Tuesday, December 23, 2025
ADVT 
International

How This Sikh Army Veteran Stood Out At Democratic National Convention

Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 Jul, 2016 02:52 PM
    An Indian American, Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, stood out in his pink turban among a group of US military veterans at the Democratic National Convention stage to root for Hillary Clinton as the party's presidential nominee.
     
    Kalsi, accompanied retired General John Allen on stage along with a group of military veterans at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia on Thursday night.
     
    Standing behind Allen as he spoke, Major Kalsi's pink turban grabbed eyeballs.
     
    Allen said that under Clinton the country will not "abandon the world", and pursue enemies, defeat the Islamic State and stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
     
     
    Kalsi, an emergency room doctor, served 15 years in the US Army, some of it in the "very violent and bloody theatre" of the war in Afghanistan, according to News India-Times newspaper. 
     
    There he had treated many victims of improvised explosive devices, the crude home-made bombs. 
     
    In 2009 he became the first Sikh in the US military to receive permission to wear a beard and turban, according to The New York Times.
     
    On Wednesday, the spotlight was shone on three leaders from the Indian American community recognising their rising role in the US.
     
    The president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Neera Tanden, spoke of her own family's difficulties and how she was helped by the US government programmes that Clinton wanted to preserve and strengthened.
     
     
    Representative Ami Bera of California was on stage to demonstrate the party's diversity in Congress. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is running for Congress from Illinois, was presented as a "New Leader of Tomorrow".

    MORE International ARTICLES

    India-Born Masood Khan Wins $3.1 Million Discrimination Suit Against Chicago Police Department

    India-Born Masood Khan Wins $3.1 Million Discrimination Suit Against Chicago Police Department
    Masood Khan won $3.1 million in compensation, along with Glenford Flowers, a Belize-born man, as victims of the discriminatory hiring policy

    India-Born Masood Khan Wins $3.1 Million Discrimination Suit Against Chicago Police Department

    Indian American Pavithra Nagarajan Danseuse Named For US Presidential Scholars

    Indian American Pavithra Nagarajan Danseuse Named For US Presidential Scholars
    An Indian American danseuse has been nominated for 2016 US Presidential Scholars in the Arts, one of the nation's highest honours for high school students.

    Indian American Pavithra Nagarajan Danseuse Named For US Presidential Scholars

    UK Newspaper Takes Stand On ‘Hindu Nationalism’, To Use Bombay, Not Mumbai

    UK Newspaper Takes Stand On ‘Hindu Nationalism’, To Use Bombay, Not Mumbai
    The city's name was officially changed to Mumbai in 1995 to distance itself from the colonial term - Bombay.

    UK Newspaper Takes Stand On ‘Hindu Nationalism’, To Use Bombay, Not Mumbai

    Pandit Jasraj Honoured In Houston

    Pandit Jasraj Honoured In Houston
    Pandit Jasraj has been honoured in Houston for his lifelong contribution to classical Indian art. He is happy that he is able to popularise Hindustani music in the US.

    Pandit Jasraj Honoured In Houston

    Indian-Origin Diplomat Harinder Sidhu Australia's New Envoy To India

    Indian-Origin Diplomat Harinder Sidhu Australia's New Envoy To India
    She is the third Indian-origin envoy in India, after the US and Canadian envoys and the second Indian-origin Australian high commissioner in India.

    Indian-Origin Diplomat Harinder Sidhu Australia's New Envoy To India

    Pervez Musharraf In ICU After High Blood Pressure

    Pervez Musharraf In ICU After High Blood Pressure
    Former President of Pakistan and chief of All Pakistan Muslim League, Pervez Musharraf was on Thursday admitted to hospital after he fainted at his home.

    Pervez Musharraf In ICU After High Blood Pressure