chandigarh the last names singh and kaur are almost synonymous with sikhs but if theyre trying to get a visa to canada this could very well become a problem and sikhs are justifiably fuming at what they see as racial profilingcanadian immigration officials have dusted out a 10yearold littleknown rule that asks sikh visa applicants with last names singh or kaur to change them there are too many of them officials say pointing to difficulties in maintaining a database with similar names of course they dont seem to have a problem with john smiths and jack browns among the commonest of western surnamesthe controversy erupted on wednesday after tarvinder kaur a calgarybased woman awaiting her husbands arrival in canada learnt that jaspal singhs application for permanent residency had been delayed for well over a month because of his last namein a letter dated may 17 2007 to jaspal singh the canadian high commission in new delhi wrote the name kaur and singh do not qualify for the purpose of immigration to canadacanadian media reported the story on wednesday saying the policy preventing people from migrating to canada with singh and kaur as last names has been in place for 10 years and was not applicable to other last names it quoted karen shaddevelyn a spokesperson for citizenship and immigration canada as saying the reason for the policy is that it helps officials with the paperwork and allows them to identify peoples files quickly and accurately you can imagine you wouldnt want your file to be confused with someone elsessikhs arent buying this line the policy was racism at its worst the rule has a thin coating of legitimacy but when you scratch the surface you simply cannot find a trace of logic or common sense in it says t sher singh a canadabased lawyer journalist and writer according to him the policy brings back shadows canadas ugly pastthere is no logic to this policy and we would have been happier had canadian authorities extended the rule for other last names he said in this world of computers and technology canadians should be able to handle folks with similar names says birinder singh ahluwalia another canadian sikhmany sikh portals have posted email addresses and telephone numbers of canadian high commissions urging sikhs to express their views clearly in their respective countries