Rupinder Mohan Singh |

Photo of Balpreet Kaur posted on Reddit. (source: Reddit)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The inspiring grace of Balpreet Kaur

January 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In September, one Sikh American woman from Ohio became an inspiration to Sikhs and non-Sikhs alike. Balpreet Kaur was standing in line at the airport when an individual surreptitiously took her photo and posted it on the website Reddit, with the caption: “I’m not sure what to conclude from this.” The object of the photo was an attempt at mockery. Among the first 100 responses to the posting on Reddit were harsh and derogatory comments about Balpreet Kaur’s facial hair, […]

Categories: Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: Balpreet Kaur, Huffington Post, Reddit, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, Women in Sikhism

California Governor Jerry Brown (seated) signs AB1964 and SB1540 into law at a rally at the California State Capitol last Saturday. Assembly Member Mariko Yamada (standing left of the Governor), Dr. Onkar Bindra (standing right of the Governor) and Sikh Coalition Advocacy Manager Simran Kaur (far right) joined the Governor. (source: Instagram user i2theb)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Victories in employment equality

January 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In 2012, there were two significant achievements for Sikh Americans in the realm of employment discrimination on each side of the country: the decision by Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department to accept observant Sikhs as full police officers, and the signing of a workplace religious freedom act in California. Both achievements have the potential to act as precedents for further success in dealing with employment discrimination that Sikhs have faced in the United States due to lack of accommodation of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: AB1964, California, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Employment Discrimination, Jerry Brown, Mariko Yamada, Metropolitan Police Department, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, Washington DC, Workplace Religious Freedom Act

A Bible, gun, keys and wallet on top of a table. (source: FMG Law)

When Amendments collide

January 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States recently refused to hear an appeal challenging a law in the state of Georgia that banned firearms from places of worship: The high court today refused to hear an appeal from GeorgiaCarry.org, which wanted the justices to overturn a lower court decision upholding Georgia’s law banning guns in churches and other places of worship. GeorgiaCarry.org argued that the ban applying specifically to places of worship burdens “religiously motivated conduct by regulating […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Georgia, GeorgiaCarry.org, gun control, Second Amendment, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, United States Supreme Court

A hitchhiker’s guide to the turban

January 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The blog A Kaur’s Thoughts presents an interesting condensed survey of the global history of the turban, beyond its relevance to the Sikh faith: By, “…1000 A.D., the turban had evolved from a strictly utilitarian piece of clothing into something used to connote nobility and power,” said Brannon Wheeler, associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Washington, (2). “Just as shoes evolved from a practical foot covering into an item of clothing that reveals a person’s class and […]

Categories: Resources • Tags: A Kaur's Thoughts, history of the turban, Turban

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana

January 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In late March, Sikhs around the world became inspired by one Balwant Singh Rajoana, a former police officer on India’s death row who was scheduled to be executed on March 28, 2012, for his role in the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, India at the time. Beant Singh oversaw state atrocities against the Sikh people in Punjab during his tenure as head of the state’s government in the 1990s: In Punjab between 1992 and 1995, […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Balwant Singh Rajoana, Top 5 Sikh American Stories

Param on the UK dating show "Take Me Out" (source: YouTube)

The challenges of dating while Sikh

January 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On The Langar Hall, blogger Brooklynwala discusses the aftermath of a Sikh’s appearance on a dating show called “Take Me Out” in the UK, and the struggles for Sikhs in dating while wearing a turban and uncut hair: One caller named Jasminder asserts that when Param came down, it became more like a comedy show and less like a dating show given how the women and audience reacted. He continues that turban-wearing men often feel invisible to women, not literally, […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: dating

The family of Satwant Singh Kaleka was honored by Sikh officials in Amritsar, India (source: demotix.com)

Family of Oak Creek, WI, shooting victim honored in Amritsar, India

January 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Having gone to India to release the ashes of Satwant Singh Kaleka, the family of the Oak Creek, Wisconsin shooting victim was honored in Amritsar, India, by Sikh officials from the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, ( “SGPC“, the central Sikh organization in India): Kaleka’s family was honoured for his exemplary courage shown during shoot out incident at Oak Kreek Gurdwara in US on August 5th 2012 where a White supremacist Wade Michael Page who had opened fire in Gurdwara killing […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: Amritsar, hate crimes, India, Oak Creek, Punjab, Satwant Singh Kaleka, SGPC, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

"A new problem for Uncle Sam." Political cartoon c. 1910 (source: Echoes of Freedom)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The Oak Creek Massacre

January 5, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It is without any doubt that the most significant event for Sikh Americans during the year 2012 occurred on August 5, when a white supremacist entered the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on a Sunday morning and opened fire on worshippers who were preparing for the day’s services. Six Sikhs — Ranjit Singh, Sita Singh, Paramjit Kaur, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Prakash Singh and Suveg Singh Khattra — were killed. Among the several others injured included Punjab Singh, who now […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: hate crimes, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, Wisconsin

Political cartoon commenting on the "religion" of gun ownership.

WI Sikh physician reflects on gun control issue

January 4, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a recent opinion piece, Dr. Mohan Singh Dhariwal, a physician from Wisconsin, reflects on the mass shootings in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and Newtown, Connecticut, and discusses the issue of gun control: As a physician, I am accustomed to listening to the pains of my patients that ravages of life bring them. I empathize with them, guide them and allow them to heal. As a Sikh American physician, I found the tables were turned when patients came into my office […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Connecticut, gun control, hate crimes, mass shootings, Mohan Singh Dhariwal, Newtown, Oak Creek, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Author Archives: Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The inspiring grace of Balpreet Kaur

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Victories in employment equality

When Amendments collide

A hitchhiker’s guide to the turban

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana

The challenges of dating while Sikh

Family of Oak Creek, WI, shooting victim honored in Amritsar, India

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The Oak Creek Massacre

WI Sikh physician reflects on gun control issue