Dastar

Significance

In the Khalsa society, the turban signifies many virtues:

Sayings

There are many Punjabi idioms and proverbs that describe how important a dastār is in Sikh's lives. Bhai Gurdas wrote:

"Tthande khuhu naike pag visar(i) aya sir(i) nangai

Ghar vich ranna(n) kamlia(n) dhussi liti dekh(i) kudhange" ("A man, after taking a bath at the well during winter time, forgot his dastār at the well and came home bareheaded.

When the women saw him at home without a dastār, they thought someone had died and they started to cry.")

Uniform of Sikhism

The dastār is considered an integral part of the unique Sikh identity. The bare head is not considered appropriate as per gurbani. If a Sikh wants to become one with his/her guru, he/she must look like a guru (wear a dastār). Guru Gobind Singh stated:

Khalsa mero roop hai khaas. Khalse me hau karo niwas. ("Khalsa is a true picture of mine. I live in Khalsa.")

Maintaining long hair and tying the dastār is seen as a token of love, obedience of the wishes of Sikh gurus, and acceptance to the Will of God. A quote from Sikhnet:

The dastār is our Guru's gift to us. It is how we crown ourselves as the Singhs and Kaurs who sit on the throne of commitment to our own higher consciousness. For men and women alike, this projective identity conveys royalty, grace, and uniqueness. It is a signal to others that we live in the image of Infinity and are dedicated to serving all. The turban doesn't represent anything except complete commitment. When you choose to stand out by tying your dastār, you stand fearlessly as one single person standing out from six billion people. It is a most outstanding act.

Styles of dastārs

Modern Sikh men mainly wear four kinds of turban: Wattan Wali Turban, Patiala Shahi Turban, UK/Kenyan style and Dumala. The more traditional Turban styles are the Darbara Singh Dummala, Dastar Bunga (the original turban of the Khalsa) and the Puratan Nok Pagg. A comfortable and casual style of turban tied is the gol parna.

The Dastar are closely related to Dumalla.

Dastar Bunga

Dastar bunga, or turban fortress in Persian, is a style of turban used by a specific sect within the Sikhs, the Akali Nihangs (egoless immortals). As an essential part of their faith the warriors used the turban as a store for their expansive range of weapons.

This was the original Turban of the Khalsa Fauj of the Gurus. The Gurus wore this style during battle and the Mughal style while in peace. The Dastar Bunga is common in the Nihang traditions. The dark blue tunic (chola) and turban (dumalla) surmounted with quoit and dagger were first worn in 1699 at the time of the first Khalsa initiation ceremony of the double-edged sword (khanda-pahul). Next came the turban-flag (farra or farla), which was introduced by Guru Gobind Singh in 1702 during a clash with a Rajput hill king in the vicinity of Anandpur. The Khalsa's battle standard was cut down when its bearer, Akali Man Singh Nihang, fell wounded. Henceforth, the Guru decided that the dark blue flag should be worn as a part of Man Singh's turban, fluttering from its peak should be a yellow loose cloth for as long as its bearer had life in him. It is said that the full magnificence of the Akal-Nihang uniform emerged the following year.

UK/Kenyan Style

The British Raj mandated all Sikh soldiers in lower ranks tied a single turban (not double-stitched), which was folded instead of stretched as a pooni and wound around the head without a pinch. This style similar to that of which constables of the Punjab Police still tie today. When Sikhs left India to work abroad in Kenya, they took this style with them but adapted it slightly for fashion, shortening the length (5 metres instead of eight) and tucking in the final wrap at an angle which produced a sharp, triangular point above the centrepoint (known as a "Chunj"). They also commonly starched their turbans, allowing them to stay in shape and be re-worn for up to 3 months after tying. When Kenyan Sikhs arrived in the UK during the 1960s and 70s, they continued to tie this style of triangular and starched turban there, making it known as both the UK and Kenyan style turban due to its popularity in both regions.

