When Faith Becomes a Vortex of One's Life

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 4 June 2025 2025 “Without the army uniform, I may be a Catholic. But with the uniform, I’m part of my regiment and will follow the disciplines of the force. Our regimental identity is above religion, caste, and community.” -A Catholic military officer, who preferred to remain anonymous A court in India’s national capitalhas upheld the termination of a Christian army officer for “indiscipline,” after he persistently refused to lead a weekly religious parade, considering it against his faith. Officer Samuel Kamalesan “has kept his religion above a lawful command from his superior. This clearly is an act of indiscipline,” said the Delhi High Court in its May 30 order. The court upheld the termination. Kamalesan, a Protestant Christian, was terminated in March 2021, four years after he joined the army, without providing him any benefits, such as a pension or gratuity. He joined the force as a Lieutenant and was appointed the troop leader of a squadron comprising Sikh soldiers. As the leader of his troop, Kamalesan was required to lead the troop in a weekly parade to a Gurudwara, a Sikh temple, and join prayers inside the innermost temple, its sanctum sanctorum, with temple priests. Kamalesan refused, stating that his Christian faith does not permit him to do so, according to court records. A commanding officer's presence in religious observances is not optional; it's integral to the military's secular and motivational framework and ethos. Kamalesan had every right to worship in his own way in private. After leading his men in their (religious) tradition, he could well have attended the Eucharist or prayed in solitude. True faith, after all, doesn't reside in rigid exclusion, but in understanding and inclusion. Even the PUTATIVE Jesus, whom Kamalesan sought to serve, didn't found a religion but lived and died a Jew. Tragically, the young officer's pig-headed religious view cost him his career. He needed better religious education. In the armed forces, discipline, duty, and shared identity come before individual insistence and religious obstinacy. Followers of all faiths, particularly the Abrahamic ones, have this bizarre concept of sacrilege and blasphemy. They foolishly think that their respective god will punish them if they participate in the religious traditions and rituals of 'other' faiths. It seems, this morbidly jealous, vindictive and voyeuristic god has nothing worthwhile to do! This religio-scriptural 'otherness' is a bane of mankind and a roadblock to an individual's all round development and his/her evolution. That a young and 'educated' Christian officer is so sickly stubborn about his Protestant Christianity is not just pitiable, it's also condemnable. Humans will never evolve. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/faith-vortex-life/d/135770 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism