Massachusetts public school district allows Sikh students to carry ceremonial knives—no one else is allowed to carry weapons

Amid backlash in the UK over the murder of an 18-year-old university student by a 23-year-old Sikh man with a ceremonial knife, a Massachusetts school district has drawn scrutiny for banning weapons for all students, with an exception made for such ceremonial blades. 

The Hopkinton Public Schools District in 2024 adopted a policy that allows Sikh students to carry the blade, known as a kirpan, which are one of five items required to be worn by members of the faith. The policy states that students carrying the knives must have a "deeply held religious belief," and that the carrying of those blades are "restricted to Sikh pupils who have gone through the Amrit Pahul ceremony," or an initiation into the faith. Students must also have a record of "appropriate school behavior."

The knife must be no longer than three inches in length, be a dull blade, remain sheathed and secured, and worn under clothing. The rule also states, "At no time will the Kirpan be drawn while the student is in school, at a school-related event, or in school transport." The agreement between school and student must be signed annually.

In contrast, the district’s weapons policy states that possession of weapons such as guns, knives, slingshots, brass knuckles, and other weapons, as well as replicas and toys resembling weapons, are "prohibited on school premises or at school-sponsored or school-related events, including athletic games." Only those of the Sikh religion are permitted to carry weapons.

The policy has received scrutiny in the wake of the killing of Henry Nowak in the UK. Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old Sikh man, has been convicted of Nowak’s December 2023 murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years before he could be eligible for parole. In the nation with high incidents of knife violence, kirpans are permitted for Sikhs.

Digwa stabbed Nowak five times with an eight-inch ceremonial knife. When police arrived, they handcuffed the fatally wounded Nowak in response to claims from Digwa and his family that Nowak had racially abused him.  The case drew outcry in the UK, with people taking to the streets in protest of the police’s treatment of Nowak.