Officials of Solano State Prison and San Quentin State Prison in California have reportedly punished Sikh prisoner for refusing to comply with regulations, which mandate that hair cannot be kept more than three inches long and that turbans cannot be worn.
"The punishments in the two prisons include loss of recreation or exercise time, loss of phone time, and decrease in the number of good behavior credits needed to reduce their prison terms," Amardeep Singh Bhalla, legal director of the Sikh Coalition that has taken up the issue, told rediff-India Abroad.
The coalition has sent a protest letter to Jeanne Woodford, director of the California Department of Corrections.
Bhalla said the plight of the prisoners came to light in May this year when some Sikh prisoners in San Quentin, including one Harpal Singh Ahuwalia, contacted the coalition through a community member.
In a letter, a copy of which was obtained by rediff-India Abroad, the prisoner whose name was withheld, described his plight thus: "I am strictly vegetarian and shown them many time... They do not provide me my religious way of lunch ... I report to second watch Sergeant Van Blarcom but he just laughs on it and did not take any action. Religious ignorance and negative behavior has injured my feeling, given me a lot of pain and put me through a lot of stress."
Another prisoner wrote in an Inmate/Parolee Appeal form in July that Sikh religious members were being denied their constitutional rights to practice their religion.
'The institution (the prison) has failed to accommodate Sikhs in their desire to practice their faith. Specifically, we are being denied the right to wear our hair in accordance to the tenets of our faith and a religious diet is not being provided. We have no chapel access. Moreover our religious materials and sacred text are being damaged and defaced by R&R staff."
In the protest note, Bhalla, on behalf of the Coalition, has urged Woodford to have prison officials give immediate attention to the issues, so that San Quentin Prison's policy and practice remained within the bounds of law.
Bhalla acknowledged that under the California Code of Regulations 3062(e), which governs prison inmate grooming standards, a male inmate's hair shall not be longer than three inches and shall not extend over the eyebrows or below the top of the shirt collar while standing upright; and that the rule contains no exemptions for religious reasons.
However, he cited the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act, which prohibits imposition of a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person residing in or confined to an institution.
"Please be advised that all these practices violate the RLUIP Act," Bhalla wrote in his note, adding, "We request that the rule violations reports stop immediately, and to ensure that Ahluwalia is not harassed because of his religion in the future, that he be allowed to keep his hair unshorn and turban as required by the Sikh faith, and that he be provided vegetarian meals."
Bhalla says various prisoners have pointed out that Jewish and Muslim prisoners have been allowed to wear their respective religiously-mandated headgear.
Stating that the coalition had not received any response; Bhalla now plans to visit the prisons and meet the concerned officials next month.
Asked if he felt it was a case of racial discrimination, the Coalition director said he believed it to be an issue of ignorance.
"I believe a lack of knowledge about Sikhs and Sikhism animates the reason for not allowing them to wear turbans or requiring that they cut their hair," he said.
Part of the blame, he said, should be laid on the community, which lacks political power.
"Neither prison officials seem compelled to move unless ordered to do so by a judge. Thus, we are in the continuous position of having to file lawsuits even where the disparate treatment is obvious," he added.
He said he also expected to meet civil rights officials and legislators.
"If the prison does not move, we will unfortunately be compelled to file a lawsuit," Bhalla noted.
More from rediff