Chandigarh, October 5, 2025 — Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal has made a heartfelt appeal to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, urging him to promptly address the U.S. military’s recent decision to ban beards. This policy, reportedly implemented by the Trump administration, is causing widespread anguish and concern among Sikhs globally, as it threatens their fundamental right to practice their faith without discrimination.
Mr. Badal’s intervention follows a statement from U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, which outlined a new military grooming policy restricting beards, with rare exceptions only for special forces. This directly impacts Sikh service members, for whom an unshorn beard is a sacred symbol of their religious identity.
In his letter to Minister Jaishankar, Badal underscored the profound distress felt by Sikhs worldwide and called for an immediate resolution. He requested that the Minister engage with the U.S. government at an appropriate level to ensure this discriminatory policy is reversed, allowing Sikhs to continue serving their country while adhering to their religious beliefs.
Badal emphasized that the proposed ban goes against the very spirit of religious freedom, a principle deeply cherished in U.S. democracy. He also recalled that the U.S. government had previously recognized and upheld the right of Sikh members in the armed forces to maintain their external religious symbols, including turbans and beards. This was notably established after Sikh officers, Captain Simran Preet Singh Lamba and Dr. Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, successfully advocated for these accommodations in 2010.