Sikhs demand right to wear turban in US Army

WASHINGTONl When Kamaljit Singh Kalsi and Tejpal Singh Rattan signed up for a US army programme that pays for medical education in return for obligatory military service, they say military recruiters assured them their turbans and unshorn hair ������ would not be a problem������ .
Other turbaned Sikhs were serving with distinction in the US army and there was no reason why Kalsi and Rattan could not follow their welltrodden path during the 60th anniversary of the integration of US armed forces, when President Harry Truman declared : ������ There shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, colour, religion or national origin������ .
Thus it came to be that Captain Kalsi and Second Lieutenant Rattan graduated from medical school and dental college respectively, while maintaining their Sikh identity during specialized army training, at army ceremonies, and in army medical facilities. But when the time came for the two Sikhs to report for active service duty in July, they were in for a shock. Under a 1981 rule that bans ������ conspicuous��� ��� religious articles of faith for its service members, the army, overruling earlier reported assurances, asked Kalsi and Rattan to remove their turban before reporting for duty.
������ 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,������ says Kalsi. ������ There is nothing about my religion that stops me from doing my job. I know I can serve well without compromising my faith.������
The Washington DC-based Sikh Coalition is now taking up the case and launching a campaign to protect Sikhs��� right to serve in the US army with their identity intact. Banking on previous cases, the Coalition will file a formal complaint on Baisakhi day with the department of Defense���s Inspector General, on behalf of Kalsi and Rattan, seeking a rule-waiver for Sikhs.
According to the Coalition, 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.
Sikh groups in the US have been working pro-actively to sensitize American lawmakers , officials, and people about the Sikh faith.