Indian military headache as helmets threaten sacred Sikh turbans

No problem at the palace: a sikh guard at Buckingham wears his turban instead of the traditional bearskin bonnet. Getty Images

Members of India's Sikh community, who for centuries have gone into battle wearing their signature cloth turbans, are upset by a plan to replace their heritage headgear with odd shaped steel helmets.

The row erupted as Sikh infantrymen marched in the military extravaganza that marked India’s 74^th Republic Day.