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Palbinder Kaur Shergill, General Legal Counsel of the World Sikh Organization. (Source: IntLawGrrls)

A Sikh woman stands up for rights in Quebec, Canada

September 9, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A storm is continuing to brew in Canada’s province of Quebec where the provincial government is expected to propose regulations that limit freedom of religion in the province. Earlier this summer, the Parti Quebecois (PQ), the governing party, supported the Quebec Soccer Federation’s now-overturned ban on the patka (a form of turban worn by young Sikh boys), and it is expected that Quebec’s government will be proposing a ban on religious articles of faith such as the turban, hijab and […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Canada, Parti Québécois, Quebec, Quebec Soccer Federation, SAFAR, Sikh Feminist Research Institute, Turban, World Sikh Organization

Singhs of Anarchy

August 21, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On to the front page of the website Reddit today was a well-circulated photo of the Sikh Motorcycle Club in British Columbia, Canada. Said one commenter: “They love traveling down Route Sikh-y Sikhs.” After the incident on Reddit last year in which a Sikh woman turned an attempt at mockery into an inspiring moment of education, it’s nice to see something about Sikhs appear on the website that is a little more light-hearted. See the Sikh Motorcycle Club website for […]

Categories: Picture of the Day • Tags: Balpreet Kaur, British Columbia, Canada, Reddit, Sikh Motorcycle Club, Vancouver

"Harshaan Ahluwalia, 2, dribbles a soccer ball during a friendly soccer match in solidarity with young players who wear turbans Saturday, June 15, 2013 in Montreal. Quebec's soccer federation announced it is ending its much-criticized turban ban Saturday." (Photo credit: Paul Chiasson | THE CANADIAN PRESS. Source: The Globe and Mail.)

The secularism-religious freedom divide

August 20, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

To the north, Canada’s province of Quebec is seeking to prohibit religious symbols such as the wearing of the turban, yarmulke or headscarf by public employees in a political maneuver believed to be veiled in secularism. The move by Quebec’s provincial government follows in the footsteps of the Quebec Soccer Federation, who earlier this summer attempted to ban the wearing of the turban in amateur soccer in the province (the ban was lifted after national and international criticism and objection). […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Interfaith, Politics • Tags: Canada, freedom of religion, Immanent Frame, Kathleen Skerrett, Multiculturalism, Quebec, Religious symbolism, Secularism, soccer, Turban

Flag of the Ghadar Party (source: Ghadar Movement blog)

Call for papers: Ghadar Centennial Conference in Abbotsford, BC, Canada

May 7, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On October 17, 2013, the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, is holding a conference to commemorate the centennial of the founding of the Ghadar Party in 1913 — a movement that was based in North America to challenge British colonial rule of India. Entitled “Interpreting Ghadar: Echoes of Voices Past“, the conference is inviting papers under the following topics: “Ghadar Literature and Revolution” “Colonialism and Social Justice” “Negotiating Transnational […]

Categories: Events • Tags: "Interpreting Ghadar: Echoes of Voices Past", Abbotsford, British Columbia, Call for Papers, Canada, Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, Ghadar Party, University of the Fraser Valley

Picture of the Day: Hockey Night in Punjabi

April 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On their front page today, the New York Times reports about the Punjabi-language broadcast of ice hockey games in Canada by the CBC, the public national network and one of the major broadcasters of NHL hockey games. The Punjabi version is announced by two Sikhs — Harnarayan Singh and Bhola Chauhan: Singh, 28, has developed a signature style tailored for his audience. A puck can be described as an “aloo tikki,” a potato pancake his mother makes especially well. When […]

Categories: Picture of the Day, Profiles • Tags: Bhola Chohan, Canada, CBC, Harnarayan Singh, Hockey Night in Canada, New York Times, Punjabi

Baltej Singh Dhillon (source: Whitterings)

Turban-wearing Sikh now to guard Queen of England

December 11, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the United Kingdom, one Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar, a Sikh, became the first soldier to wear his turban instead of the traditional bearskin as a member of the Scots Guards at Buckingham Palace: LONDON — Britain’s Ministry of Defense says a Sikh soldier has become the first guardsman to parade outside Buckingham Palace while wearing his traditional turban. Fifty family members were on hand Tuesday as Guardsman Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar as he took part in the changing of the guard […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Picture of the Day • Tags: Baltej Singh Dhillon, bearskin, Buckingham Palace, Canada, Jatinderpal Singh Bhullar, RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Scots Guard, Stephen Harper, stetson, United Kingdom

The Sikh American vs. Sikh Canadian politician

October 3, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Last year, Canada went through a federal election in which Canadian Sikhs factored significantly. I asked at that time whether American Sikhs will ever be as important, politically, as our Canadian counterparts: In terms of garnering a higher percentage of the vote, politicians in America would not likely get a lot of bang for their buck in collecting the Sikh vote as they do in Canada. Accordingly, while taking inspiration from our brothers and sisters to the north, American Sikhs […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Canada, Harmeet Dhillon, United States, US politics

Let’s call it what it is: “Sikhophobia”

July 11, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A number of different American communities have been impacted by Islamophobia, and practitioners of the Sikh religion make up one of the most adversely affected minority groups. The distinctive physical appearance of typical Sikh males in particular — brown skin, turban, beard — correlates with the stereotypical images of terrorists projected in western media. Scholars have recently described this perceived relationship as a racialization of religious identity. This process has led to a conflation of Sikhs and Muslims, and therefore, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Brampton, California, Canada, Elk Grove, FBI Hate Crime Statistics, Fresno, hate crimes, Huffington Post, Islamophobia, Michigan, Ontario, Sikhophobia, Simran Jeet Singh, Sterling, Sterling Heights, Virginia

Today, within and without, I struggle for peace

March 29, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Raag Bihaagraa, Chhant, Fourth Mehl, First House: One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru: Meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, O my soul; as Gurmukh, meditate on the invaluable Name of the Lord. My mind is pierced through by the sublime essence of the Lord’s Name. The Lord is dear to my mind. With the sublime essence of the Lord’s Name, my mind is washed clean. Under Guru’s Instructions, hold your mind steady; […]

Categories: 1984, News Bits, Reflections • Tags: Balwant Singh Rajoana, Beant Singh, Canada, Gurdaspur, India, Jaspal Singh, Johnathan Kay, Punjab, Terry Milewski

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Canada