Of Burqas and Turbans

From my childhood in 60’s and 70’s I remember several newspaper reports of the following type (name is fictitious):

Mr Kartar Singh, a Sikh Bus driver in with the Metropolitan Bus Service, London was denied the right to wear a turban (at work) by his employer. He appealed to the courts on the grounds that his religious beliefs required him to wear a turban The courts after hearing his case directed the employers that Mr Singh cannot be be forced to NOT wear a turban.

This news was reported as a triumph of an Indian against his former colonial masters. Indeed ,I agreed with this view of a triumph, as did, I am quite sure , the rest of India.

Only much later in life it struck me that it was as much as triumph for Mr Singh , as it was a triumph of the British judicial system and its principles of fairness which in turn came from the British democracy.

Could such a thing have happened in the 60’s in another country? Say Germany ? or USA ? or South Africa?

Fast-forward to 2016. I see a lot of criticism on the custom of Indian Muslim women wearing a Burqa. Though I am personally of the opinion that the Burqa is a relic of the middle ages, I think Muslim women should be the ones to decide for themselves if they wish to or do not wish to wear a Burqa