Frustrated by constantly being mistaken for people of other cultures, J. Singh-Sohal decided to take things into his own hands. He decided to make a documentary.

The subject: the Sikh turban, an integral part of his own identity and yet a constant subject of bafflement for others.

The former ITV journalist is making an hour long documentary that will get its initial broadcast next week. It will explore how British attitudes since the terrorist attacks of 7/7 have impacted people who tie turbans.

He told AIM magazine: “The turban forms an important part of Sikh identity, but ever since the fateful events of 9/11 and closer to home 7/7, the turban has become synonymous with terrorism. Yet far from this, the turban represents spirituality and wisdom.”

He added: “It’s also found in the Islamic faith and Christian customs all over the world. Yet the people who’ve suffered most because of its misconnection with terrorism are Sikhs.”

The documentary, titled ‘Turbanology: After 7/7′, will seek to raise awareness of its important to Sikhs and some Muslims, and will also be released as an educational resource on DVD on 1st July.

The young journalist faced ignorant attitudes in the United States where he worked for five years for a Conservative think-tank.

He finished his post-graduate in 2006 and worked briefly for BBC Asian Network before getting on to the ITV training programme. He worked as a trainee at Central New for a year before moving on to being a production journalist at ITV Thames Valley.

“Britain has always had more tolerance towards religions and faiths purely because of our nations own prosperity from such diversity,” he said. “But the lack of knowledge is something that does need to be tackled, which is why I decided to make Turbanology, to delve deeper into the issue of the turban and what it means in modern Britain.”

In the documentary he speaks to music producers, politicians and ordinary Sikhs and Muslims who have been affected by wearing a turban.

“The documentary discovers that simply noticing someone could be a Muslim increases the aggressive tendencies of westerners. The give-away sign is the turban, and the beard. Whether conscious or sub-conscious, the fact that terrorism is a worry for many people means that there’s been a rise in profiling who could be a threat – an issue explroed in the piece.”

Bigotry, combined with mistaken identity, has had real negative impact. Immediately after 9/11 a white American shot and killed a Sikh gas-station attendant in the US, mistakenly believing the beard and turban meant he was an Arab Muslim.

Turbanology will be broadcast on Brit-Asia TV on 7th July.
For more information and to order a DVD visit www.turbanology.com

Video trailer below