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Lord Indarjit Singh declines invitation to NY Sikh International Film Festival

October 26, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Reports today indicate that Lord Indarjit Singh, the first turbaned Sikh to serve in the British House of Lords, has declined the invitation to attend the opening event of the 2012 Sikh International Film Festival in New York — the Heritage Awards Gala (in which he was to be awarded) — in objection to the attendance of representatives of the Government of India. As posted on the website SikhChic, Lord Indarjit Singh writes to the organizer of the film festival: […]

Categories: 1984, Events • Tags: 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Indarjit Singh, Lord Indarjit Singh, New York, Sikh International Film Festival, sikhchic

The incomprehensible New York Sikh International Film Festival

October 23, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In just over a week, Sikhs in the United States and around the world will be commemorating the 28th anniversary of the anti-Sikh pogroms of 1984 — quite often described as a genocide — in which thousands of Sikhs were pulled from their homes and butchered in the streets of India during the aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984. In the decades since, Sikhs and human rights organizations have attempted to […]

Categories: 1984, Events, TV/Movies • Tags: boycott, Canadian Sikh Coalition, Ensaaf, Film Festival, New York, Sikh International Film Festival, sikhchic, The Langar Hall

Picture of the Day: Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi speaks of his experiences in the US Army

October 3, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

US Army Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, who two years ago was one of three turban-wearing Sikhs granted permission to serve in the military with his articles of faith intact, speaks to the a Rotary Club in New York about his experiences in Afghanistan: Since his time joining the army, Kalsi has earned a Bronze Star Medal, the fourth highest combat award in the Armed Forces and has seen two more Sikhs join after him. When Rotarians inquired as to whether his […]

Categories: Picture of the Day, Profiles • Tags: Briarcliff Manor, Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, New York, United States Army, US Army

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Is the US becoming more hostile with respect to religion?

September 21, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Released this week, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’s 2010 update of its Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion report ranks religious restrictions and “social hostility” involving religion among countries around the globe: Among the world’s 25 most populous countries, Egypt, Indonesia, Russia, Burma (Myanmar), Iran, Vietnam, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Nigeria stand out as having the most restrictions on religion as of mid-2010 when government restrictions and social hostilities both are taken into account. Brazil, Japan, Italy, […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reports/Studies • Tags: California, New York, Pew Research Center, Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion, Workplace Religious Freedom Act

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Thinking about that day in September, eleven years later

September 11, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the morning of this day eleven years ago, I was in a hotel preparing to attend the second day of a technical conference. It was a rather mundane and typical data users meeting. In retrospect, the topic of this meeting became insignificant in comparison of the terrorist attacks on the United States that morning. That morning, as I was about to walk out the door of my room, the television news broke to images of a tall building on […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: 9/11, Balbir Singh Sodhi, National September 11 Memorial Museum, New York, New York City, One World Trade Center, September 11 attacks, World Trade Center

City Spoonful highlights the religious significance of langar

September 7, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

City Spoonful, a New York-focused food culture website, visits the Gurdwara in Staten Island, New York, looking beyond the menu to talk about the religious significance of langar – the community meal served at every Sikh house of worship: The meal itself exemplifies two of the most important tenets of Sikhism: equality and community service. That egalitarian philosophy is emphasized by the custom of eating langar on the floor, where everyone literally sits at the same level. Often, langar is […]

Categories: News Bits, Sikhism • Tags: City Spoonful, Langar, New York, Staten Island

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Approaching one month since, some reflecting on the Oak Creek shooting

August 31, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This Sunday will mark one month since the shooting attack on Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Since the attack, Punjab Singh, one of the victims, still remains in a coma. It is a good time to pause and reflect, and to continue to pray for the recovery of Punjab Singh.

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Central Park, Gurdwara, New York, Newseum, Oak Creek, Sky-Writing, Wisconsin

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Lessons learned in NY and the CA Workplace Religious Freedom Act

July 26, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The New York Times published an editorial last month about the workplace discrimination case involving the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority and their Sikh and Muslim employees: This settlement should have been reached years ago. By dragging things out so long, the M.T.A. has deepened the sense of injury in the Sikh and Muslim communities. Prominent in the Justice case was Kevin Harrington, a subway train operator and a Sikh who wears a turban. After the 9/11 attacks, he was commended […]

Categories: Civil Rights, News Bits • Tags: AB1964, California, Metropolitan Transit Authority, MTA, New York, New York Times, Workplace Religious Freedom Act

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Applications invited for Junior Sikh Coalition leadership program, due July 25, 2012

July 19, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

If you are a Sikh high school or college student in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut and are interested in working to help your community, the Junior Sikh Coalition leadership program might be for you: Junior Sikh Coalition members gain valuable skills and training in youth leadership and will have multiple opportunities to utilize these skills within their communities and the Sikh Coalition network. In the past, youth members have led community organizing campaigns, organized anti-bullying conferences, participated in […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Events • Tags: Connecticut, Junior Sikh Coalition, New Jersey, New York, Sikh Coalition

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Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: New York

Lord Indarjit Singh declines invitation to NY Sikh International Film Festival

The incomprehensible New York Sikh International Film Festival

Picture of the Day: Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi speaks of his experiences in the US Army

Is the US becoming more hostile with respect to religion?

Thinking about that day in September, eleven years later

City Spoonful highlights the religious significance of langar

Approaching one month since, some reflecting on the Oak Creek shooting

Lessons learned in NY and the CA Workplace Religious Freedom Act

Applications invited for Junior Sikh Coalition leadership program, due July 25, 2012