Does wearing religious symbols lead to the failure of a multicultural society?
Priya Rajsekar doesn’t think so… I READ WITH INTEREST the Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan’s article on the need for perspective on the recent controversy surrounding both the Sikh turban and the Muslim hijab. There was praise for the enterprising and resourceful Sikh community in Ireland, and acceptance that it was easy to see why there was disappointment among Sikhs on the Garda turban issue, though there are many Sikhs who have by choice given up wearing a turban but who maintain their faith. The minister also called for a common-sense approach to the hijab issue. Thinking of this, I recalled a thought-provoking essay that I believe is still part of the Indian secondary school syllabus. Entitled ‘On the rule of the Road’ and written by AG Gardiner, who wrote under the pseudonym ‘Alpha of the Plough’, the story is primarily about the use and abuse of liberty. Alpha writes: “…in order that the liberties of all may be preserved, the liberties of everybody must be curtailed. Oft
