Dastar
The Khalsa Sikh men and women, who keep the Five Ks, wear the turban to cover their long, uncut hair (kesh).
")Bhai Rattan Singh Bhangu, one of the earliest Sikh historians, wrote in Sri Gur Panth Parkash:[5] "Doi vele utth bandhyo dastare, pahar aatth rakhyo shastar sambhare Kesan ki kijo pritpal, nah(i) ustran se katyo vaal Tie your dastār twice a day and wear shaster (weapons to protect dharma), and keep them with care, 24 hours a day.
"In the Khalsa society, the turban signifies many virtues: There are many Punjabi idioms and proverbs that describe how important a dastār is in Sikh's lives.
Bhai Gurdas wrote:[6] "Tthande khuhu naike pag visar(i) aya sir(i) nangai Ghar vich ranna(n) kamlia(n) dhussi liti dekh(i) kudhange" ("A man, after taking a bath at the well during winter time, forgot his dastār at the well and came home bareheaded.
")Maintaining long hair and tying the dastār is seen as a token of love, obedience of the wishes of Sikh gurus, and acceptance to the Will of God.
The dark blue tunic (chola) and turban (dumalla) surmounted with quoit and dagger were first worn in 1699 at the time of the first Khalsa initiation ceremony of the double-edged sword (khanda-pahul).
Next came the turban-flag (farra or farla), which was introduced by Guru Gobind Singh in 1702 during a clash with a Rajput hill king in the vicinity of Anandpur.
Henceforth, the Guru decided that the dark blue flag should be worn as a part of Man Singh's turban, fluttering from its peak should be a yellow loose cloth for as long as its bearer had life in him.
[citation needed] The later British Sikh soldiers also wore the Pharla which looks like a loose cloth extending from a Nok Pagg.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks in USA, a number of dastār-wearing Sikhs faced assaults by some Americans who confused them with Muslims, who were being associated with terrorism.
Sikh scholar and social activist Bhai Randhir Singh underwent a fast to be able to wear a dastār in prison.
In the UK in 1982, the headmaster of a private school refused to admit an orthodox Sikh as a pupil unless he removed the dastār and cut his hair.
[13] In the United States in 2002, Jasjit Singh Jaggi, a Sikh traffic policeman employed with the New York Police Department, was forced to leave his job because he insisted on wearing a dastār on duty.
[15][16] The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee urged the French Government to review the bill, stating that the ban would have grave consequences for the Sikhs.
[19] In March 2010, Rattan became the first Sikh to graduate Army Officer School at Fort Sam Houston since the exemption was eliminated in 1984; a waiver was granted for his religion.
[20] In Ireland, Ravinder Singh Oberoi applied to become a member of the voluntary police force Garda Reserve but was not permitted to wear a dastār in 2007.
Additionally, some units in the Canadian Armed Forces add a ribbon matching their regimental colours, worn crossed behind the cap badge and tucked in at the back.
In several parts of the world, Sikh riders are exempted from legal requirements to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle or a bicycle, which cannot be done without removing the dastār.
[27][28] In 2008, Baljinder Badesha, a Sikh man living in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, lost a court case in which he challenged a $110 ticket received for wearing a dastār instead of a helmet while riding his motorcycle.
Previously Sikh drivers were able to avoid wearing hard hats if they remained within their vehicle, but this increased the loading times and was not commercially acceptable.
