News Bits | | Page 16

More Sikh victims of violence in California

July 15, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A strange phenomenon has been occuring in northern California where reports of violence against Sikhs (both hate-motivated and otherwise) are becoming more common. The attack on cabbie Harbhajan Singh in West Sacramento, CA, the unsolved murders of seniors Surinder Singh and Gurmej Atwal in Elk Grove, CA, and the unsolved murder of Balbir Singh Dhami – also in Elk Grove – all involved attacks on turban-wearing men and all occured within the same metropolitan area in less than a year. […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: Balbir Singh Dhami, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, Harbhajan Singh, hate crime, Jagtar Singh Kang, Sacramento, Surinder Singh, taxicab, Yuba City

Leave a comment

Ravi Bhalla loses and wins

July 1, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After coming in third in the election on June 7 in New Jersey for a state assembly seat, Ravinder Singh Bhalla, profiled here last month, has been elected as President of Hoboken, New Jersey’s city council by an 8-1 margin. Would he be the first turbaned Sikh to head a city council in the United States? UPDATE – January 11, 2012: Commenter A_itoj Singh brought to my attention that Harvinder “Harry” Singh Anand, another turbaned Sikh actually pre-dated Ravinder Singh as a […]

Categories: News Bits, Politics • Tags: Hoboken, New Jersey, Ravinder Singh Bhalla

Leave a comment

Kamal Nath – accused 1984 anti-Sikh massacre organizer – claims diplomatic immunity

July 1, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Kamal Nath, a minister in India’s government who is accused of being one of the organizers of the 1984 anti-Sikh progroms, has claimed diplomatic immunity from the US civil suit that is to begin in September. He also claims to not have received the summons to appear at the trial. The United States State Department has not officially determined whether diplomatic immunity would be granted to Nath. Sikhs for Justice, the group that filed the class action suit in US court (under the Alien Tort Claims […]

Categories: 1984, News Bits • Tags: Diplomatic immunity, Kamal Nath, Sikh genocide, Sikhs for Justice, United States State Department

Leave a comment

Growing up Sikh: the lingering effects of bullying

June 21, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent article in the US News & World Report talks about the lifelong impact of bullying on children: “Being the target of a bully involves real suffering,” Dr. Earlene Strayhorn, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Loyola University, said in a university news release. “The constant stress of physical assaults, threats, coercion and intimidation can take a heavy toll on a child’s psyche over time. The abuse may end at some point but the psychological, developmental, social and emotional […]

Categories: News Bits, Reflections, Reports/Studies • Tags: Bay Area Civil Rights Report 2010, bullying, Global Sikh Civil & Human Rights Report, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs, United States, US News & World Report

Sikhs of Salem, Oregon, commemorate martyrdom of Guru Arjan

June 20, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This past weekend, the Sikh community in Salem, Oregon – centered around the Dashmesh Darbar Sikh Temple in Salem – held their fifth annual Nagar Kirtan (religious procession) in commemoration of the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, in 1606. This is a very significant event in Sikh history, and one from which many Sikhs draw inspiration even today. The commemoration was recognized by Salem’s mayor: During the event, Salem Mayor Anna Peterson issued a proclamation recognizing the remembrance of Siri Guru […]

Categories: Events, News Bits, Picture of the Day • Tags: Anna Peterson, Guru Arjan, Jehangir, martyrdom of Guru Arjan, Nagar Kirtan, Oregon, Salem

Leave a comment

Southern California ACLU recognizes law firm for pro bono work on behalf of Sikh rights

June 17, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The law firm Alston & Bird has been awarded the 2011 Religious Freedom Award by Southern California’s chapter of the ACLU: “Alston & Bird was pleased to assist the ACLU in this important case to protect religious freedom in the California prison system. This settlement, approved by the court, will protect not just the right of one individual to practice his faith while in prison, but the rights of those to follow,” said Jonathan Gordon, Alston & Bird Los Angeles […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: ACLU, Alston & Bird, American Civil Liberties Union, California, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Cassandra Hooks, CDCR, Jonathan Gordon, Leib Lerner, Religious Freedom Award, Sukhjinder Singh Basra

Leave a comment

Police release suspect sketch in Balbir Singh Dhami murder case

June 17, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Police in Sacramento, California have released a sketch of the suspect in the murder of Balbir Singh Dhami and new photos of the suspect’s vehicle. The victim in this crime was the third Sikh murdered in Elk Grove, California in a span of three months. Balbir Singh Dhami reportedly had a dubious drug-related past and (unlike the murders of Surinder Singh and Gurmej Atwal in Elk Grove in March) his is not considered a hate-motivated crime. His wife, who was […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: Balbir Singh Dhami, California, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Sacramento, Surinder Singh

Sacramento, California Gurdwara contributes reward in search of attacker of gay man

June 14, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“The Sikh Community condemns this disgusting attack motivated by ignorance and hate,” Sikh Temple spokesman Darshan Singh Mundy, said in a written statement announcing the reward. “In light of the recent murders of two Sikhs in Elk Grove and the hate crime conviction in Yolo County (of two men who attacked a Sikh taxi driver), we are especially sensitive to such crimes. We hope that our reward will help bring these criminals to justice.” — The Gurdwara in West Sacramento, […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: Balbir Singh Dhami, California, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Joel Olivarez, Surinder Singh, West Sacramento

Leave a comment

Sikh’s rights protected in California prisons

June 10, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

As I wrote about three months ago, the United States Department of Justice filed a legal suit against the State of California for violating the civil rights of Sikh inmate Sukhjinder Singh Basra – a Canadian citizen serving time for a drug-related offense – at a state prison in San Luis Obispo. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was enforcing a policy that required inmates to shave their facial hair. As uncut hair is a religious article of faith for […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, California, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, prison, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, San Luis Obispo, Sikh Coalition, Sukhjinder Singh Basra, United States Department of Justice

Leave a comment

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: News Bits

More Sikh victims of violence in California

Ravi Bhalla loses and wins

Kamal Nath – accused 1984 anti-Sikh massacre organizer – claims diplomatic immunity

Growing up Sikh: the lingering effects of bullying

Sikhs of Salem, Oregon, commemorate martyrdom of Guru Arjan

Southern California ACLU recognizes law firm for pro bono work on behalf of Sikh rights

Police release suspect sketch in Balbir Singh Dhami murder case

Sacramento, California Gurdwara contributes reward in search of attacker of gay man

Sikh’s rights protected in California prisons