Local Sikh wins discrimination battle in Australia

Following a legal suit by Kanwal Preet (28),the authorities of a Canberra night club have been directed to change their dress code to allow the entry of visitors who sport a headgear associated with their beliefs and culture.

A software techie settled in Canberra for the last five years,he was asked by the authorities of one Minque Nightclub in Manuka locality of Canberra to leave the premises for he was wearing a turban.

Feeling humiliated after the incident,which took place in May last year,he decided to fight tooth and nail against the discrimination.

He moved the Discrimination Tribunal,which on April 19 this year decided the case in favour of the Sikh youth. The tribunal also asked the club to publish an apology in a national newspaper within three weeks.

Kanwal Preet’s father Mohinder Singh Pahwa,a resident of Atam Nagar,said,“My son has made me proud. Our family is very happy that he has won a historical case for the entire Sikh community. The incident had left a deep scar on the psyche of my son. He is a teetotaler but had gone to the club along with some of his colleagues for an evening out. We asked him not to pocket the insult and avail himself of the best possible legal remedy,” said Pahwa,a retired government employee.