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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

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Is it a crime if done by the government?

November 15, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“I repeated that I felt what they were doing was a sexual assault, and that if they were anyone but the government, the act would be illegal.” — a blogger describes his encounter with the TSA at the San Diego airport.  His post also includes video and audio that he captured on his cell phone during the incident (1, 2, 3). It’s not just Sikhs who are finding that the TSA’s screening procedures have become much too invasive.

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, California, San Diego, TSA

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Arguably better than an Obama visit to Amritsar

November 11, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

…is this showing up on Yahoo’s main page today on this Veteran’s Day: For US Sikhs, it was hoped that an Obama visit to our central shrine in Amritsar (commonly known as “the Golden Temple“) would have brought us some attention here in America and in doing so help educate our fellow citizens about us.   However, had he reconsidered and actually visited the Golden Temple, Obama’s patronage of the site was already tarnished by the allegations that the White House feared it […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits, Politics • Tags: Barack Obama, Golden Temple, Simran Lamba, US Army

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Enlisting the Sikhs

November 10, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Spc. Simran Lamba is the first turban-wearing Sikh in 30 years to be enlisted in the US Army and go through basic training: The 26-year-old native of New Delhi, India, says it had been a childhood dream to become a soldier. He was permitted to wear unshorn hair and a turban under a special accommodation. The exemption applies to an Army policy that effectively prevented Sikhs from enlisting since 1984. Recently, turban-wearing Sikhs have broken down barriers when it has come […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, Simran Lamba, Tejdeep Singh Rattan, US Army

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Auto no-turban zone

November 8, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

National auto parts distributor AutoZone, Inc. is in hot water: “I spent more time with AutoZone staff than with my own family and friends,” said MahoneyBurroughs. “It was very painful to be humiliated and insulted by them. They made me feel as though I had no right to practice my faith. When I complained, I was discarded like a piece of trash. I don’t want AutoZone to do this to anyone else.” The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: AutoZone, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

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Where the TSA and the Golden Temple intersect

November 7, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

During Obama’s visit to India, Indian Member of Parliament Harsimrat Badal (of the opposition Akali Party) directly conveyed to the US President her concerns about Obama’s avoidance of Amritsar: According to Harsimrat, the US president was gracious enough to acknowledge the sentiment and replying that his present visit was a “rushed affair” and that he would try to come for a longer visit next time, during which he would like to visit Punjab. “The pleasure would be all mine,” is what he […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits, Politics • Tags: Air travel, Airport security, AIT machines, Amritsar, Barack Obama, Manmohan Singh, TSA

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The relevance of Bandi Chhorh Divas today

November 5, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For Sikhs, the celebration of Diwali has a different meaning than for Hindus.  It is on this day that we celebrate the release of Guru Hargobind (Sikhism’s sixth Guru) and 52 Indian princes from prison in India in 1619.  We refer to this day as Bandi Chhorh Divas, or Day of Release of Prisoners. Valarie Kaur, on her blog, relates its commemoration of liberation to the events to current times: But there is no Guru’s cloak big enough for the […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: Bandi Chhorh Divas, Diwali, Guru Hargobind, Valarie Kaur

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