Dastar

A dastār (Punjabi: ਦਸਤਾਰ/دستار, from Persian: دستار; dast or "hand" with the agentive suffix -ār; also known as a ਪੱਗ pug, pagg or pugg or ਪੱਗੜੀ pagaṛī in Punjabi)^[1] is an item of headwear associated with Sikhism and Sikh culture. The word is loaned from Persian through Punjabi. In Persian, the word dastār can refer to any kind of turban and replaced the original word for turban, dolband (دلبند), from which the English word is derived.

Among the Sikhs, the dastār is an article of faith that represents equality, honour, self-respect, courage, spirituality, and piety. The Khalsa Sikh men and women, who keep the Five Ks, wear the turban to cover their long, uncut hair (kesh). The Sikhs regard the dastār as an important part of the unique Sikh identity. After the ninth Sikh Guru, Tegh Bahadur Ji, was sentenced to death by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the tenth Sikh Guru created the Khalsa and gave five articles of faith, one of which is unshorn hair, which the dastār covers.^[2]

In May 2009, The Times of India reported that British researchers were trying to make a "bulletproof turban" that would allow the Sikhs in the British police to serve in firearms units.^[3]