Reflections | | Page 14

Choosing identity: American or Indian?

November 3, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Simran Jeet Singh, who will be running the ING New York City Marathon (as a featured runner) in three days, writes in the Huffington Post about his identities as a Sikh, American, and Indian, and the role that the Indian state-sponsored atrocities of 1984 against the Sikh people (and others since) has played into how he reconciles the various labels: Yet I find that the values and ideals of my religion, Sikhism, resonate more closely with those of America. Like […]

Categories: 1984, Profiles, Reflections • Tags: Huffington Post, New York City Marathon, Simran Jeet Singh, United States

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The morning when the sun set: November 1, 1984

November 1, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Once more I am the silent one who came out of the distance wrapped in cold rain and bells: I owe to earth’s pure death the will to sprout. Pablo Neruda (1904 – 1973) One morning, 27 years ago, I – a young lad living in the west – was walking to school. It was seasonably cool morning. There was a dusting of frost on the grass and a slight chill in the air, but a warming sun was rising. […]

Categories: 1984, Reflections • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Ensaaf, Harmandir Sahib, India, Indira Gandhi, Operation Blue Star, Operation Bluestar, Sikh genocide, Sikh Genocide Project, Sikhs for Justice

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Saffron Press’s “How to tie a patka (dastaar)”

October 25, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The patka is a headcovering worn as a turban by young Sikh boys. Saffron Press, the publisher of A Lion’s Mane and Dreams of Hope, just released the video above to educate children about the patka and demonstrate how it is tied. I transitioned from a patka to a full turban when I was 16 years old (I still wear one when I play sports). The video – which is excellent work – reminded me of my younger days when I was […]

Categories: Reflections, Resources • Tags: A Lion's Mane, Dreams of Hope, patka, Saffron Press, school, Turban

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Bullying of children is a call to take action

October 11, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Navjot Kaur, author of the children’s books A Lion’s Mane and Dreams of Hope, gives an account of her son being bullied in Kindergarten: We came home and I held it together the whole way. Once we cuddled and I reassured him when he asked, “You going to tell [boy’s name] to say sorry to me?” I went into another room and cried. I’m not sure why I felt so defeated for that tiny moment but I did. But after talking […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: A Lion's Mane, bullying, Dreams of Hope, kindergarten, Navjot Kaur

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Andrew Bowen’s last day as a Sikh

October 6, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

So here we are at the end. I’m told that, while I will not go on looking like a Sikh, a Sikh is one who searches for truth and meditates of the divine in all. In reality then, even though today I shave the lion’s mane (unshorn hair) of the Kesh I wore so proudly, I am still one of them in spirit. In fact, that description sounds a lot like many of us, doesn’t it? We are so much […]

Categories: Interfaith, Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: Andrew Bowen, Project Conversion 12, Religion and Spirituality

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The day I racially profiled myself

September 26, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Upon booking my flight for a recent vacation, it was a routine consideration that I would need to make sure I gave myself enough time to check in at the airport, because I knew I would be subject to extra screening. As a turban-wearing man of Indian descent, I have heeded the notifications and have become used to added scrutiny and inspection when I travel through the country’s airports, which usually consists of additional pat-downs, turban inspections, and a review of my travel […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Airport security, Post-9/11, Racial profiling, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

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Sikhs are America

July 4, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

(photo: sikhism.about.com) This Fourth of July – Independence Day in the United States – is my first as an American citizen. I had lived in this country for many years prior to obtaining my citizenship. Having been born and raised in another country, I only had vague notions about the principles on which this country was founded, and it was during my preparation for my U.S. citizenship test that I finally educated myself on what was the Proclamation of Independence, […]

Categories: Events, Reflections • Tags: Fourth of July, Independence Day, Pledge of Allegiance, United States, United States of America

The Sikh Presenters Course: Self-awareness to bring public awareness

June 24, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Transparency with our most vulnerable moments can lead us to the courage we need to take charge of not only our individual destinies but also collectively participate in our community’s destiny. — Meeta Kaur, a recent participant of the Sikh Coalition’s Sikh Presenters Course, reflects on her experience during the three-day workshop. I attended this very same course and had the opportunity to meet Meeta and many other enthusiastic Sikhs from a variety of backgrounds who were looking to bring awareness of Sikhs […]

Categories: Interfaith, Reflections, Resources • Tags: Meeta Kaur, Sikh Coalition, Sikh Presenter's Course

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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

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Reflections

Choosing identity: American or Indian?

The morning when the sun set: November 1, 1984

Saffron Press’s “How to tie a patka (dastaar)”

Bullying of children is a call to take action

Andrew Bowen’s last day as a Sikh

The day I racially profiled myself

Sikhs are America

The Sikh Presenters Course: Self-awareness to bring public awareness

Growing up Sikh: the lingering effects of bullying