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“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

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“Why do you wear that thing on your head?”

November 15, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sikh Council of Central California held a session at a Gurdwara in Selma, California this past weekend (video): “It’s quite unfortunate that right after 9/11, Bin Laden and his associates had turbans and flowing beards. They almost looked like Sikhs and in fact are different people. The Sikhs are against any terrorism,” Ranjit Singh Rajpal, M.D. said. Members say raising awareness of the Sikh culture is especially important among children because children are often teased and bullied in schools. […]

Categories: News Bits, Reflections • Tags: California, Selma, Sikh Council of Central California

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Sikh parade in Queens, NY

Sikh Parade in Queens, NY

November 13, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Sikhs took to the streets in Queens, NY today in their own Sikh Parade to celebrate the birth of Guru Nanak (the founder of Sikhism, born in 1469). See ny1.com for the video of the story.

Categories: News Bits • Tags: New York, Queens, Sikh Parade

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Sikh Americans and Veteran’s Day

November 13, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A short article about Veteran’s Day parades in the Sacramento, California area also references the role of Sikh soldiers in the two world wars: Sikh pioneers who came to America in the beginning of twentieth century were mostly veterans of World War 1. 83000 Sikh soldiers died fighting for Allied forces in two World Wars. Their memorials were erected in many European countries such as France, Netherlands, and Britain. One historic item that is not well known is that  there […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: California, Germany, Nazi, Sacramento, Veterans Day, World War I, World War II

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Can’t see the religion for the buildings

November 12, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

“I am sorry I failed.” — D.C. Superior Court Judge Bruce Beaudin, on his attempts to bring resolution to the dispute over the National Gurdwara in Washington, D.C.  Such disputes involving Gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) are all too common in North America.  Many Gurdwaras are plagued with an over-emphasis on buildings, personal ambition, and finances.   A visit to this Gurdwara’s website takes the visitor to a page asking for donations to keep it afloat.  The Gurdwara is surrounded by such […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: "Washington, D.C.", Gurdwara disputes, National Gurdwara

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Reflections on the Yuba City Sikh Parade

November 12, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A non-Sikh spectator of the Sikh Parade in Yuba City last weekend wrote a letter to the editor of the local Yuba City newspaper and comments on her experience during the event: We did not understand the significance of the street sweepers in front of the first float, but judging by the very soothing chanting of the throng surrounding the float, we guessed it was for making the street holy. We were also impressed by how peaceful the entire event was. We have […]

Categories: News Bits • Tags: California, Sikh Parade, Yuba City

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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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How does Obama disappoint the Sikhs? Let us count the ways.

November 10, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Ms. Kaur stated, “For the widows and survivors there is no difference between the Indian government who has been denying justice to the Sikhs for the past twenty six years and the Obamas who ignored their pleas.” It seems Obama can’t catch a break when it comes to disappointing the Sikhs during his trip to India.  First, he wouldn’t visit the Golden Temple, allegedly to avoid muslimish optics. Then, the TSA turban-screening announcement hit just as he was in India.  […]

Categories: News Bits, Politics • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Barack Obama, India, Sikh genocide

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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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