TimesLeader.com

Utah girl's pierced nose: US-Indian culture clash

(AP)

To 12-year-old Suzannah Pabla, piercing her nose was a way to connect with her roots in India. To Suzannah's school, it was a dress-code violation worthy of a suspension.

Suzannah was briefly suspended last month from her public school in Bountiful, Utah, for violating a body-piercing ban. She returned after school officials compromised and said she could wear a clear, unobtrusive stud in her nose. The officials noted that nose piercing is an Indian cultural choice, not a religious requirement.

The girl's father was born in India as a member of the Sikh religion but raised in the United States. Now an English professor at Lehigh University, Amardeep Singh says the nose ring should not have been a big deal. He says even if it was not religious, he believes "culture matters."

About 2.6 million people of Indian ancestry live in the United States, including immigrants and natives, according to a 2007 U.S. Census estimate. To other Indians, the incident was emblematic of how it can still be difficult for the American melting pot to absorb certain aspects of their cultural and religious traditions.

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