To those who say discrimination ended long ago, think again.
As we speak, a small group of Sikhs in America are facing obstacles when it comes to joining the armed forces. Since 1984, Sikhs have not been allowed to serve in the military because of their unshorn beards and length of hair.
Though seemingly unrelated, the Sikhs’ fight against the military has many parallels to what Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers faced more than 50 years ago.
After having been arrested and thrown into an Alabama jail in April 1963, King wrote some of the most iconic and profound words regarding civil rights in American history.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” King wrote.
His words, part of the larger “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” accurately and fairly summed up what many in the African-American community were facing in the turbulent 1960s.
Although it has been more than 50 years since those fateful words were written, their significance is no less important to Sikhs.
Since 1984, followers of Sikhism have been discriminated against by some in the armed forces.
For centuries, Sikh men have grown their beards and hair in observance of their religion.
Although it clashed with U.S. Army policy, Sikhs with unshorn beards and long, turban-bound hair were allowed to serve in the U.S. military prior to 1984, according to the U.S. Army website.
Under the religious exemption clause, Sikh men were allowed to serve and fight alongside their clean-shaven peers.
When Gen. John A. Wickham Jr. took over as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army in 1984, however, the policy changed, and Sikhs lost their religious exemption status, according to the U.S. Army website.
Reasons for the current ban on Sikhs, according to an article from The New York Times, include concerns of whether Sikhs can wear helmets and gas masks safely.
In addition, critics of Sikhs entering the military have said that unshorn beards and long hair violate the U.S. Army’s infamous grooming policy.
Although the number of Sikhs being denied entry to the armed forces is very low, the act of barring them is a blatant disgrace to this country.
Since this country was founded, religious freedom and tolerance have been vicariously touted as one of this country’s greatest attributes.
People from all walks of life, regardless of their religious affiliation, have been able to adapt into American society.
To Sikh men, unshorn beards and long hair are an observance of their religion.
Why can’t the armed forces allow Sikh men (and women) to serve in the military under the religious exemption clause?
Surely a country of profound religious freedom would be willing to exercise such an exemption for a group of able-bodied and willing Americans.
For two years, Maj. Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, a Sikh, fought for a religious exemption so that he could join the armed forces, according to The New York Times.
After many petitions and Congressional letters, Kalsi was granted a religious exemption and was allowed to join the armed forces, turban and all.
Kalsi, who spent seven months serving in Afghanistan, wore a helmet over his turban and even created a camouflage-style turban to honor the Army, according to The New York Times.
Clearly, Sikhs like Kalsi, who is also a Bronze Star recipient, have demonstrated that wearing a helmet over one’s turban is feasible.
Can a gas mask fit over a Sikh man’s beard?
In countries like Israel, Sikh men have successfully worn masks over their beards.
If a Sikh man can safely wear a helmet over his turban and a gas mask over his beard, then there is no logical reason as to why they would not be able to serve.
When former President Harry S. Truman desegregated the armed forces in 1948, he said that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons … without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.”
Clearly, the armed forces have discriminated against Sikhs wishing to join the military.
In the past few years, the federal government and military have worked to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as well as allow females to serve on the front-lines alongside their male counterparts.
So why can’t the military, in accordance with its previous landmark rulings, allow willing, able-bodied Sikh men to serve under the religious exemption clause?
By granting Sikhs a religious exemption, the military would further strengthen its diverse population.
Since it has been successfully demonstrated that Sikhs like Kalsi can wear helmets and gas masks safely, the military’s argument against them joining is essentially moot.
In the words of King from his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” “let us all hope that the dark clouds … will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities.”
Shane Newell is a junior journalism major and the opinions editor at the Daily 49er.