Madam, - I am disappointed at the action of the Garda authorities and at comments by Minister Conor Lenihan in relation to the request by a Sikh applicant to the Garda Reserve to be allowed to wear a turban while on patrol.
I wonder at the statement made by a Garda spokesman that the policy for all members to wear standard uniform is "in keeping with the National Action Plan Against Racism and the organisation's commitment to following an intercultural approach". Surely an intercultural approach would mean showing respect for all cultures, not just demanding that everyone adapt to one.
And Mr Lenihan's comments would amuse me, if they were not made by a Minister of State with special responsibility for integration.
Integration is not one-sided. The Concise Oxford Dictionary tells me that integration is "the intermixing of persons previously segregated". The responsibility is shared by all involved.
The action of the Garda Reserve does nothing but reinforce segregation, and now there is no space for a man who volunteered his free time to be a defender of the peace in our streets. Shame. - Yours, etc,
AIDEEN O'BYRNE, Sarsfield Road, Dublin 10.
Madam, - I feel your Editorial on the turban controversy (August 16th) is misguided in the extreme. I am surprised that this debate has not yet referred to another aspect of the Sikh religion. All baptised members of the Sikh faith carry at all times a ceremonial dagger known as a kirpan - a custom that dates back to the late 17th century. This dagger represents the power of truth to cut through untruth, and has no threatening function. In fact, most Sikh people have never even removed it from its sheath.
But clearly, the carrying of a knife - no matter how innocuous - by a member of the Garda Reserve would be highly undesirable, and would reflect poorly on the force in light of the knife culture which now exists. So should the Garda allow the wearing of a turban, but not the carrying of a kirpan? Both items are articles of faith for Sikhs, so where should the line be drawn?
The wearing of a uniform by gardaí is designed to create a common image for all members of our police force, allowing them to command respect regardless of their class, colour, gender or creed.
Allowing variations of the uniform on religious grounds would be repugnant to this ethos, creating different classes of membership within An Garda Síochána. It would represent a blow to that organisation, and a clear step backwards for any attempts at increasing the acceptance of immigrants into Irish society. - Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH, Brooklawn, Clontarf, Dublin 3.
Madam, - Is the Punjab - home to the majority of India's Sikhs - in "the Middle East", as implied by Mr Conor Lenihan? And is his obvious confusion of Sikhism with Islam an example of what he calls "our culture". And if so, is this funny or just plain embarrassing? - Yours, etc,
MELVYN WILCOX, Dundanion Road, Blackrock, Cork.
Madam, - Your Editorial of August 16th describes Mr Conor Lenihan's justification of the Garda authorities' refusal to allow a Sikh to wear a turban as "blunt" and failing to do justice to a complex issue.
Were you expecting anything else but bluntness from the Minister of State for integration, who in the past described Turkish people as "kebabs"? We get what we vote for. - Yours, etc,
Dr FERGUS McCARTHY, Ballincollig, Co Cork.