Chandigarh, March 29

A lawsuit brought by three Sikh American soldiers was filed in a US federal court on Tuesday against the Department of Defence. Specialist Kanwar Singh, Specialist Harpal Singh and Private Arjan Singh Ghotra have sought the right to serve their country without being forced to compromise their religion.The lawsuit, filed by the Sikh Coalition, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and McDermott Will & Emery, has demanded that the Army accommodate their religious articles of faith so that they can begin Basic Combat Training with their various units in May. The lawsuit was filed after the US Department of Defence ignored a letter that was sent on March 23.The new lawsuit follows the March 4 federal court ruling that the Army was prohibited from subjecting a decorated Sikh American soldier, Captain Simratpal Singh, to unprecedented, discriminatory testing. A final Army decision regarding Capt Singh’s landmark religious accommodation request is due by March 31.“We had hoped that we would not have to file a second lawsuit on behalf of three more Sikh soldiers, who simply want to practise their faith freely while serving their nation,” said Sikh Coalition’s legal director Harsimran Kaur. “However, the defence department has remained unresponsive.” Last year, 27 retired US Generals had called on the Department of Defence to lift the ban on practising Sikhs. — TNS