A student protest is now ensuing against a military academy in India after ten Muslims students from Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia University were kicked out of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp in Rohini after they refused to shave their beards.
"The authorities said either shave your beard or leave. Our bags were thrown out of the gate," claimed one of the ten students. They were also warned of police action after they refused to shave their beards before being thrown out of the camp during the sixth day of their stay.
If it had been a standard military order, then it would not have been a problem, but apparently, this was the first time they were thrown out just because of their facial hair, whereas it was allowed prior and was not even a problem for the camp authorities. One of the students has also stated that they wrote a plea explaining that their beards have a religious importance which is why they could not shave it, but it went unheeded.
It seems that the Indian Army only allowed Sikhs among the troops to wear turbans and sport a beard. However, none of the laws of the NCC states that a beard among students is prohibited. Some of the students in question even demanded that the officers cite a specific charge for throwing them out of the camp, but they were only told that they were practicing a lack of discipline.
This was not the first time that a Muslim was thrown out of service for simply growing a bead while on duty. Ansari Aaftab Ahmed from the Indian Air Force was also expelled from the armed forces after he grew a beard without his officer's permission. This was after the Indian Court had ruled out that Muslim personnel cannot keep their beards for religious reasons while in service. Ahmed, despite his petition and him seeking equality with the Sikhs, was not granted his religious right.
Other incidents of Muslim beard discrimination have taken place outside the military. In 2013, students were barred from taking an exam in the NCC due to their beards. In the future, Muslim beards might get the same treatment as the Sikhs due to a recommendation being pushed by the Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Commission, but whether or not it will pull through remains to be seen.
