Rules For Hair And Beard In Indian Army, Navy, And Air Force

Ashish Tiwari
January 18, 2023
21449

Jai Hind future warriors today we are going to discuss the rules regarding hair and beard of personnel serving in the armed forces viz, Army, Air Force and Navy.

We will be covering following topics to get a comprehensive overview:

History of Such Rules
Defence Ministry Order
Rules in the Indian Air Force
Rules in the Indian Navy
Rules in the Indian Army
Why Such Rules
Conclusion- Sources and Further Reading

History of Such Rules

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, cavalry and infantrymen preferred a “clubbed” hairstyle in which they gathered their hair at the back of the neck and tied it in a firm bundle, because it was “likely to stay in place during the excitement and violent action of a fight.”
World War I was the first conflict where shaving was required. There were two reasons:
To get a proper fit and seal on the gas mask and personal hygiene. Beards were outlawed, and the maximum permitted hair length was one inch. It was because soldiers have to spend most of their time in the battlefield. During war, they have to wear helmet and certain gadgets. To avoid heat and irritation caused due to long, soldiers were required to keep their hair short.
Moreover, when soldiers target their guns towards enemies, they need to be patient and long hair can trouble then in focusing on the target. Short hair dries out easily and soldiers have to cross rivers, get wet in the rain etc. which prevents them from cold.
During World War II, the Army required soldiers to “keep your hair cut short and your fingernails clean,”
And to a lesser extent, Indian army hair cut is an adaption of those rules because of the obvious advantages it offered.
In addition, it also maintains uniformity.
According to the latest defence ministry’s policy of “hair, beard and wearing turbans” as notified in 2003 is in force. It says:

Defence Ministry Order of 2002/03

The rules states that Muslims, Hindus and Christians are not allowed to keep a beard in the Indian Army.
Only those Muslim personnel, who had kept beard along with moustache at the time of commissioning /enrolment prior to 01 Jan 2002, would be allowed to keep beard and moustache. Muslim personnel who have grown beard after joining service should shave off the beard. Under no circumstances, Muslim personnel who had beard at the time of joining service before 1 Jan 2002 shall be allowed to maintain beard without moustache. Moustache would be a part of the beard. Such personnel are to maintain it in a manner that it is neat, trimmed and tidy and not more than the length which could be covered by one fist. Muslims who have grown beard after joining service should shave off the beard

Regarding the Sikh personnel, the rules state:

Sikh personnel who wear turban and keep beard at the time of commission/enrollment would continue to do so. These personnel must maintain the beard neatly dressed/tied and rolled and not kept flowing. They are to wear the turban while in uniform/civil dress whether inside or outside the camp except during PT/Games and activities related to operations where wearing of turban is not feasible. At all such occasions, Sikh personnel are to wear turban/patka or handkerchief over the knot of hair as appropriate. Sikh personnel keeping short hair and beard are to wear turban as applicable to those maintaining long hair meaning they are allowed with the beard.

Rule for Hair:

Hair visible outside the cap or hat worn by soldiers/ officers must be cut and shaved. No hair should be visible outside the cap /hat. (The popular ‘katora cut ‘ is the norm wherein the unit barber in order to cut hair of a larger number of personnel(due to less time) uses the razor and indefinitely balds them from sides.)
Only Sikh personnel are allowed exceptions that too with the turban.

For Female Officers/Cadets:

There are no restrictions on the haircut after you get commissioned. But, you need to bun your hair if long. However during training, girl cadets will definitely have to carry ‘boy-cut’(katora cut) unless you are sikh.

Why are Rules Different for Muslims and Sikhs?

Unlike the Sikh religion, the Muslim religion does not forbid shaving the face of its member since all Muslims men do not support sport beard. The practice of sporting a beard is Sunnah, which means it is not forced and is not a compulsory (farz) norm in Islam, thus can be avoided if the person wants to. Same for Hindus and Christians as it is not compulsory for them to keep beard or long hair as per their religion

Rules in Indian Air Force

The IAF follows the rules states above.

But within the rules, they are allowed with certain exceptions:

Like there is a provision growing beard by Muslims in Ramzan while keeping roza after taking prior permission from the Commanding Officer. The permission is given with the direction that the beard has to be shaved off after the rozas are over else it will be considered a disciplinary offence

Rules in Indian Navy:

The British Navy allows a “full set” ( that is beard plus moustache) with the permission of the commanding officer: it does not accept that a beard prevents a gas mask working effectively.
Traditions in the Indian Navy owe to the Royal Navy, and Naval officers in India can keep beards with the consent of their Commanding Officer.

As per the current rules:

It allowed sailors or officers “to wear moustaches and beards or shave them off, if they so desire(d)”. “moustaches and beard shall be worn with or without the beard and moustaches respectively”

Rules in the Indian Army:

Indian Army also follows the same rules as per the order of defence ministry in 2002
However Rajputana Rifles and Rajput regiment personnel are given moustache allowance for keeping big and elaborate moustache which is been followed since the British era.
Only exception – Elite Special Forces, PARA Regiment, who are allowed to grow bread during insurgency and counter terrorists operations.

Why are there Rules regarding Hair and Beard in the Forces?

Hair visible outside the cap or hat worn by soldiers/ officers must be cut and shaved. No hair should be visible outside the cap /hat as exposed hair is a breeding ground and safe haven for bacteria and also dirt and grime.
That is why even civilian chafes /cooks wear a hat while cooking. Civilian nurses and doctors, health workers all cover their head while on duty in a hospital. Varying levels and shape of head hair visible outside the cap, when a number of uniformed men are on parade looks very odd and becomes a distraction from the otherwise symmetrical and uniform look of soldiers on parade.
By experience it was learnt that in the warm climate of Indian subcontinent long hair is difficult to keep clean and grows very fast . To maintain it at the level described above, it is necessary to cut the hair once every week
The preservation of unit cohesion and group identity. The dress code creates a sense of professionalism, good order and discipline.

Conclusion

Hope this post was informative for you. For more such posts related to defence exams and SSB Interview stay tuned. For more reading you can go to: