American Sikh group asks US military to end ban on turban

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Apr 8 (PTI) An influential Sikh group in the
United States has planned to launch a campaign this Vaisakhi,
demanding the US Army to end its ban on turban.

Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group for the Sikh community,
Tuesday said that on April 14, it would file a formal
complaint with Department of Defense's Inspector General on
behalf of two Sikh medical professionals, who have been told
by the Army to remove their turbans and cut their unshorn hair
and beards when they report for active duty in July.

Captain Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and Second
Lieutenant Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, were part of an
Army programme that pays for medical education in return for
military service, Sikh Coalition said in a media release.

At the time of their enrolment, military recruiters
assured both men that their turbans and unshorn hair "would
not be a problem", claimed the group.

Captain Kalsi and Second Lieutenant Rattan maintained
their Sikh identity throughout graduate school, during
specialised Army training at Army ceremonies and in Army
medical facilities.

Four years later, the Army is telling the two Sikhs that
the recruiters' assurances were false and that they will have
to forsake their religious practises, said the statement by
Sikh Coalition.

"After four years of training in Army facilities, I was
shocked to learn that the Army would go back on its promise,
and expect me to choose between my faith or my service to my
country," said Captain Kalsi.

"There is nothing about my religion that stops me from
doing my job. I know I can serve well without compromising my
faith," he said.

In 1981, Sikh Coalition said, the US Army banned
"conspicuous" religious articles of faith for its service
members. However, Sikhs and other soldiers of faith who were
part of the Army before the 1981 rule change were allowed to
stay.

As a result, Colonel Arjinderpal Singh Sekhon, a doctor,
and Colonel G B Singh, a dentist, continued to serve in the US
Army with their turbans and unshorn hair for the past
twenty-five years. They both retired in 2008.

Despite this, Captain Kalsi and Second Lieutenant Rattan
are being prohibited from taking up the very same positions in
the Army today, the statement said.