| Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Happy Sikh Environment Day!

March 14, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Today, March 14, marks the first ever “Sikh Environment Day” – an initiative of EcoSikh – in honor of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Guru of the Sikhs. Visit their website to see what they have achieved in bringing awareness among Sikhs about the environment in the first year of this initiative: Over 250 Sikh temples, schools and organizations across the world today are inaugurating the first Sikh Environment Day, taking part in mass planting of trees, installing solar panels, encouraging eco-friendly farming […]

Categories: Events • Tags: British Columbia, EcoSikh, Guru Har Rai, Sikh, Sikh Environment Day

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

Feeling the Power: A non-Sikh visits the Golden Temple

March 3, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Kristy Robinson, of the Yahoo! Contributor Network, describes her visit to Darbar Sahib (aka “the Golden Temple”, the heart of Sikhism) in Amritsar, India: Still uncertain of what the point was in coming to a place that none of us believed in I crept on with my host family surrounding me to keep unruly Indians from putting their hands where they need not be. It took about an hour to reach the inside of the temple and I was not prepared […]

Categories: Interfaith, Reflections • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Harmandir Sahib, Kristy Robinson

A touch of brilliance: Sikholars 2011

March 2, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Last weekend, I was fortunate to attend the second annual Sikholars: Sikh Graduate Student Conference, a two-day event at California State University, East Bay. I also attended last year’s conference when it was held as a one-day event at University of California, Stanford. While not a formal scholar myself, I have a great interest in Sikh studies, and this conference provides a glimpse of the great academic work being done by Sikhs and non-Sikhs in the United States and around the world. This year, […]

Categories: Events, Reflections • Tags: California State University, CSU East Bay, East Bay, Jakara, Sabharwal Chair of Punjabi and Sikh Studies, Sikh Graduate Student Conference, Sikholars

Celebrate “Sikh Environment Day”: March 14, 2011

February 28, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

At the conclusion of every Sikh service, Sikhs ask God for blessings/prosperity to all (“sarbhat da bhalla“). EcoSikh, an organization noted on this blog before, is enacting this wish through Sikhism-inspired environmental/ecological protection. In the end, preservation of our natural environment benefits all of humanity. EcoSikh is currently engaging Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) and Sikh communities around the world to commemorate “Sikh Environment Day” on March 14, 2011. This date is significant in Sikh history; it was on this day in 1644 that Guru Har Rai […]

Categories: Sikhism • Tags: EcoSikh, environment, Guru Har Rai, Sikh Environment Day

← Older posts

Newer posts →

Latest Posts