmohan Singh said at the gurudwara, stating that no society could progress without embracing technology.

"Let us all unite to take India on to the path of development. We should all strive for peace, prosperity and universal fraternity," he appealed.