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Why Diane Fisher is attending American Sikh Day

April 12, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

We cannot remain silent because an attack on one minority is an attack on all. That exhortation goes for Sikhs as well as every other group in our society. We must remember this value as a cornerstone of American principles. — Diane Fisher, of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley, explains why she is attending American Sikh Day tomorrow. Read her full opinion piece in the Mercury News.

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes, Interfaith • Tags: American Sikh Day, California, Capitol, Diane Fisher, Elk Grove, hate crime, Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley, Sacramento

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American Sikh Day finds community support

April 7, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It’s time to make clear that appearance, religious belief, clothing, color and nation of origin are not what identify an American. We all wear different jewelry and clothes, worship (or don’t worship) in diverse ways, follow various practices in our lives and are vital, important parts of this community. So in the spirit of the legend of King Christian, we urge our readers to stand together, on April 13, in solidarity with members of a community who are being singled […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Events, Hate Crimes, Interfaith, News Bits • Tags: American Sikh Day, California, Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento, Sacramento News & Review

The Sikh Coalition faces racial profiling, cont’d

April 5, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It was at this moment that I realized we were being profiled and that what made us “suspicious” in the eyes of some misinformed bigot were our turbans. I clarified to the 3 officers that we are actually from South Asia; requested their business cards; and told them that we would “be in touch.” At long last, we made our way to the Capitol Visitor Center, where Gurwinder delivered an excellent presentation with poise and incredible grace, only moments after […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: "Washington, D.C.", Gurwinder Singh, Racial profiling, Rajdeep Singh, Sikh Coalition

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Gurwinder Singh this morning in front of the US Capital. He spoke here this morning about his experiences with school bullying. He was also bullied this morning by US Capital police who questioned him because a member of the public called in a report of a suspicious looking "middle eastern" person near the House of Representatives.

The Sikh Coalition faces racial profiling

April 4, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

From the Sikh Coalition’s (one of the first national Sikh-focused civil rights organizations in the country) Facebook page today: The irony speaks for itself, and I’m very much interested to hear more details.

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: "Washington, D.C.", Facebook, Gurwinder Singh, Racial profiling, Sikh Coalition

The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms

March 30, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“Regrettably, while nearly a decade has passed since 9/11, we continue to see a steady stream of violence and discrimination targeting Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South-Asian communities. In each city and town where I have met with leaders of these communities, I have been struck by the sense of fear that pervades their lives – fear of violence, of bigotry and hate. The headwind of intolerance manifests itself in many different ways.” — an excerpt of Assistant Attorney General Thomas […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, News Bits, Politics • Tags: civil rights, Dick Durbin, hate crime, Islam, Islamophobia, Muslim, Peter King, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense Fund, Thomas Perez, United States Department of Justice, US Attorney General

US Dept. of Justice vs. California – protecting a Sikh’s rights in prison

March 17, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Should practicing Sikhs be allowed to pursue their faith while in prison? This debate is occuring not only among Sikhs and non-Sikhs, but also between the federal and state governments. The United States Department of Justice has filed a legal suit against the State of California for violating the civil rights of Sikh inmate Sukhjinder Singh Basra: The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the state of California, Governor Jerry Brown and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: California, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Jagmohan Singh Ahuja, Jerry Brown, Kamala Harris, prison, Rastafarian, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, Sukhjinder Singh Basra, Trilochan Singh Oberoi, United States Department of Justice

Seizing the wind: South Asian mobilization after 9/11

February 23, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In grad school I was taught that for certain public policies to come to fruition, there needs to be a “window of opportunity”. For the South Asian community, the catalyst for this window of opportunity was the Twin Towers falling. As tragic of an event it was for everyone in our nation, that day was a starting point for our community not wanting to get together but NEEDING to get together. We were forced to organize and mobilize. We still […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: 9/11, Tanzila Ahmed

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TSA, USA cont’d

February 22, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While last fall’s firestorm around TSA’s search procedures seems to have simmered down, one US politician recently took a stand against being patted down: State Rep. Sharon Cissna will return to Juneau by ferry after declining to undergo a pat-down at a Seattle airport. Michelle Scannell, Cissna’s chief of staff, said that the TSA called for the pat-down because scanners showed Cissna had had a mastectomy. Scannell called the search “intrusive” but didn’t explicitly say why the lawmaker — who […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, Sharon Cissna, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

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Sikh Civil Rights: The canary in the mine

January 21, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

UNITED SIKHS, a United Nations-affiliated Sikh advocacy and human development group, just released their Global Sikh Civil & Human Rights Report, which summarizes the results from surveys completed by Sikhs around the world: This past year, challenges to Sikh civil and human rights included: Belgium and other countries maintained policies that did not officially recognize the Sikh religion; Sikhs and other religious minorities are still precluded from manifesting their external religious identity in schools in France; Racial/Religious profiling of Sikhs and […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reports/Studies • Tags: Global Sikh Civil & Human Rights Report, Kirpan, Parti Québécois, Quebec, Quebec National Assembly, United Nations, United Sikhs

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Civil Rights

Why Diane Fisher is attending American Sikh Day

American Sikh Day finds community support

The Sikh Coalition faces racial profiling, cont’d

The Sikh Coalition faces racial profiling

The American “Muslim” hearings: radicalization takes different forms

US Dept. of Justice vs. California – protecting a Sikh’s rights in prison

Seizing the wind: South Asian mobilization after 9/11

TSA, USA cont’d

Sikh Civil Rights: The canary in the mine