Kanwardeep ji
This is a very interesting story. I am wondering if there is any possibility of getting a print version of it rather than video. Here is why. It is regional news for the Detroit Michigan area and is not covered in the area where I am, nor would it be likely to be found in a paper with national reach like the New York Times or the Christian Science Monitor.
I have 3 sketchy ideas about this. But I need more background.
1. The mother is a publicity seeker. Do not laugh. There is a subculture of women in the US who are neurotically attached to their children - the term is in-meshed. She may have her own religious issues that we don't know about. Here the issue is kirpan. Some other time another issue would suffice. She has taken on the "seva" of getting kirpan banned - but for her own emotional reasons. She won't back off easily.
2. The School District needs to do more in the way of educating community. There is a huge Asian population in the Detroit area, including many Sikhs. It appears that some are carrying a kirpan in school, and they should be doing so, but only legally. So the education of the community was not sufficient. (Keep in mind however that under theory 1, no amount of education will be sufficient. )
3. The crime rate in Detroit is very high, among the highest in the US and the public schools are violent places. You saw the sign for Strip Orders at the front of the school in the videos. Schools are permitted to conduct searches if they suspect illegal weapons are being carried. Her fears may be justified if there was an incident of a gang war and the kirpan was used incorrectly. This however looks like some one saw something in an elementary school situation, though I could be wrong.
There have been several cases here in the US at the state level that decided a kirpan may be carried, with restrictions. The big one at the end of the video is most likely not what the little boy saw, and it was pictured simply to get the public agitated. That would be theory number 4: The US media at it again as their most irresponsible selves, stirring hysteria, when they could be providing insight.
Judging from the video my favorite theory is number 1, because that woman had the look of a person on a mission. The kirpan is permitted and I think she is looking for her moment in history. So keep us posted.
