Rupinder Mohan Singh |

Assessing the impact of discrimination on North American Sikhs

October 1, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Over the past week, I have spoken to several Sikhs who shared how personally upset they felt about the attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh in New York just over a week ago. In the context of repeated attacks on innocent Sikh Americans in recent years, this most recent incident has left many with increasing senses of frustration, disappointment, and vulnerability. The solution to the issue of hate crimes against our community is not an easy one to parse, and this, […]

Categories: Education, Reports/Studies • Tags: Boston, Dr. Kiran S. K. Arora, hate crime, Massachusetts, mental health, Prabhjot Singh, Research, University of Massachusetts

Pictured in this screen capture of "Equality Street," this Sikh gentleman has appeared in many films and television shows. (Source: Buzzfeed)

Is this the world’s most famous Sikh extra?

October 1, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Based in the United Kingdom, the website Look! A Singh! — which identifies turban-wearing Sikh men in popular media — asks if the man pictured above is the “world’s most famous Sikh extra?” You may not know who he is but chances are he’s been on your TV. This individual has appeared in the backgrounds of scenes in at least a dozen television and film productions. Read more at Buzzfeed. (Thanks to Manpreet Singh for the tip.)

Categories: Profiles, TV/Movies • Tags: Buzzfeed, Look! A Singh!, movie extra

Picture of the Day: Raising the Nishan Sahib in Indiana

October 1, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Last Sunday, Sikhs in the Fort Wayne, Indiana, area held a ceremony for the raising of the Nishan Sahib, the Sikh standard that identifies every Sikh house of worship, at the Sikh Gurdwara of Fort Wayne in Roanoke, Indiana (located at 11431 Lower Huntington Road). This ceremony takes place just after another Sikh congregation in Fort Wayne had recently begun construction of a new place of worship as well, which demonstrates the growth of the Sikh community in the Fort […]

Categories: Picture of the Day • Tags: Fort Wayne, Indiana, Lori Way, Nishan Sahib, Roanoke, Sikh Gurdwara of Fort Wayne

Walmart pulls turban/beard terrorist costume

September 30, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Walmart has ceased sale of a controversial Halloween costume called the “Turban Beard Adult Halloween Instant Costume,” a fake turban and beard that was promoted using a likeness of Osama bin Laden. According to the Sikh Coalition, who lobbied the retailer on Friday to stop selling the product, RiteAid has also agreed to stop selling the product as well. The Sikh Coalition has also been in contact with retailers Sears and Amazon, and the supplier of the costume, Fun World, […]

Categories: Hate Crimes • Tags: Halloween costume, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Osama bin Laden, Sikh Coalition, Turban Beard Adult Halloween Costume, Walmart

"Cpl. Simranpreet Lamba receives congratulations at his promotion ceremony on Joint Base Lewis-McChord Friday, Sept. 27. 2013." (Photo: Adam Ashton | News-Tribune)

Picture of the Day: Breaking the camouflage ceiling

September 30, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Formerly Specialist Simranpreet Lamba, the US Army’s only enlisted solider in a turban and beard was promoted last Friday to the rank of Corporal in the US Army: Lamba hopes his promotion will show “there’s nothing about being Sikh, about our turban and our beard that can stop us from excelling in the Army,” he said. Read more at The News-Tribune.

Categories: Civil Rights, Picture of the Day • Tags: Employment Discrimination, Simran Lamba, Simranpreet Lamba, United States, United States Armed Forces, US Army, US military

Walmart Inappropriate Halloween Costume of the Day (UPDATED)

September 27, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Mega-retailer Walmart has encountered protest and poor publicity in its recent offerings of Halloween costumes this season. A few days ago, the national chain was heavily criticized for selling inappropriate costumes that sexualized young children, including a “Naughty Leoapard” outfit that was then pulled from shelves. A discovery by Twitter user @naunihalpublic brings to light another “costume” being offered by Walmart (pictured above), this time seeking to profit from racist stereotypes. The “Turban Beard Adult Halloween Instant Costume” comes complete […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Picture of the Day • Tags: Halloween costume, Turban Beard Adult Halloween Costume, Walmart

"Terrorist" spray-painted on a wall at the Sikh Gurdwara of Riverside, in Jurupa Valley, California. (Source: PEBloggers)

The “t-word”

September 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After the apparent hate-motivated attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh last weekend in New York, I wrote an essay that was published by The Revealer today about the emergence of the word “terrorist” as a racial epithet, but one that carries dangerous consequences for its target: …what is apparent is that the word has now become a racial epithet – it is often directed to innocent people who exhibit certain physical features, rather than used as a descriptor of a person’s […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: New York, Prabhjot Singh, racial slurs, t-word, The Revealer

Disorder in the court: injustice in Mississippi’s justice system

September 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) describes the mistreatment of Jagjeet Singh, a Sikh truck driver from California, by the state of Mississippi’s justice system. Police officers and the judge responsible for his case not only failed to recognize Sikh articles of faith, but also harassed and discriminated against him based on their ignorance of these articles. It began with the police officers who arrested Jagjeet Singh in January of this year after he experienced a flat tire while driving […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: court room, Jagjeet Singh, MDOT, Michigan, Mississippi, Pike County, Turban

Prabhjot Singh. (Source: Columbia University)

Sikh man attacked in apparent hate crime in New York

September 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The news spread very quickly yesterday that another Sikh American has been attacked in what appears to be a bias-based assault. Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh physician and professor at Columbia University, was attacked in Harlem, New York, on Saturday night by a mob of young men on bicycles who issued epithets such as “Osama” and “terrorist” during their attack. Dr. Singh was taken to hospital and discharged on Sunday with a fractured jaw and other injuries. “We heard ‘get […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Columbia University, Harlem, hate crimes, New York, Prabhjot Singh

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Author Archives: Rupinder Mohan Singh

Assessing the impact of discrimination on North American Sikhs

Is this the world’s most famous Sikh extra?

Picture of the Day: Raising the Nishan Sahib in Indiana

Walmart pulls turban/beard terrorist costume

Picture of the Day: Breaking the camouflage ceiling

Walmart Inappropriate Halloween Costume of the Day (UPDATED)

The “t-word”

Disorder in the court: injustice in Mississippi’s justice system

Sikh man attacked in apparent hate crime in New York