NEW DELHI:The Indian Army has issued a policy for candidates appearing for Service Selection Board (SSB) that allows tattoos only on the forearm. The policy—issued by the army headquarters—came into effect from May 11, 2015, and was issued after youngsters with flashy and intricate tattoos were reporting to SSBs.
The Directorate General Recruitment came up with the detailed policy that states that permanent body tattoos on the face or anywhere else are permitted only for candidates from tribal communities in accordance with their customs and traditions. Such candidates will be required to furnish a certificate from the deputy commissioner of the particular tribal area proving their domicile.
An officer involved with the recruitment told The Sunday Standard that over 30 per cent of candidates with tattoos were rejected as it is against “military ethos and discipline”. In some cases, recruiting officers had to face the ire of aspiring candidates and incidents of stone-pelting and scuffles were reported.
A Military Police policy states that “only small innocuous tattoos, that are not prejudicial to good order and military discipline are permitted e.g. religious symbols or names of near and dear ones etc”. Tattoos that are lewd, sexist, racist, have offensive content or indecent figures are also not allowed.
The army’s policy states, “(a) indecent tattoos are those that are grossly offensive to modesty, decency or propriety, (b) sexist tattoos are those that advocate a philosophy that demeans a person based on gender, (c) racist tattoos advocate a philosophy that degrades or demeans a person based on race, ethnicity or region and religion.” The army claims that permanent tattoos are a health hazard, as they can act as carriers for diseases like HIV or Hepatitis B. “Deadly virus can be spread with the use of unhygienic needles used by untrained tattoo artists,” said an officer defending the ban.
A Colonel who has a flashy tattoo on his neck said, “The military should not really have a problem with tattoos. A tattoo doesn’t make you a better or a worse soldier. Policy-makers should focus on providing better weapons to soldiers instead of banning things that are personal.”
Modern armies of the world do not disqualify anyone for having a tattoo. In April this year, the US Army issued a detailed policy that allows soldiers to have tattoos on their arms, legs and most parts of their bodies.
US Army rules
Soldiers can now get their arms, legs and most of their bodies covered in tattoos. Under the new policy, there are no longer limits on the size or number of tattoos soldiers can have on their arms and legs. Face, neck and hand tattoos, however, remain against regulation, with the exception of one ring tattoo per hand. Racist, derogatory and sexist tattoos are also outlawed.