News Bits | | Page 21

A community responds to Elk Grove, CA shootings

March 14, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the aftermath of the tragic shootings of Surinder Singh and Gurmej Atwal, it has been very heartening to see the support offered from the greater community – nationally and locally – towards the Sikh community in the Sacramento area. After Friday’s vigil at the scene of the attack (read more and see additional photos in the Elk Grove Citizen), the funeral for Surinder Singh was held last Saturday, in which over 500 people attended. Among those who attended to pay […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: Amar Shergill, CrimeStoppers, Darrell Steinberg, Elk Grove, Floyd Mori, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Irfan Haq, Lynne Brown, Sacramento, Steve Detrick, Surinder Singh, West Sacramento

Photo & video: Candlelight vigil for Elk Grove, CA shooting victims

March 12, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Last night, the Sikh and local community gathered for a candlelight vigil at the scene of the shootings of Surinder Singh and Gurmej Atwal in Elk Grove, California. Reports indicate that there were from 500 to over 1,000 people who attended. Police are still looking for the attacker(s). Read more about the vigil in the Sacramento Bee. The vigil was also presented on local TV news programs: KCRA video News10 video

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits, Picture of the Day • Tags: Amanpreet Kaur, Bhagat Singh, Candlelight vigil, Elk Grove, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Sacramento, Surinder Singh

Candlelight Vigil on March 11, 2011 from 6-7 PM at East Stockton Boulevard and Geneva Pointe Drive

Update: Two elderly Sikhs shot in suburban Sacramento

March 10, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

There have been a few updates on last week’s horrible shooting of two elderly Sikh men in Elk Grove, California: The surviving victim, Gurmej Atwal, is now deemed in serious condition (upgraded from critical condition) in hospital. The funeral for Surinder Singh is on Saturday. While the motive of this shooting is still unclear (and no confirmation on whether the victims were targeted for their appearance), police have been actively investigating this crime for leads, including the unprecedented set-up of a checkpoint […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: Council on American-Islamic Relations, Elk Grove, Elk Grove Police Department, Gurmej Atwal, hate crime, Sacramento, Surinder Singh

Cab driver’s attackers admit to hate crime

March 7, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Back in November, Harbhajan Singh, a 56-year-old cab driver in Sacramento, California, was attacked and beaten by two men who were later apprehended by the police. The men were charged with assault and hate crime offenses. Today, the two men pleaded guilty: 41-year-old Pedro Ramirez and 33-year-old Johnny Morales were in court Monday to enter the plea agreement and admit their guilt. In exchange, Morales will be sentenced to a year in jail, and Ramirez will get 13 years. On the […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, News Bits • Tags: California, Harbhajan Singh, hate crime, Johnny Morales, Pedro Antonio Ramirez, robbery, Sacramento, taxicab

Two elderly Sikhs shot in suburban Sacramento

March 6, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Shocking news has come out of Elk Grove, California (a suburb of Sacramento), where two elderly Sikh men were shot on the street while out on an afternoon walk: Police said Saturday that they don’t know why someone gunned down two men – frail from heart attacks and advancing years – as they slowly ambled through a quiet Elk Grove neighborhood during their daily afternoon walk. Surinder Singh, 67, died Friday afternoon on the sidewalk along East Stockton Boulevard near […]

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

The diasporic boomerang effect: American Sikh inspires Indian Sikhs

February 24, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While interacting with students of Khalsa College, his alma mater, Rattan said he “faced many ups and downs in life, but emerged victorious on every occasion.” He said “never say die attitude” help him to reach his goal… “Sikhs mean a lot to the world,” he said, adding that in future too he would follow the ethics of Sikhism in letter and spirit. – Tejdeep Singh Rattan describes his experience in becoming a soldier in the US Army to students […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: Amritsar, Khalsa College, Tejdeep Singh Rattan, United States, US Army

Leave a comment

One of the benefits of being an immigrant: living longer

February 22, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent study tried to explain the phenomenon in which immigrants seem to have longer life expectancies than people native to the country: It’s a epidemiological mystery. In rich countries immigrants often seem to live longer than native-born residents, a fact that appears to fly in the face of public health assumptions. After all, richer and better-educated people usually tend to live longer, and in the U.S., at least, immigrants tend to be poorer, less well-educated and have poorer access […]

Categories: News Bits, Reports/Studies • Tags: Immigration, Life expectancy, smoking

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

Bring your Sikhs, we’re open for business

February 8, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

One of the greatest challenges for any Sikh family is preservation and protection of our religious rights, and our practices. Sikhs have come a long way in this country to do both of these things, but in many ways, our people are preyed upon by missionary activities of other faiths. In the Yuba City, California area, home of one of the largest Sikh populations in the United States, such activities are being celebrated: The Rev. Masih, 36, was born a Christian […]

Categories: Interfaith, News Bits • Tags: Aamir Masih, California, Hosanna Punjabi Christian Church, Suhag A. Shukla, Yuba City

Leave a comment

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: News Bits

A community responds to Elk Grove, CA shootings

Photo & video: Candlelight vigil for Elk Grove, CA shooting victims

Update: Two elderly Sikhs shot in suburban Sacramento

Cab driver’s attackers admit to hate crime

Two elderly Sikhs shot in suburban Sacramento

The diasporic boomerang effect: American Sikh inspires Indian Sikhs

One of the benefits of being an immigrant: living longer

TSA, USA cont’d

Bring your Sikhs, we’re open for business