Ricky Gill |

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and the Golden Temple in Amritsar. (source: The Telegraph)

The Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: Honorable mentions

January 24, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

For each of five days, I looked at what I considered as the Top 5 Sikh American Stories of 2012: The Oak Creek Massacre Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana Victories in employment equality The inspiring grace of Balpreet Kaur Sikh Americans celebrate a century All of these stories were significant in relation to Sikh Americans during the year. However, there were several events during 2012 that arguably could be considered among the top five stories (and, while the “top five” list […]

Categories: Reflections • Tags: Barack Obama, Darbar Sahib, Democratic National Convention, Dr. Onkar Bindra, FlyRights, Golden Temple, Harpreet Singh Saini, Ishwar Singh, Jay Leno, Jusleen Kaur, Michelle Obama, Mitt Romney, Republican National Convention, Ricky Gill, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, White House

When a Sikh runs: a recap of the Ricky Gill campaign

November 15, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

It was just over a week ago that we learned of the results of the elections in the United States, including that to represent California’s 9th Congressional District in the House of Representatives. In that race, a Sikh American named Ricky Gill challenged incumbent Representative Jerry McNerney to represent the district in Congress. Rep. McNerney would win this election by receiving almost 55% of the vote. As a Sikh American, I followed the Ricky Gill campaign on this blog. His […]

Categories: Politics, Reflections • Tags: 2012 elections, California, California 9th Congressional District, Jerry McNerney, Ricky Gill, Stockton, Tom McClintock

Taking a tally of the Sikh American candidates of 2012

November 7, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

As discussed previously, the 2012 election cycle involved several Sikh candidates at federal, state and local levels. Interestingly, to my knowledge, the Sikh candidates that were running were all in the state of California. After last night’s election results, below is a tally of how each Sikh American candidate fared after the voting closed last night. Representative Jerry McNerney versus Ricky Gill California’s 9th Congressional District Ricky Gill’s campaign has been a regular topic on this blog, particularly around his […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: 2012 elections, California 9th Congressional District, California State Senate District 11, Harmeet Dhillon, Jerry McNerney, Kash Gill, Mark Leno, Ricky Gill, San Francisco, Stockton, Yuba City, Yuba City City Council

CA9 candidates respond to questionnaire on Sikh American-related issues

October 30, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Co-blogged with Sundari Kaur of The Langar Hall Last week, in the context of the significance of California’s 9th Congressional District to Sikh Americans, we sent the major candidates of California’s 9th Congressional District — incumbent Representative Jerry McNerney and challenger Ricky Gill — a questionnaire to learn more about their positions about Sikh American-related issues (see previous post here). Both candidates responded. However, the nature of the responses received were quite different. Rep. Jerry McNerney’s campaign responded to the questionnaire […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: California, California 9th Congressional District, Jerry McNerney, Ricky Gill

Surveying the candidates of California’s 9th Congressional District on Sikh American issues

October 26, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Co-blogged with Sundari Kaur of The Langar Hall Of recent and recurring discussion on The Langar Hall and American Turban has been the election race in California’s 9th Congressional District (map). For Sikh Americans, this district’s race is significant. Located in northern California, the 9th Congressional District contains America’s oldest and one of its largest Sikh American communities. The oldest Gurdwara in the United States (which only a couple of weeks ago celebrated its centennial anniversary) is located in this […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Politics • Tags: California 9th Congressional District, Jerry McNerney, Ricky Gill

When a Sikh runs: the irony of California’s 9th Congressional District

October 17, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Tonight, I attended the 100th Anniversary of the local Sikh temple in #Stockton. Congratulations to the community. It was an honor to attend — Jerry McNerney (@RepMcNerney) October 14, 2012 During last Saturday’s celebrations to celebrate the Centennial of the Stockton, California, Gurdwara, in addition to having the opportunity to listen to Ricky Gill (Republican candidate for California’s 9th Congressional District) speak, I also was interested to hear the congratulatory words offered to the Sikh community by Representative Jerry McNerney, […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: California, California 9th Congressional District, Jerry McNerney, Oak Creek, Ricky Gill, Stockton Gurdwara Centennial Celebration, Stockton Gurdwara Sahib, Wisconsin

Republican candidate for California's 9th Congressional District Ricky Gill posted this photo of his attendance at a birthday celebration for the US Navy on Saturday night. After this article on American Turban, the Gill campaign deleted the photo. (source: Ricky Gill campaign Facebook page)

When a Sikh runs: the curious case of Ricky Gill

October 15, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The case of Republican candidate for Congress Ricky Gill, running against incumbent Jerry McNerney to represent California’s 9th Congressional District, makes for an interesting study about a Sikh American seeking public office in this country. His campaign, and his reluctance to publicly acknowledge his Sikh background, has been a recurring topic on this blog. On Saturday night, I had the opportunity to observe Ricky Gill in person. I had attended the Centennial celebration of the Stockton Gurdwara — which is […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Bobby Jindal, California, Jerry McNerney, Nikki Haley, Republican Party, Ricky Gill, Stockton, Stockton Gurdwara Centennial Celebration, Stockton Gurdwara Sahib

Republican Ricky Gill says the “S” word

October 8, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

After months of silence, in an article printed in the Stockton Record, Republican candidate for Congress (for California’s 9th District) Ricky Gill finally openly acknowledges his Sikh background: » Religion: Gill, who attended St. Anne’s Catholic and Mokelumne River schools before Tokay, is a practicing Sikh. “It is the faith of my fathers,” he said. With less than a month to go before the election, the timing of this rare public statement by him is interesting. One wonders as to […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Ricky Gill

Why Indian Americans flock to the Democratic Party

August 30, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

A piece in First Post discusses why Indian Americans have been more supportive of President Obama and the Democratic Party rather than the Republican Party. Of particular note, the behavior of several prominent Republican Indian Americans within the Party itself is partly to blame: But Indian Americans take note of how Nikki Haley runs as far away as she can from her identity, brushing it aside with one obligatory “I am the proud daughter of Indian immigrants” line at the […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Bobby Jindal, Democratic Party, First Post, Indian American, Nikki Haley, Republican Party, Ricky Gill

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Ricky Gill