Rupinder Mohan Singh |

SALDEF Leadership Development Program graduates. (Source: SALDEF)

Apply to the SALDEF Leadership Development Program

July 24, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

SALDEF (Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund) is inviting applications for the third iteration of its Leadership Development Program, a “two-part program designed to inspire, train, and support a diverse, motivated, and entrepreneurial group of young Sikh leaders as they prepare for a lifetime of community engagement and leadership.” Further: The purpose of this transformational program is to empower Sikh American youth in becoming effective leaders committed to exploring and realizing both their personal potential and that of the […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Resources • Tags: LDP, Leadership Development Program, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund

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Sikh Research Institute provides Sikh educational resources

July 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Based in New Jersey, the Sikh Research Institute has made its Sojhi program available for free download, which includes over 150 lesson plans for teaching Sikh-related language and history/culture to students in the kindergarten through second grade levels. Professionally constructed and comprehensive, the curricula are excellent resources that provide thorough instructions for teachers and parents, and are designed with schools in mind: Khalsa schools and parents worldwide are encouraged to try out portions of this curriculum in their classrooms and homes. […]

Categories: Education, Resources • Tags: Lesson plan, Sikh Educators Network, Sikh Research Institute, Sojhi

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A survey by WIN-Gallup International shows that countries with higher per capita income tend to have lower levels of religiosity. (Source: WIN-Gallup International)

Chart of the Day

July 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a study entitled “Global Index of Religion and Atheism” — a survey of over 50,000 respondents in 57 countries conducted in 2012 — WIN-Gallup International researchers showed a negative correlation between “religiosity” and per capita income based on responses to the question: “Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious persons or a convinced atheist?” Comparing the responses across nations, it appears that countries with […]

Categories: Reports/Studies • Tags: Atheism, Global Index of Religion and Atheism, per capita income, Religion and Spirituality, Religiosity, WIN-Gallup International

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"A witness of the 1984 pogrom. More than 10 members of her family were killed before her eyes. She testified in a court that the Congress leader Jagdish Tytler was present at the site of the killings in 1984. Her lawyer was shot at in the very first hearing. She withdrew the case. The aftermath of the violence has left her numb." (Credit: Gauri Gill | The New York Times)

A survivor of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom reflects

July 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In India Ink, The New York Times blog about India, a survivor of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom in New Delhi writes of the experience during the carnage, and of the attempts by the Indian state to erase the history of its own participation. Most recently, Jaspreet Singh describes the efforts by government officials to prevent Sikhs from raising a memorial in tribute to the victims of the pogrom: Such control over sites of traumatic memory suggests the state is deeply anxious about […]

Categories: 1984 • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, anti-Sikh pogroms, Delhi, Indira Gandhi, Jaspreet Singh, New Delhi, New York Times

Sant Kaur Bajwa passed away at the age of 115. (Source: The Daily Mail)

Second oldest woman in the world passes away

July 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Born in 1898 in what is now Pakistan, Sant Kaur Bajwa, the second oldest woman in the world and oldest woman in the UK, has passed away at the remarkable age of 115. Her life is a story of overcoming of adversity. According to Sant Kaur’s twin grandsons, who she raised: ‘It was her inner strength and resolve that carried her forward, she fought and stood tall as the matriarch of the family. She will be sorely missed and we […]

Categories: Profiles • Tags: England, Sant Kaur Bajwa, United Kingdom

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Pico Iyer at TED Global 2013. (Source: TED Blog)

Defining “home”: soil versus soul

July 22, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In this TED Talk delivered in Edinburgh, Scotland in June, writer Pico Iyer reflects on the meaning of “home” for people who are from diasporic communities: 220 million people live in a country that is not their own. Younger generations often find themselves influenced by overlapping waves of cultures — they have connections to the cultures of their parents (which are often different) and the cultures of their spouse. At the same time, they have their own connections to where […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Edinburgh, hyphenated identity, Immigration, Pico Iyer, Scotland, Sikh diaspora, TED, TEDx

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Candlelight vigil in Thomas Township, Michigan, on August 15, 2012, after the mass murder of six Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, by a white supremacist ten days earlier. (Source: MLive)

US House Representatives call for religious diversity summit

July 18, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The targeting of religious minorities in America is reaching a crisis point and we believe your leadership is crucial to stemming this rising tide of violence. — Citing the mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, almost one year ago and hate crimes against Muslims, Hindus and Jewish communities since, 37 US House Representatives signed a letter earlier this week requesting that President Barack Obama hosts a summit on religious diversity to help address these […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Barack Obama, Oak Creek, Religious Diversity Summit, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, US House Representatives, Wisconsin

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"A scene of the procession of the parade held in downtown Phoenix on April 21st." (Source: Valley India Times)

A country of many colors

July 18, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A man was giving small handbills to passersby. We saw a drawing of an American flag, and read this introduction:”We are loyal Americans. We join all Americans in condemning the violence in Boston.” I remembered the shootings at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., in August 2012. I finished the letter, and realized it was a plea not to blame the Sikhs of Phoenix for the bombs in Boston. — Melissa Musick Nussbaum writes in the National Catholic Reporter […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Arizona, Balbir Singh Sodhi, Boston, Boston Marathon, Melissa Musick Nussbaum, Mesa, Oak Creek, Phoenix

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Bhagat Singh Thind as a member of Company #2 Development Battalion #1, 166th Depot Brigade, of Camp Lewis in Astoria, Oregon. (Source: bhagatsinghthind.com)

US citizenship versus military service

July 17, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Rajdeep Singh, of the Sikh Coalition, writes in The Hill about the irony wherein observant Sikh Americans are prevented from serving in the US military today, when almost 100 years ago, an observant Sikh served in the US Army but was denied the right to be considered as an American: Although his [right to citizenship] challenge was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1923 on the ground that he was not a “white person” under those laws, another American […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Bhagat Singh Thind, Rajdeep Singh, Sikh Coalition, United States Armed Forces, US Army, US military

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Author Archives: Rupinder Mohan Singh

Apply to the SALDEF Leadership Development Program

Sikh Research Institute provides Sikh educational resources

Chart of the Day

A survivor of the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom reflects

Second oldest woman in the world passes away

Defining “home”: soil versus soul

US House Representatives call for religious diversity summit

A country of many colors

US citizenship versus military service