Your passion to join Indian Army and love for tattoos will now no longer go hand in hand as the Indian Army has officially put in place a zero-tolerance policy regarding tattoos that are offensive.
Yes, tattoos that are racist or disrespect any gender, religion or ethnicity will not be allowed anymore.
According to reports by a leading national daily, candidates who will be interviewed for selection of commissioned officers will need to provide details about tattoos they have in a separate form at the time of interview.
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.
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, candidates from tribal communities are allowed to have permanent tattoos that hold traditional or cultural significance for them, anywhere on their body. However, the candidate will have to submit a certificate signed by the deputy commissioner or sub-divisional magistrate prior to stage-1 of the selection process, stating that their community permits permanent body tattoos.
For others, only small inoffensive tattoos, that are not prejudicial to good order and military discipline, would be permitted.
The same policy, however, also states that if an applicant has undergone tattoo removal surgery before appearing for the interview for the selection, it will be treated as a “scar”.
As per the report, in 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 5 cm in length and 3 cm in width.