Following the approval of modifications to the uniform by the island nation’s police force in an effort to encourage diversity, Navjeath Singh Sohata became the first Sikh police officer to don a turban with the official Fiji Police crown.
Acting Commissioner of Police Juki Fong Chew encouraged the wearing of a turban adorned with the official Fiji Police crown, acknowledging that tolerance and respect for diversity are essential to the effectiveness of policing initiatives.
Selected from the open market recruiting drive, 20-year-old Police Constable Sohata is a member of Batch 66 undertaking the Basic Recruits Course Training in Nasova.
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S. Navjeath Singh Sohata has become the first Sikh cop to wear a turban with the official Fiji Police crown after the island nation's police force approved changes to the uniform in a bid to promote… pic.twitter.com/bfzcgFStWP
— Harmeet Singh Kalka (@hskalka) October 25, 2023
Being a devoted Sikh, Sohata entered the academy with the knowledge that the training programme would necessitate personal sacrifices from him.
“However, the Acting Commissioner of Police, in respecting Sohata’s rights, approved the wearing of the turban with the official Fiji Police crown,” the Fiji Police said in a statement.
Commissioner Chew said the move was a testament of the organisation’s commitment in upholding the fundamental principles of equality and diversity.
According to a book by Stanley Brown, ‘The History of the Fiji Police Force’, the first Sikh constables were recruited in force the early 1910s.
Sharing his experience as a recruit, Sohata, who hails from Dreketi village in Northern Division of Fiji, said it was difficult at first being away from his family.
“I have a number of people in my life who I look up to as inspiration and role models, and it is my goal to make them proud and be just as good as them when it comes to my professional life,” Sohata said.
According to records kept by the Lautoka Gurudwara, Sikhs arrived in Fiji towards the end of the indentured labour system and mostly established themselves as farmers, policemen and teachers.
The first school built by Sikhs in Fiji was the Khalsa High School in Ba district and the Suva gurdwara, built in 1922, is the oldest of all.