The Offensive Weapons Bill has completed its nine-month progression through Parliament and is expected to receive Royal Assent in the next couple of weeks. I along with many others from the Sikh community welcome the new legislation aimed at young people and to tackle the menace of increased knife crime and acid attacks.
The Bill however included clauses directly impacting on Sikhs, including extending existing offences of possessing a bladed article or offensive weapon on school premises to cover further education premises and banning the sale and possession of curved swords defined as those over 50cm both in public and private.
As an Amritdhari, or practising, Sikh, who is the principal adviser to the Sikh Federation and regular attendee at government Sikh roundtable meetings I was however alarmed these proposed changes that would have a huge impact on Sikhs were being introduced without any consultation with the community.
The most disturbing proposed change was to criminalise the sale and possession of the large or 3ft Sikh kirpan and the effect this would have on Sikh religious practices. The change was justified by overzealous Home Office officials as proportionate in the Policy Equality Statement that was published alongside the Bill.
The Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) that holds Sikh roundtable meetings were negligent not to communicate or consult with the Sikh community. This is inexcusable as government officials failed to identify significant unintended consequences of banning the possession of large Sikh kirpans that are kept by virtually all Sikh families in their homes.
Their logic that the impact was mitigated by the narrower “religious ceremonies” defence introduced in legislation for curved blades over 50cm in 2008 covering the use of the large Sikh kirpan in religious ceremonies, for example Anand Karaj or Sikh wedding ceremonies, shows officials lack a basic understanding of the Sikh way of life and religious practices or consult those who also have little or no understanding.
The advisers to the Sikh Federation (UK) were alerted by a Sikh police officer from Leicester on the potential impact on the Sikh community just prior to the third reading of the Bill in the House of Commons. Within 48 hours, a group of cross-party MPs led by Preet Kaur Gill, Dominic Grieve and Pat McFadden belonging to the all-party parliamentary group on UK Sikhs tabled an amendment to change the wording in the Bill to the much wider term “religious reasons”. Simply possessing the large kirpan would have meant all Sikh families being criminalised and those found in possession facing a prison sentence of up to one year. The Sikh Federation arranged for constituents to write and lobby over 250 MPs before the Third Reading.
MPs met with Victoria Atkins, the Home Office minister responsible for the Bill and Preet Kaur Gill met with the Sajid Javid, the home secretary. They convinced them of the need for a wider government amendment to cover the sale, possession and use of the large Sikh kirpan for “religious reasons”. The government amendment was approved at the Third Reading in the Commons on 28 November 2018 and the word kirpan – meaning mercy (kirpa) and honour (aan) – was included in the explanatory note for the first time.
Recently it has emerged some Sikhs learnt of the risk presented by the Bill much earlier but neglected to act. To make matters worse it transpires some of them unscrupulously worked with officials at the Home Office and MHCLG to try and undermine the proposed amendment by MPs. However, due to the quick thinking and excellent cross-party approach by the APPG they were able to convince Home Office ministers to address the concerns of the Sikh community. Officials were instructed by ministers to move to use the broader term “religious reasons” as large Kirpans are kept in Sikh homes for a range of religious reasons, such as to place before the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh holy scriptures.
The same Sikhs then showed their naivety by going directly to opposition politicians in the House of Lords to persuade them to table an amendment to seek a change in the law to try and use the Bill to make the smaller kirpan worn by Sikhs “lawful”. Unfortunately, those campaigning failed as they did not consult or properly understand the situation and what had been achieved by the APPG, their briefing was inaccurate and the strategy adopted lacked the intellect to convince Home Office officials and ministers.
Sections 139 and 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provide for offences of having an offensive weapon in a public place or school premises respectively without lawful authority or good reason. However, it is a defence for a person charged with an offence to prove that he or she had good reason or lawful authority for having the article in a public place or school premises. It is a defence to show that you had the knife or bladed or pointed article for use at work, for religious reasons (e.g. the Sikh kirpan) or as part of a national costume (e.g. the sgian dubh of traditional Highland dress).
Amritdhari Sikhs are required to always wear the Kirpan and have been able to rely on the religious reasons defence in most public places, employment and schools. However, challenges have existed in private establishments such as the London Eye, and complications sometime arise in schools or employment that are often overcome.
The changes in legislation that are about to come into effect now mean the broader “religious reasons” phrase specifically applies to the Sikh kirpan. What has gone unnoticed is that “religious reasons” now for the first time have been defined in law as a “good reason” for possession. Many in the Sikh community now realise there is no substitute for having Sikh MPs such as Preet Kaur Gill, who connect with the Sikh community and have their fingers on the Sikh pulse.
Dabinderjit Singh is a principal adviser to the Sikh Federation