Nok Pagg

This is a very common Sikh Turban style and is most common in the Indian state of Punjab, India. The Nok (meaning point) Dastar is a double wide Dastar. 5 or more meters of the dastar cloth are cut in half then in two or three meter pieces. They are sewn together to make it double wide, thus creating a "double patti" or a nok dastar. This dastar is larger than most Sikh dastars but contains fewer wraps around the head. It is generally divided into two sub-styles: Wattan Wali (wrinkled) and Patiala Shahi (Patiala Royal). Both have the exact same shape, except Patiala Shahi features clear lines (known as "Larrs") on its left side, whereas Wattan Wali replaces these "larrs" with wrinkles instead of clear pleats and is slightly flatter at the front of the turban due to how the fabric is folded to create the wrinkles (as opposed to the pleats in Patiala Shahi turbans creating a more "beaked" look at the front, known as a Nok).

Morni Dastar

Another common Nok style is the Morni Dastar. This is essentially a Patiala Shahi pagg with a very pointed front (Nok) as compared the flatter Patiala Shahi style, and was given the name "Morni" (meaning "peacock" in Punjabi) due to its "beaked" Nok resembling the beak of a peacock. The style often features very clean larhs (lines or layers, typically on the turban's left side) and is very popular amongst younger boys in Punjab due to its elegant, neat and royal appearance.

Bhangra singer Inderjit Nikku is famous for his Morni style Dastar and to helped boost its popularity in the early 2000s, as well as other popular singers such as Lehmber Hussainpuri and Diljit Dosanjh, whose song "Paggan Pochviyan" (pointed turban) launched him to fame and was written to honour the style.

Chand Tora Dumalla

The Chand Tora Dumalla is the style of turban generally worn by Nihang Sikhs. This is a warrior style turban meant for going into battle. The "Chand Tora" is a metal symbol consisting of a crescent and a double edged sword, it is held in place at the front of the turban by a woven chainmail cord tied in a pattern within the turban to protect the head from slashing weapons. This was not the original battle turban for the Khalsa as the Dastar Bunga was the first.

Harassment faced by turban-wearing Sikhs

After the September 11, 2001, attacks in USA, a number of dastār-wearing Sikhs faced assaults by some Americans who confused them with Muslims, who were being associated with terrorism. Due to Sikh turbans resembling the imama turban that Osama bin Laden wore in his most iconic photo, United States Department of Justice worked with the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) to issue a poster aimed at getting Americans acquainted with Sikh turbans.

Conflicts with civil law

In modern times, there have been conflicts between Sikhs—especially those outside India—and laws which conflict with always wearing a dastār. Sikh soldiers refused to wear helmets during World War I and World War II. Many Sikhs have refused to remove the dastār even in jails. Sikh scholar and social activist Bhai Randhir Singh underwent a fast to be able to wear a dastār in prison.

In the UK in 1982, the headmaster of a private school refused to admit an orthodox Sikh as a pupil unless he removed the dastār and cut his hair. This led to the long legal battle, Mandla v. Dowell Lee, a case which contributed to the creation of the legal term "ethno-religious".

In Canada in 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Baltej Singh Dhillon, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, should be allowed to wear a dastār while on duty. See the case of Grant v. Canada A.G (1995) 125 D.L.R. (4th) 556 (F.C.A.) aff'd (1994) 81 F.T.R. 195 (F.C.T.D.) (Reed J.) where the court said that the Sikh RCMP officer had a constitutional right to wear his dastār and that the government's decision to accommodate him was required to protect freedom of religion:

"The defendants and the intervenors, particularly the able argument of Ms. Chotalia for the Alberta Civil Liberties Association, turn the plaintiffs' argument respecting discrimination on its head. They argue that the Commissioner's decision was designed to prevent discrimination occurring to Khalsa Sikhs. As such they argue that that decision offends none of the provisions of the Charter, indeed that it is required by section 15 of the Charter." para 103 Shirish Chotalia, Alberta lawyer, represented the Sikh Society of Calgary, the Alberta Civil Liberties Association, and the Friends of the Sikhs, pro bono.

