To Sikhs, their turban is sacred. Their Gurus instructed them to wear it, and they have sacrificed their lives to protect its honor. The following collection of how the turban has been regarded throughout history has been put together for your information.

"Once they enter the gates of the court, they are to wear linen vestments, They shall wear linen turban, and linen drawers on their loins." (Old Testament: Ezekiel 44:18-19)
The name "turban" is found in this form in European languages only: English-turban, turbaned; French-turban, tulband; German-turban; Italian, Spanish and Portugese-turbante; Dutch-tulbans; Romanian-tulipan; and it is generally traced to the Persian sarband. In Turkish sarik is the usual name for turban. In ancient Egyptian civilization the turban was considered an ornamental head dress. They called it pjr from which perhaps is derived the word pugree, so commonly used in Punjab and India. The Egyptians removed the turban at the time of mourning, a custom which prevailed in the Punjab up to the end of the last century.

The Sikh apostle, Bhai Gurdas Ji humorously narrates an incident in his Vars, that when an elderly Punjabi came to his home with his turban accidentally off, the women folk took it to be a sign of mourning and started weeping and wailing although no one was dead. The old man's turban, off his head, gave a false alarm.

Turban as Symbol of Purity

Now Joshua was dressed in dirty clothes as he stood before the angel of God. The angel said these words to those who stood before him: “Take off his dirty clothes, cloth him in splendid robes of state and put a clean turban on his head.” They clothed him in splendid robes of State and put a clean turban on his head. The angel said, “I have taken away your inequity from you.” (Zechariah 3:4-9)

He shall wear a sacred linen tunic and a linen drawer to cover himself and he shall put on a linen sash around his waist and wind a linen turban round his head and these are sacred vestments and he shall bathe before putting them on.

Thus a clean body, a clean white turban were pre-requisites for spiritual development of clean mind and pure soul. (Leviticus 8:9)

The turban has long been considered the crown of spirituality; it is essential to Sikh Dharm and has a special significance too in religions like Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is interesting to note that in Islam, the angels and all the prophet are represented as wearing turbans.

Prophet Muhammad himself spoke strongly in favor of the turban, as can be seen from the following hadiths (i.e. saying of Prophet Muhammad):

“The turban is a frontier between faith and unbelief.”

“My community shall not fall away so long as they wear turban.”

“At the day of the judgement, a man shall receive a light for each turn of the turban round his head.”

“Wear turbans, for thus you will gain in generosity.”

“Wear turbans and thus distinguish yourselves from the peoples who came before you.”
It is unfortunate that the typing of turbans has become a rarity in other religions - lets hope we can fare better !

Turban as a Robe of Honor

The highest honor that a Sikh religious organization can bestow upon any individual is a Siropa. It is a blessing of the Guru which is bestowed upon a person who has devoted a major portion of his/her life for the welfare of the Sikh or the humanity in general. Sometimes a Siropa is also bestowed upon the families of Sikhs martyrs.

Turban as a Symbol of Responsibility

People who have lived in India would know the turban tying ceremony known as Rasam Pagri (Turban Tying Ceremony). This ceremony takes place once a man passed away and his oldest son takes over the family responsibilities by tying turban in front of a large gathering. It signifies that now he has shouldered the responsibility of his father and he is the head of the family.

Turban a Symbol of Missionary Zeal and Courage

There are many references in the Sikh history that describe how Guru Gobind Singh personally tied beautiful dumalas (turbans) on the heads of both his elder sons Baba Ajit Singh and Baba Jujhar Singh and how he personally gave them arms, decorated them like bridegrooms, and sent them to the battlefiled at Chamkaur Sahib where they both received martyrdom. When the Sikhs go to an agitation (morcha), they usually wear a safforn color turban which is a symbol of sacrifice and martyrdom. When Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwalle courted his arrest, he wore a saffron color turban.