US Air Force Airman Darshan Shah, born into a Hindu family, has been granted religious exemption for the first time that allows him to wear a red dot while on duty Darshan, an aerospace medical technician assigned to the 90th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron, belongs to a religious sect called Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottan Swaminarayan Sanstha or BAPS.
The members of this sect wear a red dot or Chandlo surrounded by an orange U-shaped tilak.
It was during training at the boot camp that Shah first demanded religious concessions. But he was told to wait until he joined the tech school. He was then told again to wait until he reached the first duty station. Finally, the concession on the basis of religion was approved on February 22, 2022,
Shah had garnered support from all across the world as word of his request for a religious waiver spread through online group chats. “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.”
Shah feels proud that he lives in a country where he is free to express his religious freedom openly, both in uniform and outside. Shah said he lives in a country that allows its citizens to practice and believe in what they want. “We are not persecuted for what we follow or believe. Without the First Amendment, I would not be able to do this. I can not be myself when I am a member of the military or a citizen, ” he said.
