Anand Karaj |

Sikh wedding ceremony. (source: Canadian Bride Magazine)

Judge declares that VA wedding law discriminatory against Sikhs

April 2, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Late last year, four Sikhs from Virginia challenged a state law (Virginia Code 20-23) that would have required them each to pay a $500 bond to be authorized by the state to perform the Sikh wedding ceremony because they were not ordained ministers. The issue, of course, is that the Sikh faith (like several others) does not have formal clergy or ordained ministers, and thus the law was discriminating against members of the Sikh faith. The Virginia chapter of the […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, Anand Karaj, Sikh wedding, Virginia

Sikh wedding ceremony (source: MrSikhNet)

VA Sikhs challenge marriage discrimination

December 21, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a unique case of discrimination, Sikhs in Virginia are challenging a state law that fines non-clergy who perform wedding ceremonies: Four Sikh men are suing the state after they were charged $500 each to preside over weddings because the law only recognizes ordained ministers, like priests and rabbis, as having the power to wed people. However, Sikhs don’t have a clergy. Instead, anyone who can read and comprehend Sikh scriptures is qualified to perform marriages. That means a hefty […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: American Civil Liberties Union, Anand Karaj, Duncan Getchell, Fairfax County, Ken Cuccinelli, Sikh wedding, Virginia

Reflections on Sikholars Sikh Graduate Student Conference: Day 2

March 5, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In a previous post, I reflected on attending the Sikholars Sikh Graduate Student Conference at CSU East Bay in Hayward, California a few weeks ago. I commented on the first day’s presentations and panel discussions and now offer the same for the second day. As before, I will refer to the blog post on The Langar Hall that provided a recap of the conference and also to the papers that were presented this year made available on the Sikholars website […]

Categories: Events, Reflections • Tags: Anand Karaj, Ashveer Singh, bhangra, Bindy Kaur, California State University East Bay, femininity, Gurpreet Sehra, Hindu Marriage Act, Jakara Movement, Kirpa Kaur, Loveleen Kaur, masculinity, racialization, Sabharwal Chair of Punjabi and Sikh Studies, Sikh art, Sikholars, Women in Sikhism

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Anand Karaj

Judge declares that VA wedding law discriminatory against Sikhs

VA Sikhs challenge marriage discrimination

Reflections on Sikholars Sikh Graduate Student Conference: Day 2