Civil Rights | | Page 26

Sacramento cab driver attacked, cont’d

November 30, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Despite already robbing him of the money he carried in his taxicab, Harbhajan Singh was continually attacked physically while his attackers called him “Osama Bin Laden”. Police are thus far only treating this as a robbery: Police said the assault and robbery appeared to be an isolated incident and, contrary to some media reports, it is not being investigated as a hate crime. It seems that as long as you attach the hate crime to another crime, you get a free pass on beating an innocent man […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: California, Council on American-Islamic Relations, FBI, Harbhajan Singh, hate crime, robbery, Sacramento, taxicab

Protecting and strengthening our children

November 29, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The recent study released by the Sikh Coalition about the discrimination and bullying that Sikh children have faced in Bay Area schools highlights what these children go through: One middle school boy profiled in the report is Harrjit Singh [sic], who didn’t want to say what school he attends. On Sept. 11 this year, Harjit said kids called him a terrorist. And during a P.E. class, somebody ripped off his patka and said, “I’m sorry, I just wanted to see […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits, Reports/Studies • Tags: Bay area, Bay Area Civil Rights Report 2010, bullying, Jakara camp, San Francisco, Sikh children, Sikh Coalition, Yuba City

Are Sikhs taking it too personally?

November 23, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Should clothing now be sold with a “TSA-Approved” label? You can’t wear white after Labor Day, and now you have to dress appropriately when you travel: Travel experts say the new scrutiny underscores the need for better airport fashion choices that can help people breeze through screenings with their dignity intact. Clothes loaded with metal studs are suddenly a no-no, as are bras with underwires. Slacks instead of skirts are preferred. Any baggy clothing can require extra inspection. This presumably includes […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, SALDEF, Sikh Coalition, TSA, United Sikhs

Why the TSA’s searching procedures pose a problem for Sikhs

November 22, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For Sikhs, the turban is an internationally-accepted article of faith. Having it removed or handled in public is humiliating for any Sikh, however many Sikhs have compromised and thus far have acceded to the TSA’s pat downs and screening. It has not always gone well: His son passed this test, but the officers told Bawa he had set off an alarm and called the police, who checked his records in Maryland, he said. He was tested again and came away clear, but was […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, Gurdeep Singh Bawa, TSA

California, put your money where your legislation is

November 19, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Rajdeep Singh, of the Sikh Coalition, calls out California’s state government for their lack of action in allowing a Sikh to be employed at Folsom Prison: …the state is using hard-earned California taxpayer dollars — including the taxpayer dollars of Sikhs — to subsidize wasteful litigation against a well-qualified Sikh who simply wants to earn a livelihood. In the context of Sikh Appreciation Month, this is the height of irony. If California’s State Assembly wants “Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month” […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Folsom Prison, Jerry Brown, Sikh Appreciation Month, Sikh Coalition, Trilochan Singh Oberoi

Does it only get worse from here?

November 19, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Bay Area is reputed to be one of the most liberal places to live in the country. It also contains one of the larger Sikh populations in the United States. On that context, the Sikh Coalition‘s recently released study, Bay Area Civil Rights Report 2010, provides some sobering data: 69% of Sikh boys who wear patkas or dastaars [both are types of turbans] have been harassed in school 2 out of 3 Sikh boys in middle school report being […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reports/Studies • Tags: Bay area, Bay Area Civil Rights Report 2010, California, San Francisco, Sikh Coalition

Lobbying away our rights

November 17, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“…the lobbying contracts of the major distributors of the full-body scanners show a network of lobbyists deeply connected in Washington. For instance, L-3 Communications hired former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.) who was once on the Commission on Aviation Security under President George H.W. Bush.” At the risk of turning this blog’s focus too much at the TSA, the interesting post quoted above from opensecrets.org details the lobby groups behind the installation of AIT machines at American airports. W.C. Varones goes further […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits, Politics • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, Alfonse D'Amato, Lobbying, Michael Chertoff, TSA, United States

TSA: Turbans, Skirts and the AIT

November 16, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“She said ‘spread your legs.’ And then she took her full palms and started at my neck and ran all the way down my body, full palms, constant contact. And when she got down to my feet, she was in constant contact from my ankles all the way up to my groin, across my groin, and down the other leg. And she did that twice,” Gigliotti said. The TSA allegedly finds skirts as suspicious as turbans, according to a recently-searched […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, California, Department of Homeland Security, Sacramento, SALDEF, Sikh Coalition, TSA, United Sikhs

“Sikhs are among the most American of Americans”

November 16, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“The Sikh belief in universal equality is a powerful counterpoint to religious exclusivity and foreshadowed the movements for civil rights and women’s rights by several centuries. For Sikhs, the turban distinguishes its wearer as an ambassador of his or her faith and serves as a constant reminder to abide by the core values of the Sikh religion, including the importance of standing up for anyone who is oppressed.” — excerpt from an essay by Rajdeep Singh (of the Sikh Coalition) […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits, Politics • Tags: Barack Obama, Golden Temple, Rajdeep Singh, Sikh Coalition, Washington Post

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Civil Rights