27/11/2025
A Letter To the Honourable Leadership of India, to the Lawmakers of Our Republic, and Its Citizens
(A humble letter from a citizen of India’s North-East)
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In the hills of the North-East, where most of us grow up Christian, where Sunday schools and church choirs shape our first ideas of community, and where our faith is woven into our very understanding of dignity—we watched the recent Supreme Court-upheld dismissal of Lt. Samuel Kamalesan with a quiet, sinking heaviness.
His refusal to enter a Dharma Sthal was not an act of rebellion. It was not a refusal of duty. It was not about evading command on the battlefield. It was a moment of conscience—perhaps a moment only those raised as minorities in this vast nation can fully understand.
For many of us, certain religious spaces hold deep theological meanings. Some sanctums are sacred—but sacred for those who belong to that tradition. For the rest of us, entering such a place is not “disrespectful”—it is simply a boundary we are taught to honour with humility.
And that humility, unfortunately, cost this officer his entire career.
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A Request to the Army: Is This Truly How We Build Unity?
The Indian Army has always been a symbol of pluralism, where Nagas, Gorkhas, Mizos, Punjabis, Tamils, Garos, Marathis, Meiteis, Bengalis and hundreds of others stand shoulder to shoulder. Soldiers share meals, trenches, homesickness, risks, and—above all—loyalty to the Tiranga.
But unity in the Army was never meant to come from everyone sharing the same religious practice.
It came from respect, not uniformity.
From discipline, not doctrinal conformity.
From brotherhood, not ritual sameness.
So we ask, with humility:
Was it necessary to reduce a man’s life and service to a single moment inside a sanctum he sincerely felt he could not step into?
Was the strength of a regiment truly shaken by one officer choosing to stand at the entrance respectfully, instead of walking into the core of a religious chamber not his own?
If the answer is yes, then the fragility is not in the officer—it is in the institution’s understanding of its own secular identity.
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A Request to the Government: What Message Do You Send to Minorities Today?
We say this softly, but honestly:
In today’s political climate, minority communities often feel that the walls around them are closing in—not violently, but slowly, subtly, quietly.
When a Christian officer is dismissed—without pension, without gratuity, without honour—simply because he hesitated at the doorway of a Hindu sanctum, it stirs a particular fear among us in the North-East.
Because many of us have lived our whole lives trying to reassure ourselves:
“India is big enough for all of us.”
That reassurance shook this week.
No one is asking the Army to abandon tradition.
No one is challenging the need for discipline.
But discipline becomes tyranny when enforced without understanding.
And tradition becomes exclusion when participation is demanded, not invited.
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To the Lawmakers: Kindly Reflect on the Precedent You Allow
If one soldier can lose everything for a conflict of personal faith in a non-operational, non-combat, non-emergency moment, then what guarantees do any of India’s minorities have?
What stops the next such dismissal?
What prevents the slow rewriting of what “secular discipline” looks like?
And why is religious discomfort judged as “indiscipline,” while religious insistence is treated as “tradition”?
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A Final Humble Appeal
Lt. Samuel Kamalesan was not refusing India.
He was not refusing the Army.
He was not refusing his men.
He was refusing, quietly and conscientiously, a sacred space he did not belong to.
For that he lost his rank, his honour, his pension, his future.
And somewhere in the North-East, in our villages and towns full of Christian children who still look to the Army as a noble path of service, we are left wondering:
Will they one day be punished for their faith too?
Will their service be seen as incomplete unless they step into rituals not their own?
Is this the India we promised them?
With humility, we ask our Army leaders and our lawmakers:
Please rethink how we treat religious identity in uniform.
Please ensure the Army remains a home for all Indians—not just those whose faith aligns with traditional practices.
And please, let compassion, not conformity, guide the spirit of our secular democracy.
Respectfully,
A citizen of the North-East, who still believes India has room for every faith.
📢 LET’S STAND WITH THE NORTH-EAST
Stand for faith. Stand for fairness. Stand for every soldier who serves this nation with dignity.
If you believe no Indian should lose their career for following their conscience—share this message.
Let our voices remind the nation that India is strongest when every community feels seen, heard, and respected.
(As received by Kalimpong Times)
