Dhillon and the Barrier to Religious Freedom

Baltej Singh Dhillon was born and grew up in Malaysia. He immigrated to British Colombia, Canada at the age of 16 and studied criminology with the aim of becoming a lawyer, but decided to join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after volunteering as a translator for Asian immigrants. He applied to the RCMP in 1988, and in spite of meeting the entrance requirements at that time, he was not allowed in.  The RCMP dress code required a shaved beard and turbans were not allowed. But Dhillon was a Sikh, and he was religiously obliged to keep a beard and to wear a turban. He then fought the system and won his case in the Canadian Supreme Court, facing challenges along the way.

At his training in Regina, other members of his troop were cordial. But the first time he entered the mess hall, the room fell completely silent.

"When I walked in, there were 1,200 eyes looking at me … it was very intimidating," Dhillon recalled.

The following poem was written by a child and shared around the schoolyard in the heydays of opposition to RCMP uniform accommodation policy. It is a small but powerful (because it shows attitudes percolating to children) example of some of the postures the trailblazing officer faced at that time (Rafferty Baker).

"I'll dress up in my coat of red / And wear my laundry on my head".

"It's much better, they'll decide / If we ride camels in the musical ride."

The harassment accompanied Dhillon to his first assignment in Quesnel, B.C., where he was greeted with a large plywood sign: "Welcome to Quesnel, Turbocop." Dhillon assumed it was a welcoming message until he figured out from others what his partner had said, that he wouldn't back Dhillon up because he was wearing a turban. 

"All you've got is your partner, and if your partner's saying, 'I'm not backing you up' well, there goes your lifeline," said Dhillon.