Exits...

So its begun, after being asked on Wednesday to go to Switzerland for this conference at the UN, we are finally on the plane. I've just finished my peanut butter sandwich, which my sister was a genius in reminding me to pack. The flight to Switzerland is about 2 hours...

Now that I've no food left to eat to pass the time, I've taken up looking around the aircraft, where I've noticed a rather random exit sign, it is pointing to the correct exits however it is more to the left than the right... Does that mean the left exit is more of an exit than the right one? Or is it a cost-cutting ploy of one of easyjet's contractors? But most likely its the curse of boredom to my own logical mind!

Anyway, this weekend is not about exits or their orientation on a plane, its not even about the great country that is Switzerland. It is, infact, about the plight of the Sikhs in France and India.

Firstly those Sikhs in France. As you may know all religious headwear has been banned in French schools and government buildings, a ban that takes into account the Muslim scarf, the Jewish cap and of course the Sikh phag.

This issue is a very big one as the phag of the Sikhs traces its roots back to the days of the gurus, and therefore an item we cannot remove so how can the French government impose this upon its citizens?

The second issue to be raised at the united nations is that of the Sikhs in India. India having signed the UN's declaration of universal human rights, has failed to fulfil this in India, especially for the minority Sikh population.

The fact that human rights activist groups such as, amnesty international, have been denied entry to India to conduct surveys and general research into how the Sikhs are being treated, means they must have something to hide from the international community.

India, like other countries, such as Iraq, should be forced to allow a free-flow of information so the accounts of June and November 1984 can be clearly investigated and documented. Just because there is nothing to be gained from forcing India to do this should not stop the UN or other countries from putting pressure on prime minister Manmohan Singh to give justice to the Sikhs.

My hope is that the gathering at Geneva will show everybody how much the Sikhs are suffering and, lest we forget, require justice.