Sikh Service in Uniform
Hersh Singh
Website
“In the last two world wars 83,005 turban-wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. They all died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the world, and during shell fire, with no other protection but the turban, the symbol of their faith.”… General Sir Frank Messervy.
Yet, why is it difficult for Sikhs to serve with their turbans and beards in the United States Armed Forces as well as the majority of police departments in the country? My great-grandfather fought in Egypt in WWII, and my dad went to Armed Forces Medical College in India, both Sikhs wearing turbans in Uniform. Then, why do I need a waiver to serve in the US Armed Forces?
I used websites and a book titled Warrior Saints and found out that Baltej Singh Dhillon pioneered the fight for Sikhs to serve in Uniform in North America. Then, through the authors of newspaper articles about Baltej Dhillon, I was able to contact and interview him for information regarding his journey in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). He thus became my primary source of information for this project.
My presentation is rich in visual formats: photographs and newsroom video clips. So my choices were between a documentary or a website. I chose the latter because I have created and maintain an active website, so I am familiar with this format.
Just like Rosa Parks’ stance, decades later led to Barack Obama becoming the US president, Baltej Singh Dhillon’s struggle in the RCMP enabled another turbaned Sikh - Harjit Singh Sajjan - becoming the defense minister of Canada for the second consecutive term.
Thus, Breaking Barriers in history is crucial in the generational advancement of equality, a laudable goal, and a constitutional right.