US court orders Marine to allow Sikh soldiers with beards and turbans

Washington: A US court on Friday ordered marines to let Sikh recruits maintain beard and turbans. The US Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, already accommodate the religious beliefs of Sikhism.

Sikhism, which developed five centuries ago in South Asia, forbids men from cutting hair or trimming beards and turbans on their heads.

But the Marine Corps last year refused to relax rules for keeping hair and tying turbans to three Sikhs who passed tests for recruitment during 13 weeks of basic training and during possible periods of war.

A three-judge bench of the US Court of Appeals in Washington disagreed, saying the Marines did not present any argument that beards and turbans would affect safety or physically disrupt training.

The court said the Marines exempted men from razor bumps, a skin condition, shaving, allowed women to maintain their hairstyles and allowed mass tattoos, which are “the quintessential expression of personal identity”.

While military exercises may evolve, any claim of an “inflexible necessity” “cannot completely ignore past practice”.

The court issued a preliminary injunction to allow two Sikh Army men Milap Singh Chahal and Jaskirat Singh to start training with their faith. They can now do the same in the US Marine Corps.”