Woman fired over religious ceremonial knife wins lawsuit

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Kawaljeet Tagore says she lost her job with the IRS over a misunderstanding about her religion. And now after fighting a battle in court, she's speaking only to Eyewitness News.

Tagore says the IRS fired her for carrying a religious symbol to work. That symbol was a small knife. As you can imagine, her employer had concerns about security. So she took the government to court, and just settled that lawsuit.

Tagore was an IRS revenue agent assigned to work at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in downtown Houston.

"I was very new," she recalled. "I started with the IRS in 2004."

Tagore's battle began about a year later when she was baptized in the Sikh religion and observed its devout traditions, including wearing a kirpan, one of five articles of her faith.

She was told she couldn't enter a federal building with it and was forced to work from home for nine months.

"I kept telling them this is Kirpan, not a hunting knife, a blade per se. This is Kirpan, an article of faith."

Tagore's first request for religious accommodation was denied and when she wouldn't go back to work without her kirpan, she was fired.

"That was a commitment I made to God," she said. "I truly believe. I've given submission. I was going to practice my faith until the last breath and so I was going to."

Tagore moved to the US from India around 1990 and became a US citizen five years later. Her case has played out in the courts for years.

At times the length of the blade was even under scrutiny. Tagore's is 4.5 inches long.

"Fortunately the result of this case will be that the government has yielded to some degree in accommodating religious freedom in recognizing its security interests don't automatically trump the constitution," said Tagore's attorney Scott Newar.

Tagore prayed in private before taking the kirpan off and showing us the dull blade and pointed edge. Kirpan translates into grace and promoting justice for all. The article is also used at times during worship to taste a type of sweet pudding considered holy.

Last week the US government settled her lawsuit, granting her special dispensation to wear her kirpan in specific federal buildings in Houston. The government is also paying her legal fees.

"I personally want everything to be secured, but at the same time we need to have a good balance of security and religion," Tagore said.