India, Dec. 1 -- The new chief justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, in his first week in office, was, in retrospect, perhaps a little too harsh in rebuking Lt Colonel Samuel Kamalesan while confirming his dismissal from the Indian army he had served loyally, but had refused to step into the inner sanctum of his regiment's multi-religion building which included a temple and a gurdwara.

The officer would routinely attend the temple when required, but believed that, as a practising Christian, participating in worship rituals would go against his religious beliefs. Christians, much like Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists, have several schools of theological understanding of faith, and it is no one's case that the colonel's argument reflects that...