In the United States in 2002, Jasjit Singh Jaggi, a Sikh traffic policeman employed with the New York Police Department, was forced to leave his job because he insisted on wearing a dastār on duty. He petitioned with the New York Human Rights Commission, and in 2004 a US judge ruled that he should be reinstated.

In France in 2004, the Sikh community protested against the introduction of a law prohibiting the display of any religious symbols in state-run schools. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee urged the French Government to review the bill, stating that the ban would have grave consequences for the Sikhs. The Government of India discussed the matter with the French officials, who stated that an exception for turbaned Sikh boys in French public schools was not possible.

In 2007, the Canadian government introduced new procedures for accommodation of Sikhs in regard to passport photos, driver licensing, and other legal licensing. This bill was also supported by the Sikh Council of Canada.

In April 2009, Capt. Kamaljit Singh Kalsi and 2nd Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan challenged a U.S. Army order that they remove their turbans and shave their beards. In March 2010, Rattan became the first Sikh to graduate Army Officer School at Fort Sam Houston since the exemption was eliminated in 1984; a waiver was granted for his religion. Kalsi will also attend basic training.

In Ireland, Ravinder Singh Oberoi applied to become a member of the voluntary police force Garda Reserve but was not permitted to wear a dastār in 2007. He unsuccessfully claimed discrimination on grounds of race and religion; the High Court ruled in 2013 on a preliminary issue that he could not claim under employment equality legislation as he was not an employee and was not in vocational training. But in 2019, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris granted exemptions for uniform alterations based on the Garda uniform code to allow officers from some ethnic communities to wear clothing related to their religion. Oberoi is currently working in the GR as of November 2020.

Instances of acceptance

In 2012 British media reported that a Guardsman of the Scots Guards Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar became the first Sikh to guard Buckingham Palace wearing a dastār instead of the traditional bearskin.

Sikh members of the Canadian Armed Forces are permitted to wear the dastār on all orders of dress within the forces, although the unit commander retains the right to order for adjustments should a conflict arise with operational safety. The colour of the dastār for Sikh service members within the Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force are required to match the colours of their unit's headgear. Sikhs serving within the Royal Canadian Navy are required to wear a white dastār when peaked caps are worn, and a black dastār when berets are worn. The unit's cap badge must also be worn on the dastār. Additionally, some units in the Canadian Armed Forces add a ribbon matching their regimental colours, worn crossed behind the cap badge and tucked in at the back.

Helmet exemption

In several parts of the world, Sikh riders are exempted from legal requirements to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle or a bicycle, which cannot be done without removing the dastār. These places include India, Nepal and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba. Other places include Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. In Queensland, Australia, riders of bicycles and mobility scooters are exempt from wearing an approved helmet, but not motorcyclists.

In 2008, Baljinder Badesha, a Sikh man living in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, lost a court case in which he challenged a $110 ticket received for wearing a dastār instead of a helmet while riding his motorcycle.

In September 2016 a court in Quebec, Canada, ruled that Sikh truck drivers working at the Port of Montreal must wear hard hats when required for safety reasons, effectively requiring them to remove their dastār. The judge stated that their safety outweighed their religious freedom. Previously Sikh drivers were able to avoid wearing hard hats if they remained within their vehicle, but this increased the loading times and was not commercially acceptable.

Sikh women and turbans

Sikh women generally do not wear turbans, apart from members of the Akali-Nihang and AKJ sects within Sikhism; there is also the 3HO new religious movement (pejoratively referred to as a cult). However, some mainstream Sikh women in the diaspora from the second-generation onwards have started wearing turbans as a means of gender-equality. According to the official Sikh Rehat Maryada, the question of Sikh women wearing turbans is optional and not mandated nor necessarily prescribed.