Darshan Shah, a technician with the US Air Force, was granted the religious waiver last month after a two-year wait. In 2017, the US Army permitted servicepersons to wear turbans, hijabs, and sport beards
Darshan Shah received a waiver to wear the Tilak Chandlo while in uniform on 22 February. Image Courtesy: Francis E Warren Air Force Base
In India, the controversy over wearing religious symbols in educational institutions continues to simmer. Meanwhile, in the United States, an India-origin airman in the US Air Force has been granted permission to wear a tilak while on duty.
Born in a Hindu family, Darshan Shah has been seeking a religious waiver to wear the tilak as part of his uniform since he started attending basic military training in June 2020. He was given a nod two years later, on 22 February, according to a press note from Francis E Warren Air Force Base, a US base in Wyoming.
Shah works as an aerospace medical technician at the air base and has been assigned to the 90th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron of the US Air Force.
“Wearing the Tilak Chandlo every day to work is amazing, to say it in one word,” said Shah. “People around my workplace are giving me handshakes, high-fives and congratulating me, because they know how hard I’ve tried to get this religious accommodation approved.”
For Shah, it’s a big win to combine “both of his main identities”, said the press note. He’s fought hard for the waiver. He first made the request when he was training at a boot camp, but was asked to wait until tech school to pursue it. There he was told to wait until his first duty station.
The wait is now over and Shah is delighted. “It’s who I am. Wearing it (the tilak) is special. It’s my way of getting through hardships and difficulties in life. It provides me guidance. It’s given me a load of great friends and an overall understanding of who I am in this world.”
Darshan Shah works as an aerospace medical technician at the air base. Image Courtesy: Francis E Warren Air Force Base
Expressing religious identity
The airman is grateful to live in a country that allows him the freedom to express his religious identity. “We live in a country where we’re allowed to practice and have faith in what we want,” he said. “That’s what makes this such a great country. We’re not persecuted for what we follow or believe. If it wasn’t for the first amendment, I wouldn’t be able to do this at all. I wouldn’t be able to be who I am while being a military member or even a citizen.”
Shah is from Minnesota, where he grew up with his parents and sisters. As a kid, he visited the temple every Sunday. When he was three, he moved to live with his grandparents in Gujarat who continued to raise him into Hinduism.
“My grandparents had a big influence on my religion,” Shah was quoted as saying in the press statement. “They taught me a lot about religion, festivals and customs. I would definitely say they had a positive impact on me. Not only with my religion, but with my mother tongue, my language, which is called Gujarati.”
After news of the waiver hit headlines, Shah has received support from the world over. From cousins in Australia to friends in California, everyone is reaching out to Shah saying there were thrilled “something like this happened in the Air Force”.
Turbans, hijabs, beards allowed in the US Army
The US military has over the years become more inclusive for minority religions and culture. On 3 January 2017, the army issued a new regulation which permitted servicepersons to wear turbans, hijabs, and beards.
The new set of rules allowed religious accommodations to be approved at the brigade-level. Previously, it was at the level of secretary of the army, according to a PTI report.
“This is a major progress, not just for the Sikh-American community but for our nation’s military. Sikh-Americans love this country and want a fair chance to serve in our country on equal footing. Today’s announcement will help do just that,” Congressman Joe Crowley had said in 2017.
“We are a stronger nation, with a stronger military because of our respect for religious and personal freedom,” he had said.
Before the changes were announced by the US Army, Sikhs and other servicepersons had to be granted a limited accommodation or permission to serve in the army while maintaining their articles of faith.
Such accommodations were neither permanent nor guaranteed, and had to be renewed after virtually every assignment. Service members were required to remove their articles of faith while their accommodation request was pending, subjecting them to the difficult position of choosing between their faith and job.
Thankfully, Darshan Shah does not have to make that choice now.
With inputs from agencies
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