Opinion Taking the law personally

There is a perception that the clubbing of Sikhs with Hindus under the same personal law umbrella has diluted the Sikh struggle to propagate and preserve the cardinal and distinctive features of their religion. The sacrifices made in the past to preserve their faith,even at the cost of allowing their bodies to be cut up joint by joint,their scalps to be scraped off,being flayed alive — must not go in vain. There is a belief that if Sikhs had given up wearing unshorn hair and turbans,Sikhism would have become extinct after the terrible times that followed Guru Gobind Singh’s death. There is a conviction that if the outward signs of Sikhism are abrogated,the doctrine,rituals and ceremonies of Sikhism would fade away. Having a separate Sikh Marriage Act will help preserve,propagate and protect the religion itself.

In spite of the passage of five centuries since Sikhism was established,the fundamental commandment of the preceptor regarding full growth of keshas (hair) remains sacrosanct. The central place of this rule is found in Sri Guru Granth Sahib,and established by Bhai Nand Lal’s Tankha Namah and Nasihat Namah and other texts. Guru Gobind Singh’s Humkumnamah,sent one month and 26 days after the creation of the Khalsa (jeth 26,samwad 1756) to the sangat of Kabul mandates: “Look after your hair with a comb,twice a day.” Unshorn hair and a turban is an indispensable symbol of the Sikh faith. According to S. Kapur Singh,ICS officer and Sikh scholar,there was an automatic suspension of patits (lapsed Sikhs),and all social intercourse with them was forbidden. In 2009,the Punjab and Haryana high court held that unshorn hair is an essential requirement to be a Sikh,in the 2008 case of Gurleen Kaur and others vs State of Punjab and others.

It is somewhat confusing that Article 25 of the Constitution does not recognise Sikhs as Hindus for doctrinal purposes,but subjects them to Hindu law in narrow matters relating to marriage,succession,guardianship,adoption and maintenance.

If the Christian Marriage Act (originally enacted in 1872) could be amended in 1995 for the purpose of extending it to other territories and did not violate Article 44,I wonder how amending the Anand Marriage Act,1909 or merely changing the title in the present context and providing for a law to govern marriage,adoption,guardianship and succession,would violate Article 44.

Under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act; one of the grounds for divorce is that the other party has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion. It is doubtful whether a spouse who has converted from Sikhism would provide a ground to the other for divorce. Similarly,the conditions about unshorn hair and turbans should be made necessary for the purpose of marriage,adoption,guardianship and succession,in keeping with the imperatives of the Sikh religion.

It is highly desirable that the Sikh Marriage Act be enacted to remove any confusion about the importance of religious symbols like unshorn hair and turbans,for the preservation of the Sikh religion. This becomes all the more important because of the Sikh diaspora across the globe. If the law is not enacted in the land of birth of the Sikhs,no other country is going to attach any importance to matters of the Sikh religion. Married Sikh women continue to suffer in large numbers in foreign lands as they cannot complain about the breach of Sikh tenets as a ground for divorce. Any confusion,therefore,should be quickly and benevolently rectified.

The writer is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court