Sikh hero breaches ‘turban protocol’ to save drowning dog (VIDEO)

A Sikh man in India has been called a hero after he breached the religious tradition of always wearing a turban in public and used it to rescue a drowning dog.

Sarwan Singh was driving by an irrigation canal in Punjab, India, when he spotted a group of people pointing at the canal. He stopped his car and went over to find a dog struggling in the water. “I was shocked to see that there was a dog drowning but no was actually helping,” he told the Metro.

The man, who cannot swim quickly, came up with an alternative way to save the dog, by using his turban. Singh unwrapped his headwear, to the dismay of onlookers who assumed he was disrespecting his faith.

One of the pillars of the Sikh faith is wearing a turban, along with truthful living, equality between all human beings, social justice and worshiping one God. Sikhs wear their turbans in public at all times.

Lucky for the dog, Singh figured saving a life trumped keeping his turban on.

He made his way down the steep slope at the edge of the canal, holding on to his turban to prevent him from falling in. The onlookers held the other end for him. Singh waved another piece of material close to the dog, who tried to grab on.

With one hand holding himself up, and the other helping the dog to hold on, Singh managed to pull the dog to safety.

“The dog was frightened, so I fed him some biscuits and let him go on his own,” he said.