Sikhs in Scotland have dropped a planned
legal case against the Scottish government after being assured they will be
recognised as a distinct ethnic group.
The Sikh Federation had
threatened legal action unless ministers included a separate Sikh box in the
ethnicity section of the next census, despite the fact Sikhism is a religion.
The Sikh Federation had an
“excellent” meeting with Fiona Hyslop
But community leaders have since solved the issue after a
meeting with Culture Secretary
Fiona Hyslop and equalities
minister Christina McKelvie.
Dabinderjit Singh, who represented the Sikh Federation,
said: “We had an excellent meeting with Fiona Hyslop and Christina McKelvie who
both showed a real passion and leadership to address inequalities and racism
faced by the Sikh community in Scotland. In the last six months Scottish
ministers have shown a clear desire to properly recognise the Sikh community in
the census.
“We now have an agreement to work together and build a road map
for public bodies in Scotland to get them to collect ethnicity as well as
religious data on Sikhs to help with decision making. The positive and
constructive approach taken by Scottish ministers listening and working with
the Sikh community means we have no need to pursue a legal route in Scotland.”
Gurpreet Singh Johal, of the Scottish Gurdwara Council, added: “We are
delighted to be working with the Scottish government and appreciate the
leadership ministers are showing to make the lives of Scottish people better.
The ministers appreciate having good quality data will make a real difference
to the Sikh community in Scotland.”
“For a start we’d like to educate them
on Sikh teachings.
“First lesson – Guru Nanak was the founder of a major world
faith, not an ethnic group.”
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