This month we have witnessed two incidents where Hindus have been penalized at work for wearing a symbol of their faith. One of these has occurred in Britain, and the other surprisingly occurred in India.

Most Hindus in today’s age are fairly discrete about their faith and beliefs. Religion is generally a private affair for most of us rather than something that we flaunt, and rightfully so. However, one cannot see why Hindus who do choose to make some small outward expression of their faith should be penalized for doing so.

Amrit Lalji, 43, was sacked from her job at a British Airways VIP lounge for wearing a tiny nose stud, which she explained to her bosses as being a common Hindu symbol representing marriage. She wore the nose stud at her job interview and was never told that it was company policy that she couldn’t wear it, holding the job for several months before one day a manager noticed it and told her remove it or lose her job. She was subsequently dismissed at a disciplinary hearing.

Mrs Lalji had her nose pierced when she got married, as part of the Shringar ritual, and intended to wear the small stud for life or for as long as her husband lives. Although the nose stud is a by no means a religiously essential part of a Hindu woman’s attire, clearly it is very dear and meaningful thing to the lady who wears it as a symbol of her commitment to her marriage. From the point of view of hygiene and safety, one fails to see why it should be considered any worse than earrings, which British Airways has no problem with.

Commenting on the issue, Mrs Lalji commented: “I had always made it clear that I wear it as part of my Hindu faith… I’m not expecting people to make huge exceptions for me and I could understand if I was wearing a massive stud but this is a tiny pin. It is so small that it is almost impossible to see... I was completely happy to wear all the uniform. I’m just asking for a little bit of tolerance and common sense over me wearing a nose stud.”

Her comments sum up the point in note very well. A bit of tolerance and common sense is all that is called for here. What possible harm can come to anybody, and how can it negatively affect British Airways for Mrs Lalji to continue to wear this tiny nose stud? While I fully accept and appreciate secularism as a principle of religious neutrality of the state, this trend of modern day secularism that seems to want to intrude into and control even such minor details about people’s lives that do not hurt or harm anybody else is a matter of serious concern.

Today’s Hindus by and large prefer to get on with life rather than embroil ourselves in avoidable controversies. And this is a good policy for us to live by most of the time. But every now and again individuals need to make a stand to ensure that a basic dignity and space to exist is accorded to modest their Hindu cultural expression. Therefore we admire the fact that Mrs Lalji stood her ground. She could have taken the easy way out and removed her nose ring against her religious wishes. A lot of people would have sacrifice their principles to keep the job.

We understand that Mrs Lalji’s family is facing significant financial hardship as a result of the loss of income from losing her job. We wish them well though their hard time and hope that the planned appeal against her dismissal meets with success.