Punjab Outlook

JALANDHAR: Tamil-origin Sikh and Bahujan Dravida Party President Jeevan Kumar Ilayaperumal, also known as Jeevan Singh, alleged that he faced “humiliating and discriminatory questions” at Delhi airport on Wednesday morning before his flight to Singapore. He says he was asked, “Your address is in Tamil Nadu, but why are you wearing a Sikh turban?”
“I faced an unacceptable incident of humiliation at Air India International Counter No. 5 while checking in for my flight to Singapore. After I handed over my passport to the ground staff,
who wasn’t wearing her ID card, she made offensive remarks, questioning whether the face on the passport matched mine,” he said in a post on Facebook, which he also sent out to the media.
At the time of filing this report, Air India had not responded to the query about the allegations posted on its X account. Originally Jeevan Kumar, he embraced Sikhism in Jan 2023 and became Jeevan Singh. Now he sports an
untrimmed beard and a turban. His party fielded seven Tamil-origin Sikhs in the 2024 parliamentary election in
Tamil Nadu, and he contested from Hoshiarpur in Punjab.
Narrating the incident, he said, “My passport has me clean-shaven. When I produced my election ID card, which
has my photograph in beard and turban, for additional confirmation, instead of resolving the matter
professionally, the suspicion escalated.”adopted Sikhism in January 2023 and changed his name to
“Soon, another Air India officer joined in and, in front of all the passengers, he subjected me to a series of
humiliating and discriminatory questions, such as: ‘Why are you going to Singapore? How much money do you
have in hand? Show your bank account details. Why are you wearing a turban? Why are you black? From which
caste did you become a Sikh?'” Jeevan alleged.
“I calmly and patiently responded to every question, despite their offensive nature. Yet, instead of correcting their
conduct, the staff arrogantly declared that they would not issue my boarding pass. I had to firmly remind them
that as a practising lawyer before Supreme Court of India, I am fully aware and conscious that no airline ground
staff has the legal authority to question my religion, caste, identity, or financial ststatus. These questions were not
only irrelevant but also amounted to discrimination, violation of my dignity, and a clear breach of my
fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution,” he wrote.
“Only after I strongly asserted my rights and condemned their conduct did they reluctantly issue my boarding
pass, but the damage to my dignity was already done. This incident reflects not just individual misconduct, but a
systemic failure within Air India to train its staff in respecting passengers’ rights and upholding constitutional
values. After I return to India, I will initiate strict legal proceedings against Air India and the officials concerned,
under both civil and criminal law for harassment and humiliation in a public place; discrimination based on
religion, caste, and appearance; violation of constitutional rights and aviation regulations,” said Jeevan, adding
that the entire incident was recorded on CCTV camera.
Speaking to TOI from Singapore, Jeevan Singh said the incident shook him very badly and he would pursue the
issue after his return.
On Thursday, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president and former MP Simranjit Singh Mann c