Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

An Underground guard who refused to part with his turban

Amar Singh braved his suspension for wearing his Sikh headgear in the 1960s

An Underground guard who refused to part with his turban

London has evolved as a diverse city over the decades with more than 300 languages spoken in the British capital now. While Transport of London allows its staff and others to wear any religious symbols today, the situation was different earlier.

A look at its transformation as a multicultural city brings to mind the story of an Indian-origin guard in the Underground who had to fight for his right to wear the turban while on duty.

Amar Singh, who worked as a guard on board Central line trains in the early 1960s, braved his suspension from work for wearing his Sikh headgear.

It’s a common practice among Sikh men to abstain from cutting their hair and wear the turban to keep their hair tidy.

Yet Sigh trimmed his hair and shaved like a typical Englishman. He did wear his flat-peaked cap to work from the Acton depot for a couple of years. He later decided to follow his religious practice but superiors insisted that he should wear the standard uniform. He was suspended without pay for his refusal to part with the turban. As he went to his workplace wearing the headgear for weeks, he was turned away. Although it meant a loss of pay of £30, an amount equivalent to almost £500 today, he refused to budge. As the story made national headlines, his higher-ups finally allowed him to wear the turban while on duty provided it had the London Transport badge pinned to it.

The then authorities treated him as a “special case” and clarified, “We won't be unsympathetic towards a request by him for his pay for the time he has been absent".

At the time, Singh told the Mirror: "I wore a peaked cap for more than two years. I had my haircut and I shaved like an Englishman. But I could not go on - my conscience was tormenting me. I decided to let my hair and beard grow again. When my hair looked like a Beatle's I put it in a turban. But at work, I was told this was not allowed."

Singh, who “was surprised at this religious discrimination”, told a news agency, "London Transport seem to be trying to starve me into submission because they haven't sacked me and will not release me."

The situation then was in stark contrast to what one can see in London today. Workers across the transport network are now allowed to wear turbans, hijabs, crosses and any other symbols of their religion.

More For You

Liz Kendall

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will outline welfare reforms in a green paper next week, followed by chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.

Ministers may drop plan to freeze disability benefits: Report

MINISTERS are considering dropping plans to freeze Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for a year, according to a report.

Initial proposals suggested PIP would not rise in line with inflation, but strong opposition from Labour MPs has prompted a review.

Keep ReadingShow less
BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less