Rupinder Mohan Singh |

"Harjeet Kaur folds saris while working at her store, Khoobsurat Boutique, in Bothell (Washington) on June 5." (Photo: Genna Martin | The Herald)

Picture of the Day

July 17, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Daily Herald reports about the growing South Asian population in Bothell, Washington: “We are the only store in Bothell for Indian clothes,” [Harjeet Kaur] said. But her customers come from a bigger melting pot. “Our clients are Mexican, American, Fijian, and, of course, Indian. “Americans who attend Indian festivals, marriage ceremonies, they come to us and get some suggestions such as ‘what should we wear?’ and whatnot.” Read more here.

Categories: Picture of the Day • Tags: "Washington, Bothell, Harjeet Kaur

Leave a comment

Split image of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. (Source: Keene Trial Consulting)

Of racism, the victim and the perpetrator within

July 17, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Sikh Americans continue to reflect about racial inequity after Saturday’s not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial in the murder of Trayvon Martin. Simran Jeet Singh discusses means of racial oppression and the dichotomous way such oppression operates within each of us — as both victim and perpetrator: The reality is that the global society is complicit in structural discrimination, and we have all become actors in that process. Sure in some way we are all Trayvon Martin. Each of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, Racial profiling, Racism, Simran Jeet Singh, Trayvon Martin

Leave a comment

"Spc. Simranpreet Lamba carries the guidon for his platoon in Company A, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, during the battalion's Basic Combat Training graduation Wednesday morning." (Source: US Army)

Petition: End US military ban on Sikh articles of faith

July 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sikh Coalition is collecting signatures to petition President Barack Obama to reverse the ban on Sikh articles of faith in the US military, which in effect bans many observant Sikhs from serving their country. In a submission to the United States Commission on Human Rights during a briefing on May 31, the Sikh Coalition provided a thorough account of the issue: In the United States, Sikhs are subjected to unusually high rates of racial profiling and employment discrimination, including […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Employment Discrimination, Sikh Coalition, United States, United States Armed Forces, US Army, US military

"Demonstrators and members of the media gather outside of the courthouse on July 13. The jurors deliberated for more than 16 hours before delivering their verdict." (Source: CNN)

The black, white, and grey, of racism

July 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Activist Sonny Singh writes in The Huffington Post about the racial nuances in the George Zimmerman trial: To really understand racism in the United States, we have to understand power. Racism is not just about attitudes; it is a system of oppression. What this means is that white people receive unearned privileges and advantaged simply because of the color of skin, while people of color are systematically disadvantaged and marginalized. That does not make the experiences of all people of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, Racism, Sonny Singh, Sonny Singh Brooklynwala, Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin. (Source: Straight from the A.)

Not all of us are Trayvon Martin

July 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In spite of the media’s obsession about the case, I had not followed closely the trial of George Zimmerman, a Florida man of mixed ethnic heritage charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an African American, in February, 2012. I was repulsed from the sensationalizing of this tragedy by the media for ratings, with the hours of talk by dozens of legal experts for its own sake, and particularly avoiding very salient discussions […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, hate crimes, Trayvon Martin

Leave a comment

"Sophia the First" tiara. (Source: Total Birthday)

Raising a warrior princess

July 11, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On the blog Mom.me, writer Navdeep Singh Dhillon reflects on raising his daughter and muses on gender enforcement, tea parties, and tutus: While she rarely forgets she’s a princess, she has developed an affinity for strong female characters in the shows she watches and books she finds on our weekly bookstore/library outings, which she chooses herself, as much as I’d like to think I’m in charge. Luckily, the characters she’s drawn to are much like herself: feisty, and independent. Read […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: gender enforcement, Kaur, Navdeep Singh Dhillon, Sikh children, Sikh women, Sophia the First, Women in Sikhism

Leave a comment

Telling the stories of children of immigrants in New York & Berlin who challenge boundaries & reimagine belonging. (Source: with WINGS and ROOTS Kickstarter page)

What is behind the hyphenated American identity?

July 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An article in the Boston Review by sociologist Claude Fischer (via The Dish) considers the creation of the hyphenated identities among the more recent immigrant populations in the United States, citing Mexican Americans as a case study: For example, a recent study [1] compared the answers of Hispanics who took a survey in English to those who took it in Spanish. The English speakers expressed more “Hispanic Consciousness” than did the Spanish-speakers. They were more likely to say that it […]

Categories: Art, Reflections, Reports/Studies • Tags: assimilation, Boston Review, Claude Fischer, hyphenated identity, Immigration, Mexican American, with WINGS and ROOTS

Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi is featured by The New York Times in a story about Sikhs joining the US military. (Photo: Richard Perry | The New York Times. Source: Sikh Coalition)

“If they want to serve, we should let them do it.”

July 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Today’s online and print versions of The New York Times includes an article describing the challenges Sikh Americans are facing when attempting to join the US military: “Folks say, ‘If you really want to serve, why don’t you cut your beard?’ ” said Major Kalsi, a doctor who is the medical director of emergency medical services at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. “But asking a person to choose between religion and country, that’s not who we are as a nation. We’re […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Joseph Crowley, Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, Simran Lamba, United States Armed Forces, United States Army, US Army, US military

Leave a comment

Arpita Singh's "Wish Dream" was recently auctioned for $2,223,744. (Source: All Art News)

Is interest in Sikh art growing?

July 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

India’s Financial Chronicle highlights a growing interest in artwork produced by Sikhs or related to Sikh themes, and not just from a by-gone era, but also from more contemporary artists: In recent times, there has also been a move to categorise contemporary artists from the Punjab belt under the Sikh Art umbrella. So it now covers Sikh pianters [sic] such as Arpita Singh, her husband Paramjeet Singh and the ever popular Manjit Bawa. Arpita’s mural titled Wish Dream, fetched Rs […]

Categories: Art, Profiles • Tags: Arpita Singh, Manjit Bawa, mural, Sikh art, Wish Dream

Leave a comment

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Author Archives: Rupinder Mohan Singh

Picture of the Day

Of racism, the victim and the perpetrator within

Petition: End US military ban on Sikh articles of faith

The black, white, and grey, of racism

Not all of us are Trayvon Martin

Raising a warrior princess

What is behind the hyphenated American identity?

“If they want to serve, we should let them do it.”

Is interest in Sikh art growing?