Chandigarh, Oct 5 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Sunday appealed to Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to take up the issue of ban on beards in the United States military with its government to ensure Sikhs can practise their faith without any discrimination.

In a letter to the External Affairs Minister, the SAD President said Sikhs all over the world were deeply anguished and concerned over US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s statement effectively banning beards for Sikhs serving in the US defence forces.

He urged the minister to take up the issue at an appropriate level to ensure this discriminatory decision was not implemented and Sikhs continued to be allowed to practise their faith as before.

Sukhbir Badal while drawing the attention of the External Affairs Minister about an impending ban on Sikhs in the US army maintaining their religious identity with regard to the five cardinal symbols the five Kakaars, including turban, hair and beard, and appealed for an early initiative on behalf of the Indian government in this regard.

Badal said the decision ran against the principle of freedom to practice one’s religion, a cornerstone of US democracy.

He said the US government had categorically acknowledged the right of the Sikh members of the US armed forces to preserve their external symbols of religious identity, including turban and beard, allowing a plea in 2010 by two Sikh officers, Capt. Simran Preet Singh Lamba and Dr Maj Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi.

Badal said the Sikhs all over the world were deeply anguished and concerned at the Secretary of Defense’s statement in this context and were hoping for an early resolution of this issue.

The North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) has already expressed concern and opposition to the Pentagon’s latest directive rolling back religious accommodations for facial hair in the US military.

–IANS

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