June | 2013 | | Page 3

"Simran Kaur, advocacy manager for the Sikh Coalition, recently spoke to 10 classes at Selma High School to help educate them about the Sikh community. The coalition wants to increase awareness, following the May 5 beating of an 82-year-old Sikh man in Fresno. The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office has called the assault a hate crime. Here, Kaur sits at teacher Alison Sickler’s desk as students write about what they learned from Kaur’s presentation." (Source: The Selma Enterprise)

Eliminating stereotypes through education

June 5, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the wake of last month’s attack on 82-year-old Piara Singh in Fresno, California, the Sikh Coalition provided awareness presentations to ten classes at nearby Selma High School. The school’s principal, Mark Babiarz, discusses why it was important: “We need to educate others outside the community of Selma about the many contributions that the Sikh community makes to Selma, the state of California and throughout the nation. Education is the key to eliminating stereotype bias and ignorance about any culture.” […]

Categories: Education • Tags: California, Fresno, Mark Babiarz, Selma, Selma High School, Sikh Coalition, Simran Kaur

A new Gurdwara for Fort Wayne, Indiana

June 4, 2013 by American Turban Guest Contributor

Friend and colleague Lori Way provides an update on the Sikh community in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they recently broke ground on a new Gurdwara for their growing congregation. See previous contributions from Lori Way here. Last April 21st marked an important milestone for those who attend the Dashmesh Sikh Gurdwara in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The day began with the raising of the Nishan Sahib and ended with the groundbreaking for a new Gurdwara, which is scheduled for completion by […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: Dashmesh Sikh Gurdwara, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Karnail Singh, Lori Way, Onkar Mann

"In the Sikh community garden in Fresno [California], where older gardeners mentor younger ones." (Credit: Jim Wilson | The New York Times)

The community gardens of Fresno, CA

June 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In The New York Times, Patricia Leigh Brown writes about community gardens in Fresno, California, as places of support for various communities, including the Punjabi Sikh Sarbat Bhalla Community Garden, which provides a safe space for conversation for Sikh women: “Young women have to prove ourselves more than our brothers do,” she said. So the group members supports one another, “especially if a girl is down,” [Parmeshvar Kaur Dhaliwal] said. …and Sikh men: Amandip Singh Gill, a 32-year-old garden organizer, […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: Amandip Singh Gill, California, Community Garden, Fresno, New York Times, Parmeshvar Kaur Dhaliwal, Punjabi Sikh Sarbat Bhalla Community Garden

"A Sikh boy stands on the water’s edge [at Hemkund Sahib]. It’s estimated that upward of 150,000 people make it to Hemkund each year." (Photo credit: Michael Benanav | The New York Times)

Visiting Hemkund Sahib

June 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While it is not so uncommon to see Americans write about their first visit to Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) in Amritsar, India, a recent article in The New York Times by Michael Benanav describes his visit to Hemkund Sahib (a site associated with the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh), a very different Gurdwara located at an altitude of 14,000 feet in the Himalayan mountain range near Tibet: But even to a nonbeliever, the allure of a sacred lake […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Guru Gobind Singh, Hemkund Sahib, Himalaya, Michael Benanav, New York Times

Remembering June, 1984

June 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The year 1984 is forever etched into the Sikh psyche after it was added to the long list of atrocities against the Sikh people by rulers of their land. During the first week of June of that year, the Indian Government launched “Operation Blue Star“, an attack on the center of the Sikh faith in Amritsar, India, and invasions of numerous other Gurdwaras (Sikh houses of worship) across Punjab and India, under the pretext of neutralizing militants that had taken […]

Categories: 1984 • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Gunisha Kaur, Guru Arjan, Guru Arjun, India, Indian Army, National Sikh Youth Federation, NSYF, Operation Blue Star, Punjab, Simran Jeet Singh

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Monthly Archives: June 2013

Eliminating stereotypes through education

A new Gurdwara for Fort Wayne, Indiana

The community gardens of Fresno, CA

Visiting Hemkund Sahib

Remembering June, 1984