US Federal court allows Sikh to join ROTC with articles of faith

By NewsGram Staff Writer

A US Federal court has allowed a Sikh student to enroll in its Reserve Officer Training Corps unit without shaving his beard, cutting long hair, and removing his turban.

In 2013, a student of Hofstra University, Iknoor Singh, was barred from enrolling in the ROTC program, unless he got rid of all his articles of faith.

The court ruled that the US Army's refusal to allow Iknoor to keep following his religious practices of Sikh faith violated his rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based program for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.

"I am very grateful that the freedom of religion our country fought so hard for, will allow me to pursue my dream career- serving this country as a military intelligence officer- without violating my faith," Iknoor was reported as saying by a media outlet.