Immigration |

"Guru Hargobind - a painting from the Lahore Museum (courtsey F.Aijazzudin)" (source: sikh-heritage.co.uk)

Seeking those of the Great Liberator

June 25, 2018 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This month, Sikhs celebrated the appointment of Guru Hargobind as the sixth Guru of the Sikhs in 1606, following the execution of the preceding Guru, Guru Arjun, by the Mughal emperor Jehangir for refusing to convert to Islam. Born to a prophecy that he would crush tyranny, Guru Hargobind represented a metamorphosis for the Sikh people — manifesting more than just spiritual practice but worldly practice as well. The commemoration of his ascension as Guru is a timely coincidence, for […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics, Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: Bandi Chhorh Divas, Diwali, Guru Hargobind, ICE, Immigration, Jehangir, miri, piri, undocumented immigrants

Photo of the entrance of the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in El Centro, CA.

Visiting Sikh detainees in an American immigration detention facility

December 20, 2017 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In 2016, Buzzfeed News published a story about undocumented migration of Punjabi Sikhs to America in an article entitled “America’s Quiet Crackdown On Indian Immigrants”. Recounting the story of one migrant, the story traces the roots of the increasing migration and detention of Indian nationals in the US, looking at the affect political unrest and human rights violations in Punjab, India have had on those fleeing to the United States. According to the article, over 10,000 Indians arrive as undocumented […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: ICE, Immigration

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"The U.S. government has moved quietly and aggressively to prevent undocumented Indians from entering the United States, many of whom are Sikhs fleeing political repression or economic collapse at home." (Source: Buzzfeed News)

The journey of Punjab’s issues to America’s front door

February 3, 2016 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

David Noriega and John Templon write in Buzzfeed News about detention of Punjabi Sikhs at US borders who are seeking asylum. This well-written and comprehensive article connects the dots to the legacy of issues plaguing Punjab and its people today.

Categories: 1984, Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: 1984, 1984 anti-Sikh pogroms, Buta Singh, Buzzfeed News, David Noriega, farmer suicides, Immigration, John Templon, Operation Blue Star, Punjab police, trafficking

The most common jobs held by immigrants

August 28, 2015 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While not specific to nationality of origin, the following graphic provides an interesting view into the immigrant experience in America (via @conradhackett):

Categories: Reports/Studies • Tags: Employment, Immigration, Minnesota Population Center

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"A woman on the deck of a boat headed to Ellis Island in New York." (Credit: Lucas Jackson/Reuters. Source: New York Times.)

A South Asian undocumented immigrant

November 6, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On The New York Times blog India Ink, Piyali Bhattacharya pens an article about an undocumented South Asian immigrant from Nepal named Nirmal, who left his family to find work in New York (via AnjumChoudhry Nayyar): “There is nothing for me back in Nepal,” he said. “There are no job opportunities there. Better to suffer here and let my child live in peace. Maybe because of me, she will have a better life.” These motivations are not so different from […]

Categories: Profiles, Reflections • Tags: Immigration, India Ink, New York Times, Paramjit Singh, Piyali Bhattacharya, undocumented immigrants

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Immigration as art

September 18, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In an interview with The Atlantic, author Edwidge Danticat offers a perspective on the immigrant experience — that of artistic creation (via @simranik): My parents spent their entire lives in Haiti before they left. They didn’t know much about the United States except that, at that time, there were opportunities there. They basically packed two suitcases and came. That experience of touching down in a totally foreign place is like having a blank canvas: You begin with nothing, but stroke […]

Categories: Art, Reflections • Tags: Edwidge Danticat, Immigration

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Pico Iyer at TED Global 2013. (Source: TED Blog)

Defining “home”: soil versus soul

July 22, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In this TED Talk delivered in Edinburgh, Scotland in June, writer Pico Iyer reflects on the meaning of “home” for people who are from diasporic communities: 220 million people live in a country that is not their own. Younger generations often find themselves influenced by overlapping waves of cultures — they have connections to the cultures of their parents (which are often different) and the cultures of their spouse. At the same time, they have their own connections to where […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Edinburgh, hyphenated identity, Immigration, Pico Iyer, Scotland, Sikh diaspora, TED, TEDx

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Telling the stories of children of immigrants in New York & Berlin who challenge boundaries & reimagine belonging. (Source: with WINGS and ROOTS Kickstarter page)

What is behind the hyphenated American identity?

July 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An article in the Boston Review by sociologist Claude Fischer (via The Dish) considers the creation of the hyphenated identities among the more recent immigrant populations in the United States, citing Mexican Americans as a case study: For example, a recent study [1] compared the answers of Hispanics who took a survey in English to those who took it in Spanish. The English speakers expressed more “Hispanic Consciousness” than did the Spanish-speakers. They were more likely to say that it […]

Categories: Art, Reflections, Reports/Studies • Tags: assimilation, Boston Review, Claude Fischer, hyphenated identity, Immigration, Mexican American, with WINGS and ROOTS

Christina Antonakos-Wallace, of with WINGS and ROOTS.

An interview with Christina Antonakos-Wallace, filmmaker of with WINGS and ROOTS

June 25, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Two weeks ago, I introduced the film project with WINGS and ROOTS by filmmaker Christina Antonakos-Wallace. with WINGS and ROOTS is a 90-minute documentary that tells the stories of five people from different immigrant communities living in New York or Berlin, Germany, who have struggled to shape their identity in various ways. The film features The Langar Hall’s own Sonny Singh, a Sikh living in New York. Part of his story was featured in the well-received short documentary Article of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Profiles, TV/Movies • Tags: Article of Faith, Berlin, Christina Antonakos-Wallace, Germany, immigrants, Immigration, New York, Sonny Singh Brooklynwala, Where are you from from?, with WINGS and ROOTS

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Immigration

Seeking those of the Great Liberator

Visiting Sikh detainees in an American immigration detention facility

The journey of Punjab’s issues to America’s front door

The most common jobs held by immigrants

A South Asian undocumented immigrant

Immigration as art

Defining “home”: soil versus soul

What is behind the hyphenated American identity?

An interview with Christina Antonakos-Wallace, filmmaker of with WINGS and ROOTS