For the first time in more than two years, Harjinder Singh on Friday tucked into his waistband holster the tiny, dull knife that, to him, represents honor and justice for all.
The Symmes Township man had not worn the two-sided knife, known in the Sikh religion as a kirpan, since his 1994 arrest and conviction for carrying a concealed weapon.
But Friday, after he learned that a local appeals court declared the kirpan a protected form of religious expression and threw out the case against him, Dr. Singh was once again wearing the symbol of his faith, though not in the same fashion he did before.
''I could not practice my religion for two years,'' the 48-year-old veterinarian said with a sigh. ''It just messes up your whole psyche, your whole life. It's torture. We don't live in Russia. This whole thing has been very oppressive.''
If he were not so disheartened at having to reject a symbol of his faith, he would find irony in the meaning of the icon, for which he says he endured hours of humiliation and pain at the hands of Cincinnati authorities.
But after years of court battles and thousands of dollars in legal expenses, he sees only red.
''The judge and the prosecutor - they wanted to win it one way or another, so they perverted the court proceedings,'' Dr. Singh said. ''This was basic harassment.''
His legal troubles began when he refused to answer questions during a civil lawsuit hearing at the Hamilton County Courthouse. The judge ordered him taken into custody for contempt of court.
Deputies handcuffed Dr. Singh and, during a search at the justice center, found the kirpan - with its 2-inch blade - stitched to the waistband of his pants.
He says he tried endlessly to explain - first to deputies; later to prosecutors, judges and juries - that the kirpan was not a weapon but one of five symbols his religion required him to wear at all times.
Worldwide, the kirpan, along with a bracelet, an undergarment, a comb and long hair, are recognized symbols of the Sikhism, which has 18 million followers, including 150,000 in the United States. Canada, England and India are among the countries that recognize the symbols, Dr. Singh said.
''It's basically accepted around the world,'' he said, ''but it is not acceptable in the city of Cincinnati.''
During his first trial before Municipal Judge Jack Rosen, jurors could not reach a verdict. But a second jury convicted Dr. Singh after former judge Albert Mestemaker told jurors not to consider the religious grounds as a defense.
Dr. Singh appealed the conviction, claiming it violated his constitutional rights, as well as the federal Religious Freedoms Restoration Act, which prohibits governments from placing undue burdens and restrictions on religious customs and practices.
In a unanimous opinion written by Judge Robert Gorman, the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati agreed.
