New Delhi: For the first time ever, a turban-wearing Sikh will be part of the British army’s 250-year-old Trooping the Colour ceremony. Coldstream Guardsman Charanpreet Singh Lall will be among 1,000 soldiers to march during the ceremony, which marks the commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday.
Trooping the Colour showcases army drills, music and horsemanship. It finds its origins in medieval preparations for battle when the monarchy’s flags and colours were paraded or ‘trooped’ for the soldiers to recognise.
The turban Lall wears on Saturday would feature a ceremonial cap star to match the bearskin hats traditionally worn by British soldiers.
According to a BBC report, Lall was born in Punjab and his family moved to the UK shortly after. Having joined the British Army in 2016, this will be Guardsman Lall's first ever participation in the event and he hopes it will be a “change in history”.
"I hope that more people like me, not just Sikhs but from other religions and different backgrounds will be encouraged to join the Army,” the British media quoted him as saying. "I'm quite proud and I know that a lot of other people are proud of me as well."
"I have never been made to feel different or left out," Lall told The Telegraph. "My family say I should be proud for them and the whole Sikh community."
A signaller in his Company headquarters, Guardsman Lall, said: "My mum was crying on the day I passed out so I wonder what is going to happen to her when she sees me in this."
The ceremony is staged every year on a Saturday in June to mark the monarch’s ‘official’ birthday, a tradition started in 1748. Queen Elizabeth was actually born on April 21, 1926.
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