INDIAN ARMY'S NEW POLICY ON PERMANENT TATTOS

Tattoos are a taboo for Army — it's official now. The Army has decided to show zero tolerance to "offensive" tattoos during the selection of commissioned officers. 

According to a new policy approved by the Army authorities, a candidate appearing for an interview for commissioned officer will have to fill a separate form giving complete

details of tattoos on his body. If the tattoo is within the approved parameters and is cleared by the selection board, the candidate will have to file an affidavit that he would not have any more tattoos on his body before leaving for pre-commissioning training.

The Army had set the regulations on display of body tattoos for recruitment of jawans in July 2012, but this was not applicable for commissioned officers' selection. The authorities have now come up with a clear policy on tattoos for the officers also. Applicants with objectionable tattoos, defined by the Army in its policy notified in June, would be rejected at stage-I of the five-day selection process for commissioned officers. 

As per the policy, a copy of which is with TOI, candidates belonging to tribal communities would be permitted to have permanent tattoos on any part of the body, provided they conform to the existing customs and traditions of the tribe to which a candidate belongs. For others, only small innocuous tattoos, that are not prejudicial to good order and military discipline, would be permitted. The policy, however, has clarified that if an applicant has undergone tattoo removal surgery before appearing for the interview and the same has faded substantially, it will be treated as a "scar". 

The policy states that a candidate appearing before the services selection board (SSB) would be thoroughly screened for tattoos. A separate sheet would be prepared along with the dossier in which complete record of the tattoos on his body would be maintained. Scheduled tribe category candidates will have to submit a certificate signed by the deputy commissioner or sub-divisional magistrate prior to stage-I of the selection process, stating that their community permits permanent body tattoos. General category candidates can have small innocuous tattoos on inner face of forearms — from inside of the elbow to the wrist of both the hands — which can be religious symbols or names of near and dear ones. 

However, tattoos, which are offensive to modesty, decency or propriety and those that advocate a philosophy which demeans a person based on gender would not be permissible for all. Similarly, racist tattoos that advocate a philosophy that degrades or demeans a person based on race, ethnicity or region and religion would be prohibited for all categories. The new policy has also stipulated that the selected candidates would be thoroughly examined before undergoing pre-commissioning training to ensure that they have not tattooed their body after the selection by the board. 

In July 2012, army had clarified that candidates appearing for selection as jawans with limited and prescribed sized tattoos on inner parts of their arms or on the back of their palms will be eligible for selection. The size of the tattoo has been limited to 5cm in length and 3cm in breadth. 

In the US, soldiers are allowed to tattoo their arms, legs and most parts of their bodies.