Above: Iknoor Singh
Current Events
Washington, DC Judge Chides US Army For Discrimination
ARMY TIMES
A Hofstra University student's two-year struggle to enter his school's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (“ROTC“) program while maintaining the unshorn hair, beard and turban that are mandated by his Sikh faith took a major step forward Friday, June 12, 2015, when a judge ruled the US Army should accommodate his request for a religious waiver to standard grooming standards.
Iknoor Singh, a junior who speaks multiple languages and said he wishes to serve as a military intelligence officer, plans to apply for admission in the fall semester, said Manmeet Singh, a lawyer with United Sikhs who worked on the case.
"We hope the Army will comply with the court's decision and allow him to enroll," Manmeet Singh said. "All he has been given is an opportunity to compete for a commission. This is fair play."
The ruling, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C., is limited to the ROTC program only, not guaranteeing Iknoor a permanent waiver should he become eligible for a commission.
It cites previous exemptions to grooming regulations -- not just for the few Sikhs in service, but for other religions and for shaving profiles, more than 100,000 of which have been issued since 2007, the ruling states.
"The relief plaintiff seeks ... would not require the Army to guarantee him a commission, or even a contract," Jackson wrote, "and it stops far short of the permanent relief the Army has granted to tens of thousands of soldiers for medical and religious reasons."
The ruling was "kind of surreal," Iknoor Singh said. "This is something I have been fighting for for two to three years. I'm excited and nervous; very excited to learn."
Asked whether the US Army would abide by the order, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ben Garrett said the service is "examining the court's ruling," and that it "takes pride in sustaining a culture where all personnel are treated with dignity and respect and not discriminated against based on race, color, religion, gender and national origin."
A LONG PROCESS
Iknoor Singh requested a religious accommodation waiver in April 2013 but was denied by the enrollment officer at the New York school's ROTC program, according to the court's ruling. An appeal to the department chair later that year was denied; a general officer denied a subsequent appeal in early 2014.
In October of that year, Lt. Gen. James McConville, Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, rejected another request, saying a waiver could not be offered until Iknoor Singh had enrolled in ROTC, meaning the student would have to shave his beard, cut his hair and remove his turban before requesting to keep all three.
The decision created a "classic Catch-22," said Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital, which stepped in to assist with the case.
After the suit was filed, the Army accepted Iknoor's application, according to the ruling, then denied his request for religious accommodation via a seven-page letter from McConville. The letter cited concerns about health and safety, unit cohesion, and readiness, among others.
The judge ruled that McConville's arguments "do not withstand strict scrutiny," citing the existing grooming exceptions, the lack of tactical operations performed by ROTC cadets (which might require removal of facial hair for safety reasons) and, most extensively, the honorable service performed by other Sikhs who'd received such exemptions.
"[T]he undisputed evidence in the record indicates that each of these men served – or are serving – with their articles of faith intact without any of the negative consequences that defendants predict would flow from granting a similar exception in this case," the judge wrote, citing multiple praise-filled performance reviews of Sikh officers and enlisted soldiers, and the Bronze Star Medal earned in Afghanistan by Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, a Sikh doctor now in the Army Reserve.
"The praise heaped on each man's service – including, in particular, for their discipline and leadership – stands in stark contrast to LTG McConville's conclusion that permitting plaintiff to maintain his articles of faith would undermine the quality of his training, unit cohesion and morale, military readiness, and the credibility of the officer corps," the ruling states.
Lawyer Manmeet Singh said Iknoor Singh remains committed to service, and has been auditing classes he wasn't permitted to enroll in.
"This was a last resort," he said of the lawsuit. "He could do nothing else whatsoever to get relief."
[Courtesy: Army Times. Edited for sikhchic.com]
June 17, 2015
Conversation about this article
1: Sarvjit Singh (Millis, Massachusetts, USA), June 17, 2015, 1:29 PM.
It is a small step towards the larger objective for Sikh-Americans to be able to serve in the US Military. If once we can overcome this obstacle, then we won't have to worry about other uniformed service in the US. On the other hand, it sounds very pathetic, because all 3-4 turbaned Sikhs are in non-combat roles, we are struggling even to be in those roles. I was watching the Military channel on Cable about WWII, and the very first scene in color comes up with the Sikh Regiment soldiers marching in Khaki during those days. We need to work hard with our local communities and make awareness of our distinctness versus being perceived as Muslims or Hindus. It is a question of survival in the US, Canada, etc.
2: Gurjender Singh (Maryland, USA ), June 17, 2015, 6:28 PM.
My salute goes to this young man, Iknoor Singh, for his commitment towards Sikhi when I see other youths in USA and India who are removing their turbans without any reason but to look like others.
3: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), June 17, 2015, 9:30 PM.
With your name, Iknoor Singh, you are born to stand out. Stick on and wear them out. On the same page stands tall the handsome Major Kamaljeet Singh. To further educate all is the current running series on sikhchic.com, the dignified 'Order of Service' detailing a sombre interfaith paying homage to the Sikhs for their signal contribution in World War I. Iknoor, you are bound to win ... it is "nischay kar apni jeet karon ..."
4: Brig (Retd) Nawab Singh Heer (New York, USA), June 18, 2015, 9:51 AM.
A positive outcome, but we are still far away from what we want to achieve. The Court has given judgement for only Iknoor Singh. Manmeet has done a commendable job. We must now fight for general permission for all other young Sikhs to be able to joining the US Forces without having to go into the process of approval case by case. Let all organizations join hands and heads and get it resolved in 2015. By the way, the judgement given in this case is worth reading and worth using for our future arguments. Good show, Manmeet, keep it up.
5: RP Singh (Palo Alto, California, USA), June 19, 2015, 4:47 AM.
From a Sikh perspective, is it worth fighting to serve in the American military, given its torture practices, drone strikes, and disrespect for human rights? Over 100,000 civilians were killed in Iraq, against 70,000 combatants. If a Sikh killed someone in the Iraq war, it is most likely that they killed a civilian. Do we want the dastaar to have the 'right' to do that? I am having trouble understanding this from the perspective of gurbani, rather than American rights or service to the crown, neither of which recognize the sovereignty and teachings of Guru Granth Sahib.