How A Sikh Man Used His Turban to Save A Child’s Life

By Alison Lesley --
20 May 2015 --

This Sikh man is praised as a hero for disobeying his religious faith to remove his turban and help an injured five-year-old boy in a car crash.

When 22-year-old Harman Singh heard a growing commotion outside his Takanini, South Auckland home, he rushed out to find that a young child had been struck by a car.

The DailyMail.com reports that Singh said, “I saw a child down on the ground and a lady was holding him. His head was bleeding, so I unveiled my turban and put it under his head.”

A Sikhman broke religious protocol by removing his turban to help a profusely bleeding child following aRoad accident pic.twitter.com/RqstNR6Rz0
— Incredible Humans (@TheIHumans) May 18, 2015

Knowing that the boy is in stable condition in the hospital allows us to focus on Singh and his actions, which on the surface are touching. But when considering the strict religious protocol that he broke to help the boy, Singh becomes something of a world-wide hero.

According to the IJReview, “In the Sikhism religion, taking off your turban and exposing your head to the public is practically unheard-of and goes against a major facet in their faith.”

The turban becomes a part of the body, and is only removed from the home when washing one’s head or hair. Sikh men do not cut their hair and keep their head covered out of respect for their gurus.

Despite this, Singh, who is from India but in Auckland studying business, sprang to action. “I wasn’t thinking about the turban. I was thinking about the accident and I just thought, ‘He needs something on his head because he’s bleeding.’ That’s my job – to help.”

In the wake of his good deed, Singh has received thousands of notes, calls and messages on Facebook congratulating him and saying “well done.”

A Sikhman broke religious protocol by removing his turban to help a profusely bleeding child following aRoad accident pic.twitter.com/RqstNR6Rz0
— Incredible Humans (@TheIHumanss) May 18, 2015

But Singh remains humble after coming to the aid of the young boy. “I was only doing what I had to and trying to be a decent member of the community… I think I just did my job, nothing else.”