Rupinder Mohan Singh |

“Sikhs are the Michael Jordan of getting searched at the airport”

September 20, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On the television show Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (airing on the FXX network), Hari Kondabolu discusses the TSA’s Pre-Check program, which — for an $85 dollar fee — allows pre-screened enrollees to receive an expedited inspection process at selected airports across the country. Kondabolu suggests that this program does not go far enough in addressing the racial profiling experienced by many Sikh and South Asian travelers (and anecdotal evidence from several Sikhs recently suggests that racial profiling has […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Humor • Tags: Hari Kondabolu, Pre-check, Racial profiling, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, Transportation Security Administration, TSA, W. Kamau Bell

"Sohan Singh Bhakna, second from the right, was arrested and jailed for his role in the Ghadar Partys abortive revolt against British rule in India. The former St. Johns mill worker, a major organizer and leader of the party, is shown here in 1938 at Amritsar Railway Station." (Photo: Kesar Singh, Courtesy of Amarjit Chandan Collection. Source: Portland Tribune)

Picture of the Day: Sohan Singh Bhakna

September 19, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An article in the Portland Tribune traces the origins of the Ghadar Party movement to Oregon after a group of laborers from Punjab demanded justice for the attacks upon their community by racists mobs in 1910. The movement sought to promote revolution in India from British rule: Though there wound up being only one person convicted, the fight-back was a turning point for the Punjabi community here, Ogden says. New activist leaders emerged, including mill worker Sohan Singh Bhakna and […]

Categories: Picture of the Day • Tags: Astoria, Bruce La Brack, Ghadar, Ghadar Party, Johanna Ogden, Oregon, Sohan Singh Bhakna

Immigration as art

September 18, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In an interview with The Atlantic, author Edwidge Danticat offers a perspective on the immigrant experience — that of artistic creation (via @simranik): My parents spent their entire lives in Haiti before they left. They didn’t know much about the United States except that, at that time, there were opportunities there. They basically packed two suitcases and came. That experience of touching down in a totally foreign place is like having a blank canvas: You begin with nothing, but stroke […]

Categories: Art, Reflections • Tags: Edwidge Danticat, Immigration

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"One Step Forward, Half a Step Back" -- A study by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Sikh Coalition about bullying in NYC schools, was released earlier this month. (Source: Sikh Coalition)

Study of Asian American students in NY finds increase in reports of bullying

September 18, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Two weeks ago, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and the Sikh Coalition released a report entitled “One Step Forward, Half a Step Back,” gauging the implementation of New York Schools Chancellor’s Regulation A-832, issued in 2008 “which established policies and procedures on how New York City schools should respond to bias-based harassment, intimidation, and bullying in schools.” The New York City Department of Education serves 1.1 million students across 1,800 schools. For Sikh American students, the […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Reports/Studies • Tags: AALDEF, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, bullying, New York, New York City Department of Education, One Step Forward Half a Step Back, Sikh Coalition

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BREAKING NEWS: There are racists on the internet

September 17, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — After New York’s Nina Davuluri became the first Indian American to win the title of Miss America, racist tweets surfaced on Internet social media sites on Sunday, catching news outlets across the country by surprise. “Was there a terrorist attack or something?” one dumbfounded news editor asked. “We have a black president and everything so I’m not sure where the hate came from after what’s-her-name won the pageant. If she was Arab or Muslim or something, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Humor • Tags: Miss America, Miss New York, New York, Nina Davuluri, Racism

"Santokh Singh Sahi speaks with guest during a meet-greet with members of the Sikh community, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013 at the Glen Avon Library. " (Credit: STAN LIM/Press-Enterprise)

“If you tell me why you shave, I’ll tell you why I keep my hair”

September 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After a Gurdwara near Riverside, California, was vandalized in late July with the word “terrorist” spray-painted on its walls, the Sikh community held an open house to engage with its neighbors in the area: Santokh Singh Sahi, 72, a member of the temple, Riverside Gurdwara, said the open house Tuesday night, Sept. 10, and the support the temple has received leading up to it decreased the apprehension temple members felt after the vandalism. “We feel more safe and secure because […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Interfaith • Tags: Antonio Arias, California, Graffiti, hate crimes, Jurupa Valley, open house, Riverside, Santokh Singh Sahi, Sikh Gurdwara of Riverside, vandalism

Excerpt from "I Want the Wide American Earth." (Source: Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center)

Bhagat Singh Thind, the e-comic

September 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In conjunction with their traveling exhibition entitled “I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story,” the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center released an e-comic book that provides snapshots of Asian American history: “I want the Wide American Earth: An Asian American E-Comic” is an illustrated adaptation of the “I want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story” banner exhibition. Produced in collaboration with SI Universe Media, creators of the first-ever Asian Pacific American comics anthology, […]

Categories: Art, Civil Rights, Events • Tags: Asian American, Bhagat Singh Thind, comics, I Want the Wide American Earth, Pacific Islander, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

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The US flag is raised in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. (Source: Martin Ramirez)

“Since 9/11”

September 15, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The neighborhood in which I live is one of those that sprung up during the real estate bubble eight years ago. The houses are, for the most part, very similar. Composed of four or five standard models, the streets offer a consistent character of a typical Californian subdivision. There is one house among the many, however, that is a bit different. It is unique in that an American flag waves outside its front door. The residents of that house are […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: 9/11, hate crimes, Islamophobia, Sikhophobia, xenophobia

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Vishavjit Singh dressed as comic book hero Captain America. (Photo. Fiona Aboud. Source: Salon)

When Captain America wore a turban

September 13, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Earlier this summer, Sikh cartoonist Vishavjit Singh provided a glimpse of his foray through New York City dressed as the superhero Captain America. In an article in Salon magazine published this week, Vishavjit Singh shares more about his experience in challenging stereotypes: I have been skinny all my life, and I felt a stirring of anxiety to be so exposed. Family and friends have pointed out my thin-ness for years, and the self-consciousness has sunk deep into my psyche. Before […]

Categories: Art, Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: Captain America, comics, Fiona Aboud, hate crimes, Navdeep Singh Dhillon, New York, Sikhtoons, Vishavjit Singh

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Author Archives: Rupinder Mohan Singh

“Sikhs are the Michael Jordan of getting searched at the airport”

Picture of the Day: Sohan Singh Bhakna

Immigration as art

Study of Asian American students in NY finds increase in reports of bullying

BREAKING NEWS: There are racists on the internet

“If you tell me why you shave, I’ll tell you why I keep my hair”

Bhagat Singh Thind, the e-comic

“Since 9/11”

When Captain America wore a turban