While interacting with students of Khalsa College, his alma mater, Rattan said he “faced many ups and downs in life, but emerged victorious on every occasion.”

He said “never say die attitude” help him to reach his goal…

“Sikhs mean a lot to the world,” he said, adding that in future too he would follow the ethics of Sikhism in letter and spirit.

– Tejdeep Singh Rattan describes his experience in becoming a soldier in the US Army to students at Khalsa College in Amritsar, India. I’ve made note of Tejdeep Singh on this blog several times.  He was one of three Sikhs who last year was granted an exemption that allowed him to join the US military while keeping his Sikh articles of faith (specifically, beard and turban) intact.

While, usually, Sikhs who have emigrated from India tend to look back to their homeland for inspiration and reaffirmation of their faith and values, it’s an interesting phenomonon whereby a Sikh in the United States is now an inspiration to Sikhs in India.