Sikhs wear turban to celebrate Canada

Four Canadian athletes who are Sikhs are wearing their turbans to celebrate the diversity and tolerance of Canada. They don’t wear them at home—but they could and no one would blink at it.

…after listening to Canadian field hockey player Ravi Kahlon’s eloquent explanation, you at least understand the reasoning why he and three fellow Indo-Canadian players will wear turbans when marching into the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Games on Friday….

A turban is a Sikh religious symbol and in no way an Indian national symbol. Kahlon said as a Canadian he would never wear any symbol of Indian nationhood during the Olympics or at any international competition.

“We’re a country of immigrants and this is a celebration of Canada and the fact that in our country, you can be anything you want to be… My dad had to cut his beard and lose his turban to get a job when he came to Canada (in 1970),” said Kahlon. “Now we can choose to wear a turban or not and it doesn’t affect anybody making a living. Now we can celebrate that evolution of our country. During the opening ceremonies, I want people to think about Canadians coming in all kinds of packages, and yet we’re all still Canadians.”

Pictures from Sikh Chic.