Last week Sikhs from across the UK took part in a successful lobby that the organisers believe will prove to be a turning point in the way the UK Government deals with the Sikh community. With a General Election approaching the theme of the lobby was "Do Sikhs have a voice? - Make the Sikh vote count!" Separate recognition and monitoring of Sikhs The Sikhs have campaigned for many years on the lack of separate recognition and monitoring of Sikhs. In the last two to three years Sikhs have won the cross-party support of over 200 MPs, including Ministers, to be separately monitored by public bodies as regards the provision of public services. The Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats have gone as far as to state that the separate recognition and monitoring of Sikhs is official party policy. At the Sikh Lobby Day and on what many believe to be the eve of the General Election it was made clear that Sikhs were being unfairly treated and the Labour Party should start listening to the arguments being put forward and the practical reality that Sikhs were being ignored as regards public service provision. A spokesman for the Sikh Federation (UK), the main organisers of the lobby said: "Labour must listen to our arguments and commit to a policy that enforces the legal recognition of Sikhs, so public bodies are able to make informed decisions on public service provision to Sikhs at a local and national level". Labour Ministers John Spellar MP and Chris Pond MP, who attended the public meeting in the Houses of Parliament, were supportive of the Sikh position and were unable and unwilling to defend the position being adopted by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department - Fiona Mactaggart the Labour MP for Slough. She had earlier written to fellow Labour MP Rob Marris, the Chair of the meeting, to confirm her attendance at the public meeting, but mysteriously remembered she had a prior commitment. Some commented that whilst she might be prepared to defend her position in writing to individual MPs, she was more vulnerable to direct criticism from Sikhs as she had supported the campaign for separate recognition and monitoring before becoming a Minister. She was also embarrassed by the statistics that Sikhs presented on the day - that showed two and half years after the introduction of new guidance by the Commission for Race Equality (CRE) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) only around 20 out of 40,000+ public bodies had opted to monitor Sikhs. A spokesman for the Sikh Federation (UK) said: "This demonstrates the optional CRE and ONS guidance has failed the Sikhs and the Home Office must now change the statutory Code of Practice to enforce the separate monitoring of Sikhs by public bodies. If the Labour Government is genuine about proper and fair public service provision to Sikhs it should make this change at the first practical opportunity." Understanding and raising awareness about the Sikh identity The briefing produced by the Sikh Federation (UK) and provided to MPs explained that Sikhs were the most visible ethnic minority in the UK and had become the innocent victims of "mistaken identity" especially after 9/11. The UK Government had however failed to appreciate and respond to this challenge. It had not taken sufficient positive actions to raise the awareness of the general public, those employed in the public sector and EU partners about the importance of the Sikh identity. Sikhs have therefore been experiencing one problem after another concerning "mistaken identity" and the Sikh turban, Kara and Kirpan and this could not be allowed to continue. The hundreds of Sikhs present questioned MPs regarding the role of the UK Government in representing the Sikhs at the European level as regards the Sikh turban issue in France and other parts of the EU, where Sikhs are experiencing considerable difficulties. Young Sikhs who came in large numbers also explained the varying practices in schools around the UK, whereby Sikh children are being prevented from undertaking physical education, unless they remove their Karas and/or Kirpans. The Kirpan issue was raised in the context of Sikhs using the services at the Passport Office, working at UK airports, travelling to Europe by train and boarding the London Eye. In all cases the Sikhs were facing unnecessarily severe restrictions on wearing the Kirpan. John Spellar MP the Minister for Northern Ireland, was disappointed to learn that the good work he had done with the Sikh community as the Minister for Transport, in finding a solution to Sikhs working at UK airports was being undone by a combination of EU bureaucrats and poor representations by the UK Government in fighting for the right of Sikhs working at UK airports. Sikh representatives present explained a meeting had been arranged for the following week with Charlotte Atkins MP, the Minister for Transport and that Sikhs expected the UK Government to resist all efforts by the EU to impose further restrictions on the wearing of the Kirpan by security cleared Sikhs working at UK airports. The Sikh Federation (UK) presented a written proposal at the Sikh Lobby Day urging the UK Government to agree to a major project across government to develop a strategy in conjunction with the Sikh community to address and find solutions to issues concerning the safeguarding of the Sikh identity and articles of faith. The Federation has suggested this should focus on: • Increasing the awareness, understanding and respect towards the Sikh identity as regards the general public, those employed in the public sector and EU partners; and • Developing a proper consultation mechanism with the Sikh community, appreciating the best means of communication and feedback.