I recall the Canadian Legion fuss over the Sikh turban a while back as quoted below.*
Quote: //
*Marching in a Canadian Veterans' Day parade last November, Pritam Singh Jauhal proudly wore the medals he had earned fighting for the British 8th Army in North Africa during World War II.
But when he and five other Sikh veterans tried to enter the local Royal Canadian Legion hall in a Vancouver suburb for a commemorative gathering, they were barred at the door. The dress code, legion officials explained, forbade headgear, and the men were wearing turbans. Because turbans are required wear for Sikh males, Jauhal and his colleagues declined to remove theirs.
//Unquote:
The Irony is that after the British Empire acquired India under Queen Victoria, Muslim’s Hindu's and Sikhs were drafted, fought valiantly and died in all of England’s wars
One could say it was not their wars and most likely had not Britain ruled them, they would never have died on the behalf of the British Empire ( of which Canada is a member)..
So I would have thought the Legion could have been a little gracious and cut them a little slack in this case.
Another irony is that the Sikh's were allowed the 'privilege' to override wearing a helmet into war and wear a turban instead, with all the inherent dangers..
General Frank Walter Messervy, a British Indian Army officer who served in World War I and II, described an observation he had of a particular kind of solider serving the British army:
"In the last two World Wars 83,005 turban-wearing Sikh soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded. They all died or were wounded for the freedom of Britain and the World, enduring shell fire with no other protection but the turban..."
Max.
