Indian origin airman in the United States, Darshan Shah, has been granted a religious waiver allowing him to wear a Tilak Chandlo while on duty. Darshan is stationed at FE Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
Since joining the service two years ago, Darshan, an aerospace medical technician assigned to the 90th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron, had been pursuing a waiver.
Shah garnered support from worldwide as word of his request for a religious waiver spread through online group chats.
Born in a Gujarati household, Shah grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, following Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha or BAPS. The religious symbol of this sect is a red dot or Chandlo surrounded by an orange U-shaped tilak.
“We live in a country where we’re allowed to practise and have faith in what we want. That’s what makes this such a great country. We’re not persecuted for what we follow or believe. If it wasn’t for the first amendment, I wouldn’t be able to do this at all. I wouldn’t be able to be who I am while being a military member or even a citizen,” said Shah through an official communication of the 90th Missile Wing Chaplain Corps.
On February 22, 2022, he was given permission to wear a Tilak Chandlo while in uniform for the first time.
“My friends from Texas, California, New Jersey, and New York are messaging me and my parents that they are very happy something like this happened in the Air Force,” said Shah.
“It’s something new. It’s something they’ve never heard of before or even thought was possible, but it happened. ”
Since starting basic military training in June 2020, he has been seeking a waiver to wear the Tilak Chandlo in uniform.
He checked in with the Air Force Global Strike Command’s Superintendent of Personal Programs every month for updates on the status of his waiver until it was accepted.
After various Hindu saints contacted him about Shah’s perseverance, the primary leader of Shah’s sect, Guruhari Mahant Swami Maharaj, shared a phone call to discuss the waiver with India.
