Darshan Shah, an Indian-origin member of the United States Air Force, received a permit to wear Tilak while on duty.
Darshan Shah, a US Air Force airman stationed at FE Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, received a religious waiver. Thereby, allowing him to wear a Tilak Chandlo while on duty.
Darshan is an aerospace medical technician assigned to the 90th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron. He had been pursuing a waiver since joining the service two years ago.
As word of Shah’s plea for a religious waiver spread through internet group conversations, he received support from all across the world.
For the first time on February 22, 2022, he got permission to wear a Tilak Chandlo while in uniform.
“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 was born into a Gujarati family in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. They worship the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha or BAPS.
A red dot, or “Chandlo,” is in the middle of an orange U-shape tilak as this sect’s holy sign.
He has been seeking a dispensation to allow him to wear the Tilak Chandlo in uniform since beginning basic military training in June 2020.
He checked in with the Superintendent of Personal Programs at the Air Force Global Strike Command monthly for updates on the status of his waiver until it received approval.
The chief leader of Shah’s sect, Guruhari Mahant Swami Maharaj, shared a phone chat with India. It is after numerous Hindu saints contacted him about Shah’s perseverance.