US Air Force permits Indian origin Hindu to wear Tilak while in uniform

An Indian-origin member of the United States Air Force is permitted to wear a Tilak while on duty.

A religious waiver has been granted to Darshan Shah, a US Air Force airman stationed at FE Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, allowing him to wear a Tilak Chandlo while on duty.

Darshan, an aerospace medical technician assigned to the 90th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron, had been pursuing a waiver since joining the service two years ago.

As word of Shah’s plea for a religious waiver spread through internet group conversations, he received support from all across the world.

For the first time on February 22, 2022, he was allowed permission to wear a Tilak Chandlo while in uniform.

Shah said, “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.”

Shah was born into a Gujarati family in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, who follow the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottan Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS.

A red dot, or “Chandlo,” is encircled by an orange U-shaped tilak as this sect’s sacred sign.

He has been seeking a dispensation to allow him to wear the Tilak Chandlo in uniform since beginning basic military training in June 2020.

He checked in with the Superintendent of Personal Programs at the Air Force Global Strike Command on a monthly basis for updates on the status of his waiver until it was approved.

The chief leader of Shah’s sect, Guruhari Mahant Swami Maharaj, shared a phone chat with India after numerous Hindu saints contacted him about Shah’s perseverance.