“That day at the academy, as I stood outside the barbershop, I felt like I was betraying this upbringing. My 18-year-old identity was shattered. I didn’t want to look into the mirror for months. But I resolved to make this right.”Nearly a decade later, in 2016, Singh went to court to be able to serve with his articles of faith intact, leading to a landmark ruling that, today, allows all Army personnel to openly observe their religion. In 2020, the U.S. Air Force updated its dress code policy to be more inclusive, too.Surveys have revealed that Americans often perceive a “terrorist” to be a person with brown skin, wearing clothing seen as foreign. For young Sikhs like Simratpal Singh, it was not just important to turn the narrative; it was necessary.
In April this year, First Lieutenant Sukhbir Singh Toor became the latest in the long-running conflict. Toor is the first Sikh in the Marine Corps – a 256-year-old branch of the military – to request religious accommodation.
“The Marine Corps needs to show it really means what it has been saying about strength in diversity – that it doesn’t matter what you look like, it just matters that you can do your job,” said First Lt Toor in an NY Times interview.
“What we’ve been able to achieve in 2016 in the Army, will repeat itself with the Marine Corps in 2021,” said Sidhu. He said that legal campaigns of the past carried out by African American communities, women and the LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. military served as powerful legal precedents while fighting for Sikh officers.“We are very respectful of the concerns of the U.S. military, and of their history and traditions. But we also knew we could prove them wrong.”“We made very clear to the Marine Corps about what we want. If we’re not able to resolve those remaining concerns, we will have no choice but to go to the federal court and ask a judge to rule,” said Amandeep Singh Sidhu, Toor’s advocate.
But wins are important to highlight, too. Earlier this year, pictures of Second Lt Gurjiwan Singh Chahal graduating from the U.S. Military Academy went viral among South Asians and its diaspora. He was among the first two observant turbaned Sikh men to enrol and graduate from the academy. Another Sikh, Gurchetan Singh, became the first to join the Air National Guard force of the U.S. Air Force with his faith intact in 2019. He told VICE in an email statement that he’s grateful to have joined at a time like this. “No American should have to choose between their religion and their career,” he said.Even in 2021, studies show that Sikhs continue to be looked at as “foreign,” “automatically suspect” and “potentially terrorist” in the U.S, or misrepresented in popular culture.
Sidhu said it’s frustrating to start from scratch with each case. But he’s hopeful. “I think we’re at the tail end of the campaign,” he said. “We may not need to go to court to see this change happen. But we will if we have to. As of now, the Marines are on the wrong side of history.”Follow Pallavi Pundir on Twitter.“It might be naive but I’m optimistic that the world will be a better place for the younger generation. Perhaps they wouldn’t face the stereotypes, bigotry and racism that we navigated.”