Prabhjot Singh | American Turban

"Sikh residents take part in a June 2013 parade in Salem, Oregon. Credit: Creative Commons/PhotoAtelier." (Source: Tikkun)

On American Sikh identification versus purpose

October 25, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Simran Jeet Singh and Dr. Prabhjot Singh consider the Sikh American balance of identity: American Sikhs walk a thin rhetorical line between declaring what we are—a group that aims to elevate the consciousness of all people to appreciate our common divinity—and declaring what we are not in order to avoid the short-term consequences of popular confusion. Within this tension lies the key to how American Sikhs can and should negotiate political life: we must engage with group cohesion in such […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Reflections • Tags: Prabhjot Singh, Simran Jeet Singh, Tikkun

Rejecting the victimhood narrative

October 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

There has been significant conversation from and within the Sikh community in regard to the recent hate attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh a few weeks ago, of the response, and about what is needed to prevent future attacks and discrimination. Citing the story of Bhai Mani Singh (who was brutally executed in 1737), Simran Jeet Singh discusses the concept of victimhood (or lack therof) in the Sikh faith to provide context around the reaction by many Sikhs to the attack […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: Bhai Mani Singh, New York, Prabhjot Singh, Simran Jeet Singh, victimhood

Where do we go from here?

October 4, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It has been an interesting two weeks for the Sikh American community. It was during this time that events came to light that were, in many ways, a microcosm of the Sikh American experience as it relates to prejudice and discrimination. There was, of course, the attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh almost two weeks ago in New York, in which his attackers hurled upon him slurs of “terrorist” and “Osama” before swarming and assaulting him. The story of Jagjeet Singh […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: Amardeep Singh, Balbir Kaur Singh, Jaideep Singh, Manan Ahmed Asif, Manmeet Kaur, Prabhjot Singh, Simran Kaur

Assessing the impact of discrimination on North American Sikhs

October 1, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Over the past week, I have spoken to several Sikhs who shared how personally upset they felt about the attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh in New York just over a week ago. In the context of repeated attacks on innocent Sikh Americans in recent years, this most recent incident has left many with increasing senses of frustration, disappointment, and vulnerability. The solution to the issue of hate crimes against our community is not an easy one to parse, and this, […]

Categories: Education, Reports/Studies • Tags: Boston, Dr. Kiran S. K. Arora, hate crime, Massachusetts, mental health, Prabhjot Singh, Research, University of Massachusetts

"Terrorist" spray-painted on a wall at the Sikh Gurdwara of Riverside, in Jurupa Valley, California. (Source: PEBloggers)

The “t-word”

September 26, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After the apparent hate-motivated attack on Dr. Prabhjot Singh last weekend in New York, I wrote an essay that was published by The Revealer today about the emergence of the word “terrorist” as a racial epithet, but one that carries dangerous consequences for its target: …what is apparent is that the word has now become a racial epithet – it is often directed to innocent people who exhibit certain physical features, rather than used as a descriptor of a person’s […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: New York, Prabhjot Singh, racial slurs, t-word, The Revealer

Prabhjot Singh. (Source: Columbia University)

Sikh man attacked in apparent hate crime in New York

September 23, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The news spread very quickly yesterday that another Sikh American has been attacked in what appears to be a bias-based assault. Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh physician and professor at Columbia University, was attacked in Harlem, New York, on Saturday night by a mob of young men on bicycles who issued epithets such as “Osama” and “terrorist” during their attack. Dr. Singh was taken to hospital and discharged on Sunday with a fractured jaw and other injuries. “We heard ‘get […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes • Tags: Columbia University, Harlem, hate crimes, New York, Prabhjot Singh