Sikh Kirpans in California Schools: The Social Construction of Symbols, Legal Pluralism, and the Politics of Diversity
Author(s)
Lal, Vinay
Abstract
A California school district case concerning the wearing of Sikh kirpans in schools is a benchmark in development of American diversity and acculturation. American society must accept the Sikh identity, despite the legal pluralism provided by the law, as a matter of cultural pluralism. The dominant American culture must learn to live a degree of discomfort as a matter of fundamental freedom. In a sense, the politics of Sikhism in the diaspora is inseparable from the politics of Sikhism in India.
