US President Barack Obama has promised Sikhs to look into their demand to allow them to serve in the American military "without restrictions" on their articles of faith like growing a beard and wearing a turban, according to a prominent community organisation.
Rajwant Singh, Chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, met Obama at the White House on Wednesday and pressed him to allow Sikhs in US Armed Forces without any restrictions, the organisation said in a release.
Mr Singh and his wife were invited to the White House Holiday reception hosted by the First Family.
"You have to allow Sikhs to serve in the Army without any restriction. They are only able to serve if Pentagon gives them an exception. This needs to go. Please do not leave office without taking away this restriction against Sikhs," Mr Singh told the President.
Mr Obama, in turn, promised to look into the matter and agreed to follow up
"US President promised to look into the matter and agreed to follow up," the release said.
It further quoted Mr Obama as saying: "Sikhs are great warriors. I will look into it and will follow up."
Mr Singh also pointed out to Mr Obama that Canada has a turban wearing Sikh as its defence minister, which the President acknowledged.
Earlier this month, in a rare exception, an active-duty Sikh combat soldier in the US army was granted a temporary religious accommodation that allowed him to grow his beard and wear a turban.
ANTI-MUSLIM RHETORIC HURTING SIKHS TOO
US President Barack Obama has acknowledged that Sikh-Americans are often the target of threats and harassment as they are "perceived to be Muslims".
Obama, while seeking to reassure Muslim-Americans in his historic address to minority community from the mosque in Baltimore, Maryland, termed the recent anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US poll campaign as "inexcusable".
"Since 9/11, but more recently, since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, you've seen too often people conflating the horrific acts of terrorism with the beliefs of an entire faith.
And of course, recently, we've heard inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslim Americans that has no place in our country," he said in a veiled jibe at Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump and others.
"No surprise, then, that threats and harassment of Muslim-Americans have surged," he said on Wednesday. Obama pointed out that twice last year threats were made against children at the very mosque he was visiting.
"Around the country, women wearing the hijab have been targeted. We've seen children bullied. We've seen mosques vandalised. Sikh Americans and others who are perceived to be Muslims have been targeted, as well," Obama said, noting that Sikh-Americans are often victimised for their appearance.
Obama's acknowledgement of violence against Sikhs comes at a time when there have been a number of incidents of attacks and discrimination against the community.
A 68-year-old Sikh man was stabbed to death in California's Fresno city on January 1 while in December another elderly Sikh man was brutally assaulted by two persons in Fresno.
