A Sikh police officer from Vancouver has become an unlikely internet sensation, and one look at his outfit explains why.
In front of Edinburgh Castle, Constable Sukhvinder “Suki” Singh Sunger wore a Scottish kilt, a tartan plaid, white ceremonial gloves and a turban made of matching tartan. His long silver beard finished the look.
The Vancouver Police Department officer was leading the Vancouver Police Pipe Band at the 2026 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, one of the most celebrated military music events in the world.
Photos of Sunger in full ceremonial dress have spread across social media. Some called him majestic. Others said he looked like royalty. Plenty thought the whole thing was about as Canadian as it gets.
A Sikh turban, Scottish tartan and Edinburgh Castle
The Tattoo is held on the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade. It brings together military bands, dancers and performers from around the world.
The 2026 show, “A Call to Gather,” featured more than 800 performers and ran until Aug. 29. It was Sunger’s first Tattoo, and the band’s fourth.
As drum major, Sunger had one of the most visible roles in the show. He marched at the front, setting the pace and directing the band with a ceremonial mace.
But it was his uniform that people noticed.
He wore the band’s Royal Stewart tartan kilt, plaid and sporran. Instead of the usual drum major’s headwear, he wore a specially made Sikh turban, or dastaar, in the same red tartan. He brought both traditions together without giving up either one.
Several publications have called him the first turbaned Sikh drum major to lead a performance at the Tattoo. Event organizers haven’t confirmed that.
The internet can’t get enough
One word kept coming up: majestic. Others went with regal, resplendent and legendary.
For many Canadians, the photos captured something about the country. Here was a Sikh police officer from Vancouver, in Scottish tartan, leading a pipe band at a Scottish castle.
“This is as Canadian as it gets,” one commenter wrote. Another called it “very Vancouver.”
Scots approved, too. One offered the classic compliment: “Ye lookin’ braw!”
The beard got its own fan club. “The beard alone deserves its own website,” one person joked. Others wanted him on Canadian money, or leading the prime minister into meetings with foreign leaders.
Some comments were more serious. A few people remembered when Sikh officers in Canada had to fight to wear turbans in uniform at all.
A look that would have sparked controversy 35 years ago
In 1990, Baltej Singh Dhillon became the first RCMP officer allowed to wear a turban on duty.
That came after a heated national debate. Opponents said the Mounties’ traditional uniform shouldn’t change. Supporters said officers shouldn’t have to choose between their faith and serving their country. The federal government changed the rules, and Dhillon went on to a long career with the RCMP.
More than 35 years later, a turbaned Sikh officer from B.C. is being celebrated around the world for wearing one.
Who is Constable Suki Sunger?
According to a profile in Darpan Magazine, Sunger:
Grew up in Victoria and started as a reserve constable with the Victoria Police Department
Joined the Vancouver Police Department in 2002 and works in traffic enforcement
Has a diploma in criminal justice
Served as a United Nations peacekeeper in South Sudan
“It was a life-changing experience, and I’m never going to be the same anymore,” he told Darpan about his time in South Sudan.
He’s also known for building ties between police and the community, and for encouraging South Asian youth to step outside their comfort zones.
The band’s first Sikh member
The Vancouver Police Pipe Band was founded in 1914. It’s the oldest non-military pipe band in British Columbia, and one of the most senior police pipe bands in the world.
According to Darpan, Sunger is the band’s first Sikh member, and the first person of colour to join since it was founded.
The band has played some big stages:
2014: In its centennial year, it played the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. It was the first non-military pipe band to take part.
2019: It toured India to mark 100 years since the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when British troops opened fire on a crowd in Amritsar in 1919. It played in Amritsar, including at the Golden Temple, and elsewhere in Punjab.
2026: Edinburgh, with Sunger out in front.
“I just showed up as who I am”
None of it was planned as a viral moment. Sunger was doing what drum majors have done for generations: leading a pipe band in a ceremonial performance.
He just did it in a uniform that reflected both the band’s Scottish roots and his Sikh faith.
Asked about all the attention, he kept it simple.
“I just showed up as who I am,” he told Vancouver Is Awesome.
Sources
Vancouver Police Pipe Band: History
Darpan Magazine: Constable Sukhvinder Sunger, serving with dedication on and off duty
Vancouver Is Awesome: Meet Vancouver’s Sikh cop behind viral pics in Edinburgh
CTV News: First Mountie to wear a turban at work reflects on his career
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