January 23, 2004
Source: The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,11882,1129288,00.html
On January 23, 2004 The Guardian reported, "Last month, France barely knew its Sikh community existed. Next month, it may not exist: Sikhs have said they may leave if they are forced, under a planned ban on religious symbols in state institutions, to remove their turbans. 'We cannot take them off,' said Jasdev Singh Rai, a negotiator sent by the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikhs' holiest shrine, to do battle with Paris officials. Many Sikhs may rather go than 'live among intolerant people', he said."