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The Kirpan  is a ceremonial sword or dagger that must be worn by all baptised Sikhs

Last year a boy was forced to leave his school in Barnet, north London because of a ban on the daggers.

Sir Mota Singh QC defended the right of Sikhs to wear the five inch Kirpan blades in public amid a growing revolt against a perceived clampdown on religious freedom in schools. Telegraph

There is talk of reporting the school that wouldn't allow the knife to be carried for discrimination.

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The kirpan has both a physical function, as a defensive weapon, as well as a symbolic function. Physically it is an instrument of "Ahimsa" or non-violence.  The principle of ahimsa is to actively prevent violence, not to simply stand by idly whilst violence is being done.

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Oh well, that's all right then!

Presumably, any damage caused by aforesaid blade will have been a result of - ahem, "non-violent" violence!  

Why are some deemed to be trustworthy enough to have weapons of destruction and not others? There are bigger global questions in there somewhere...  

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Until very recently, it was the custom for every male who attended the Appenzell open-air assemblies to carry a weapon;  it was either a ceremonial sword or a bayonet.

This custom has begun to die out only because women now have the vote in Appenzell (the last canton in Switzerland to give women the vote in non-Federal elections in 1991, just in time for the 700th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss confederation), probably because the women are far too sensible to look stupid carrying bayonets or ceremonial swords.

Part of the Scottish national dress is the skean dhu which is a little knife they keep tucked in the top of their socks.   You can just see the piper's skean dhu tucked into his right sock.   Judging by the little SUBLs' reaction, the piper is an old-school traditionalist Scot.

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Lots of things were traditional but have since been stopped due to being uncivilised. This is why we no longer sacrifice live goats on church altars, or indeed persecute Sikhs.
They could surely compromise and have a symbolic dagger that is unsharp and therefore not a dangerous weapon.

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MidgeKitty, you've heard this pun before, I bet.

Traditional question: what is worn under a Scotsman's kilt?

Traditional answer: nothing is worn, since everything should be in perfect working order.

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@ Midge

Asy, I hadn't heard the 'nothing is worn' one

I gather that for some Sikhs the Kirpan is tiny and blunt. In which case it's no more a knife than a crucifix is. Also it appears that it can be fixed into the little scabbard.

On the other hand I went to a Sikh website which had a page on discrimination against Sikhs and they described a Sikh driver who was stopped by the police for something else. When he leaned across to give his drivers licence the officer saw "an intimidating weapon in a holster under his jacket" which sounds more like protection against dodgy customers than anything else.

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no more a knife than a crucifix is

This could get quite interesting.
<Plod> Come out with your hands up!
<Christian> Keep away! I've got my crucifix and I'm not afraid to use it!

Later...
<Plod writing charge sheet> Using in a threatening manner, one crucifix and one set of .... Sarge, how do you spell "rosaries"?

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