<p>Sikhs in Australia and Punjab are enraged over the use of a photograph of a Sikh attired in traditional turbaned outfit on the cover of a porn magazine currently on sale in Australia.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The photograph was published along with an article in the weekly, “The Picture”, in its January 30 issue. The article, “Turban Legend”, has a photograph of a Nihang Sikh, belonging to a centuries-old warrior Sikh order, on the cover page. The magazine shows the Nihang Sikh with hands clasped in prayer with an unclear picture of the Golden Temple–the sanctum sanctorum of Sikhs in Amritsar–in the background. The article about Nihang Sikhs was surrounded by photographs, including at the foot of the article, of nude women. <br /><br />The magazine displayed nudity and it was replete with foul, irreverent and inappropriate language and the tone ridicules the dumalla (turban) and Nihang Sikhs, said United Sikhs, a Sikh group supporting and advocating democratic right to free speech. United Sikhs in a statement issued on Tuesday said it has decided to lodge a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission against the magazine. The group is also reviewing the criminal sanctions against the magazine. <br /><br />“We are also obtaining legal advice covering federal and all state laws for the purpose of lodging police complaints,” Harjit Singh, National Director and Sukhwant Singh, Director, National Legal Affairs of the group said on Wednesday.<br /><br />United Sikhs said Manmeet Singh, a newsagent in Brisbane, Queensland, brought the publication of the photograph and contents in the magazine to the attention of United Sikhs. The legal and advocacy’s rapid response team is now urging other retailers to withdraw the issue of the magazine from sale. Sukhwant Singh said: “In this instance, there is a need for prompt reassurance to ethnic Australians that the article does not represent the views of mainstream Australians.”</p>
<p>Sikhs in Australia and Punjab are enraged over the use of a photograph of a Sikh attired in traditional turbaned outfit on the cover of a porn magazine currently on sale in Australia.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The photograph was published along with an article in the weekly, “The Picture”, in its January 30 issue. The article, “Turban Legend”, has a photograph of a Nihang Sikh, belonging to a centuries-old warrior Sikh order, on the cover page. The magazine shows the Nihang Sikh with hands clasped in prayer with an unclear picture of the Golden Temple–the sanctum sanctorum of Sikhs in Amritsar–in the background. The article about Nihang Sikhs was surrounded by photographs, including at the foot of the article, of nude women. <br /><br />The magazine displayed nudity and it was replete with foul, irreverent and inappropriate language and the tone ridicules the dumalla (turban) and Nihang Sikhs, said United Sikhs, a Sikh group supporting and advocating democratic right to free speech. United Sikhs in a statement issued on Tuesday said it has decided to lodge a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission against the magazine. The group is also reviewing the criminal sanctions against the magazine. <br /><br />“We are also obtaining legal advice covering federal and all state laws for the purpose of lodging police complaints,” Harjit Singh, National Director and Sukhwant Singh, Director, National Legal Affairs of the group said on Wednesday.<br /><br />United Sikhs said Manmeet Singh, a newsagent in Brisbane, Queensland, brought the publication of the photograph and contents in the magazine to the attention of United Sikhs. The legal and advocacy’s rapid response team is now urging other retailers to withdraw the issue of the magazine from sale. Sukhwant Singh said: “In this instance, there is a need for prompt reassurance to ethnic Australians that the article does not represent the views of mainstream Australians.”</p>
