Sikh air travellers permitted to carry Knives (kirpans)

[Spring Onion]

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http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1851314,0008.htm

Sikh air travellers permitted to carry kirpans

Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, November 23, 2006

Sikh passengers travelling by air are allowed to carry a kirpan provided the blade does not exceed six inches and the total length of it is no more than nine inches, the union cabinet decided on Thursday.

The decision was based on a recommendation from the National Commission of Minorities (NCM), Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Kirpan is a ceremonial weapon every Sikh is mandated to carry according to the religion's tenets.

[Spring Onion]

This is intresting hey guys i want to know are Sikh permited on internationl flights to carry the kirpans (knives)?

And is this decision to allow them to carry the knives on domestic flights in India will have any draw back?

hey i need seriouse assessment plz put religion aside .

[A.Rahman]

Thank God its only Indian Airlines, I never take Indian Airline; So I am not worrying.

[Spring Onion]

Rahman i was asking from them not u man sure it would be cause of concern for them not u

[sword9]

Thank God its only Indian Airlines, I never take Indian Airline; So I am not worrying.

I think I shall skip Indian Airlines too, thankfully we have other options now.. This is crazy.

[MIG_ACE]

Dead right sword9.This IS crazy. I dont travel much coz of exams and stuff.But my father needs to know of this. Pretty soon as more ppl come to know of this Indian airlines is gonna start losing passengers. The guys at Jet airways, air sahara, Kingfisher airlines etc.etc. will be jumping with joy. That is if this order is limited to state owned airlines.

[Contrarian]

damn, we do have LOADS AND LOADS Of airlines now to chose from!!

a far cry from the old days of IA and Jet monopoly!

[Thunder]

Quite frankly i don'tsee anything wrong with it. It's their religon for whatever reason but we must respect it. As muslims because we are told to do so in islam. And as for that blade, well that thing is'nt pointy or deadly enough to kill anybody. They had this debate about this in canada about letting them in schools and airports

[MIG_ACE]

How about this!! A terrorist grows a beard , ties a turban round his head and claims to be a sikh when he is not. Then he can carry in a knife and hijack a plane.So what if it is only 6" long.Its more than enuf to stab and wound someone. We'll need sky marshalls on each and every flight!!
This is simply unacceptable. The national commission of minorities seems to be filled with dickheads.

[vnomad]

We do have sky marshalls on board. The NSG deputes its men to different airlines. Who flies IA anyway? Its the worst airline in India. Jet Airways, Sahara and Kingfisher are head and shoulders above IA. Even low cost airlines DA, and GoAir offer better services than IA.
The bloody commies are responsible yet again for opposing disinvestment of IA and AI.

[MIG_ACE]

I've heard that the food given on IA is better than that on Jet and King fisher.Where Jet and Kingfisher beat IA hands down is in flight entertainment.They have personal display screens for every seat even in economy class!! jet even has Touch-screen controls on the screens.

[Thunder]

How about this!! A terrorist grows a beard , ties a turban round his head and claims to be a sikh when he is not. Then he can carry in a knife and hijack a plane.So what if it is only 6" long.Its more than enuf to stab and wound someone. We'll need sky marshalls on each and every flight!!
This is simply unacceptable. The national commission of minorities seems to be filled with dickheads.

Think about it, what can a terrorist possibily do with a 6" blade, these days every kid on the street have one of these. But if you're still scared then why not arm the pilots with a hand gun- but then you would say that what if the pilot is a terrorist!!

[MIG_ACE]

The 9/11 hijackers also had knives.And we know what happened.And 6 inches is not so small.If the blade is broad enough it can still kill you or badly wound you.
We dont arm pilots here.The govt. decided to have sky marshalls on select flights after the IC 814 hijacking.But that doesnt mean u allow ppl to carry weapons on board.

[Thunder]

The 9/11 hijackers also had knives.And we know what happened.And 6 inches is not so small.If the blade is broad enough it can still kill you or badly wound you.
We dont arm pilots here.The govt. decided to have sky marshalls on select flights after the IC 814 hijacking.But that doesnt mean u allow ppl to carry weapons on board.

Were those hijacker sikhs? NO. Were they dressed as sikhs? NO. Goes to show that terrorists have other ways to bring in weapons other then dressings as shiks.

[MIG_ACE]

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Were those hijacker sikhs? NO. Were they dressed as sikhs? NO. Goes to show that terrorists have other ways to bring in weapons other then dressings as shiks.

Dude wont this give the terrorists a NEW and VERY SIMPLE way to do it now???
Security has been tightened after 9/11.Terrorists cant use same tactics now.Every inch of a passenger's clothing and luggage is checked now. This wud be giving them easy access.