Captain Simratpal Singh is a decorated Sikh-American officer and combat veteran. In a video published by , he says that he was really surprised when he found out that he could not serve in the army with his articles of faith.
“Sikhism is the world’s fifth largest religion. A Sikh’s uniform is a beard and a turban and all the articles of faith. When I wear them, I’m representing equality, justice, fairness, and telling the world this is what I stand for and this is what I’ll fight for. A Sikh would rather lose his head than lose his turban”, he says.
Source: Great Big Story
Growing up, he had never differentiated between Sikhism and military service.
“Sikhs and military services go hand in hand”.
It was something that ran in his blood. His great grandfather served in World War I for the British Indian Army and he believed that there was no conflict between the Sikh values and army values.
Simratpal Singh started his military career at Westpoint more than ten years ago when he was just eighteen. At that point, he knew that he had to make the difficult decision to choose between his faith and his desire to serve the country. The grooming standards in military were strict and everyone looked the same.
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Once, he made the decision to serve the country, he inadvertently found himself in line outside the barber shop. He mentions that the ladies at the barber shop were quiet surprised to see him there as he had very long hair falling all the way to his back.
“I don’t know if they understood what was going on, my entire life was changing, everything, my self-image was being shattered” he says.
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At that point he made the decision to serve the country but also to find out a way to come back to the articles of his faith at a later stage.
It was only when Simratpal found out about the other two Sikh gentlemen in the army (Capt. Tajdeep Rattan and Maj. Kamaljeet Kalsi) who were keeping the articles of their faith while serving in the army, that he realised that he too could do the same. He found out that there was a way to request religious accommodation.
“I was simply asking for what I believe were my rights.” He said
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Singh, who was a West Point graduate, Army Ranger, and Bronze Star recipient, received a temporary accommodation to serve in the military with his articles of faith.
On March 31st 2016, Captain Simratpal Singh received permanent accommodation.
Source: Great Big Story/Facebook
“The first day that I wore my uniform with my beard and turban…it was an unreal feeling. When I look at the mirror now I feel a sense of pride and completeness,” he says.
Unlike other Sikh Americans who had requested religious accommodation at the beginning of their military careers, Singh had already been serving in the U.S. Army for over 10 years with short hair and no beard or turban.
His two worlds came together that day – this is the story of Captain Simranjit Singh’s holy fight.
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