Reflections | | Page 8

California Governor Jerry Brown (seated) signs AB1964 and SB1540 into law at a rally at the California State Capitol last Saturday. Assembly Member Mariko Yamada (standing left of the Governor), Dr. Onkar Bindra (standing right of the Governor) and Sikh Coalition Advocacy Manager Simran Kaur (far right) joined the Governor. (source: Instagram user i2theb)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Victories in employment equality

January 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In 2012, there were two significant achievements for Sikh Americans in the realm of employment discrimination on each side of the country: the decision by Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department to accept observant Sikhs as full police officers, and the signing of a workplace religious freedom act in California. Both achievements have the potential to act as precedents for further success in dealing with employment discrimination that Sikhs have faced in the United States due to lack of accommodation of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: AB1964, California, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Employment Discrimination, Jerry Brown, Mariko Yamada, Metropolitan Police Department, SALDEF, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, Washington DC, Workplace Religious Freedom Act

Painting of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana by Inkquisitive.

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana

January 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In late March, Sikhs around the world became inspired by one Balwant Singh Rajoana, a former police officer on India’s death row who was scheduled to be executed on March 28, 2012, for his role in the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, India at the time. Beant Singh oversaw state atrocities against the Sikh people in Punjab during his tenure as head of the state’s government in the 1990s: In Punjab between 1992 and 1995, […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Balwant Singh Rajoana, Top 5 Sikh American Stories

Param on the UK dating show "Take Me Out" (source: YouTube)

The challenges of dating while Sikh

January 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On The Langar Hall, blogger Brooklynwala discusses the aftermath of a Sikh’s appearance on a dating show called “Take Me Out” in the UK, and the struggles for Sikhs in dating while wearing a turban and uncut hair: One caller named Jasminder asserts that when Param came down, it became more like a comedy show and less like a dating show given how the women and audience reacted. He continues that turban-wearing men often feel invisible to women, not literally, […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: dating

"A new problem for Uncle Sam." Political cartoon c. 1910 (source: Echoes of Freedom)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The Oak Creek Massacre

January 5, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It is without any doubt that the most significant event for Sikh Americans during the year 2012 occurred on August 5, when a white supremacist entered the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on a Sunday morning and opened fire on worshippers who were preparing for the day’s services. Six Sikhs — Ranjit Singh, Sita Singh, Paramjit Kaur, Satwant Singh Kaleka, Prakash Singh and Suveg Singh Khattra — were killed. Among the several others injured included Punjab Singh, who now […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: hate crimes, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, Wisconsin

Political cartoon commenting on the "religion" of gun ownership.

WI Sikh physician reflects on gun control issue

January 4, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a recent opinion piece, Dr. Mohan Singh Dhariwal, a physician from Wisconsin, reflects on the mass shootings in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and Newtown, Connecticut, and discusses the issue of gun control: As a physician, I am accustomed to listening to the pains of my patients that ravages of life bring them. I empathize with them, guide them and allow them to heal. As a Sikh American physician, I found the tables were turned when patients came into my office […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Connecticut, gun control, hate crimes, mass shootings, Mohan Singh Dhariwal, Newtown, Oak Creek, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

Leave a comment

What were some of the most important stories involving Sikh Americans in 2012?

What were the top Sikh American stories of 2012?

January 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The year 2012 proved to be a significant for Sikh Americans. From January onward, the Sikh American community would find themselves on national and international headlines, and would also engage in a higher level of political engagement, whether it be related to advocating for policy or participating in the political process. The community also earned important victories in the realm of civil rights and religious freedom. Individual Sikhs would stand out during the year as well, providing inspiration for many […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Sikh American, Top 5 Sikh American Stories, United States

Leave a comment

Majority religion, by country (source: Pew Forum)

The Christmas Conundrum

December 31, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

I was 11 years old, standing on stage with my classmates during our school’s annual Christmas concert in which we were singing the Christmas carol “O Come All Ye Faithful“. During our performance, I decided to make a small modification to the lyrics: Oh, come, let us adore Him, oh, come, let us adore Him, Oh come, let us adore Him, Christ your Lord. As soon as I uttered my modification of the last line (replacing “the” with “your”), I […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Akim Reinhardt, Bandi Chhorh Divas, Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, Diwali, Faheem Younus

People gather outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin for the raising of the Nishan Sahib flag a week after the mass murder that occurred there. A group of about 50 men and boys unwrapped the orange cloth covering the pole, washed the pole with water and milk and then re-wrapped it with a fresh cloth. (source: USA Today)

Victimhood in the context of chardi kala

December 26, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the shadow of the mass murder of Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Simran Jeet Singh discusses the growing narrative of Sikhs as victims in American society in the context of Sikh history and tradition: A few of the prominent themes have included buzzwords such as “unprecedented,” “victimization,” and “suffering” endured by Sikhs in America. Although these buzzwords rightfully point to the challenges faced by Sikh Americans, they fail to aptly capture the spirit and attitude with which Sikhs have […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: chardi kala, hate crimes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Simran Jeet Singh, Wisconsin

Leave a comment

Asian Americans (source: New York Times)

The problem with “Asian American”

December 21, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A recent article in The Economist discusses the complexities of the “Asian American” classification as a demographic category (via @sepiamutiny): But is the term “Asian-American” anything more than a convenient shorthand? The ancestral lands of the people it covers are home to most of the world’s population. Unlike the vast bulk of Latinos, Asian-Americans speak different languages and worship different deities from one another. Almost two-thirds of Latinos are of Mexican ancestry. But the biggest Asian subgroup, Chinese-Americans, make up […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Asian American

Leave a comment

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Category Archives: Reflections

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Victories in employment equality

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana

The challenges of dating while Sikh

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The Oak Creek Massacre

WI Sikh physician reflects on gun control issue

What were the top Sikh American stories of 2012?

The Christmas Conundrum

Victimhood in the context of chardi kala

The problem with “Asian American”