The move makes Captain Simratpal Singh, a 28-year-old decorated combat veteran, the first active duty Sikh soldier to receive approval to maintain his articles of faith while actively serving in the US army.
Following an outcry from the Sikh community, the United States Defence Department has decided to review its policy, which prevents Sikhs from joining the country's armed forces. On behalf of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Pentagon has informed advocacy group Sikh Coalition that it was reviewing current regulations, which prevent a US Sikh national from serving the army, on the ground that they wear turban.
The United States on Monday assured India of "speedy justice" to the Indian-American victims of hate-related crimes as the Indian envoy here reached out to the State Department to convey his "deep concerns" over such tragic incidents.
Captain Tejdeep Singh Rattan has been accepted as an Army dentist and allowed to wear a turban and not shave his hair as a condition of joining the military. Confirming the drafting of Rattan, the community's advocacy group, Sikh Coalition, hailing the Army action, said these enrolments should not be treated as isolated cases and that doors should be opened for large-scale recruitment of Sikhs in the US Army.
Sikhs in the US will be allowed to serve in uniform with their beards and turbans under a legal settlement reached with the US Department of Homeland Security, a Sikh advocacy group claimed on Wednesday.
'The words they have used seem to suggest that they hate our community.'
Jagmohan Singh Premi, a student at Richmond Hill High School, in Queens, New York was punched in the face Tuesday after a student intentionally attempted to remove his patka, the Sikh Coalition reported on its website.
US authorities force community members to remove their turbans for security checks in the wake of a new federal policy
A report documenting the constant 'stream of bias and prejudices' against Sikhs, based on surveys of more than 1,000 members of the community in the five boroughs of New York City, was released in the city by the Sikh Coalition earlier this month.
A Sikh can be allowed to enter the United States military with turban and beard, the Pentagon has said, noting that the approval in this regard would be given on a case by case basis and there is no universal or automatic approval to the new relaxed religious norms.
The Sikhs emphasised that there must be basic understanding of their religion and its practices among school officials.
Activists and rights groups set out in a caravan called 'El Paso 37' from Fresno, California to El Paso, Texas, April 26, to express solidarity with 37 Punjabi migrants who are on a hunger strike at the El Paso federal immigration detention center.
In a first of its kind lawsuit, a decorated Sikh-American soldier has sued the US military, alleging that because of his religious beliefs he is being subjected to "discriminatory" testing that no other soldier in the US army goes through.
McAllister, the son of Union City Police Chief Darryl McAllister, and the juvenile have been charged with attempted robbery, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.
Family, friends and strangers prayed on Saturday at Dhaliwal's memorial off Willancy Lane in northwest Harris County.
Sikh-Americans have sought American President Barack Obama's help in getting justice for the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that occurred after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Ahluwalia, 41, was not allowed to board the Aeromexico flight from Mexico City to New York on Monday.
Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson said the assault is being investigated as a hate crime.
Driven by hardship, adventurous souls mortgage their homesteads in Punjab or Haryana, pawn the family jewellery and borrow heavily to satisfy the greed of the criminal traffickers who organise their trips, points out Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
It was truly heartening to see how the Sikh community had risen to the occasion during the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests and the coronavirus pandemic and selflessly served those looking for nourishment.
An American court has ruled in favour of a decorated Sikh Army Captain who had demanded that the military accommodate his articles of faith.
Jagjeet Singh, who was a clerk at the Hatch Food and Gas convenience store, came to the US 18 months ago and stayed with his sister and brother-in-law in Modesto.
But it will be a giant leap for America when all can serve freely in the US Armed Forces, Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi tells Suman Guha Mozumder about the Pentagon's relaxing of rules on religious wear
'I'm a Sikh American. I have 3 daughters. And yesterday, I told them to turn off the radio,' he tweeted.
Gurpreet S Kherha, who was denied a job at Tri-County Lexus -- a car dealership in Little Falls, New Jersey -- due to its 'no-beard' policy will get $50,000 in an out-of court settlement with the firm.
Waris Ahluwalia, 41, who had been on a trip to Mexico, took a photo of himself and his boarding pass for an Aeromexico flight back to NYC, explaining in a caption that he had been prohibited from boarding.
Members of the United States Congress break bread to celebrate the contributions of Sikh Americans. Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa reports
"It is wonderful. I had been living a double life, wearing a turban only at home," Simratpal Singh said, adding, "My two worlds have finally come back together."
In a bid to allay growing concerns within the community, the White House sent one of its top officials to a Gurdwara in the suburb of Washington, DC on Sunday to meet members of the Sikh community and local leadership to assure them about their safety and interest.
The victim, identified as 39-year-old Deep Rai, was working on his vehicle outside his home in Kent, Washington when the unidentified man shot him in the arm.
'You shouldn't mistreat Muslims, you shouldn't mistreat Sikhs, you shouldn't mistreat anyone you perceive to be the other.'
'I came to this country from India 20 years ago to create a better life for my family. I am a father of four and a proud American citizen. I am also what America looks like.'
Three years after the horrific massacre of Sikh worshippers at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, gurdwara by a gunman with ties to supremacist organisations, a federal system to help track hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindu, Arab American communities has been formalised.
'Having a voice at the table means the other side has to show up to listen. It became clear that wouldn't happen,' says actor Maulik Pancholy, one of the 10 members who resigned from the US president's advisory commission on Asian Americans.
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