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Bay Area synagogue opens doors to Sikh congregation

June 28, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The San Mateo Daily Journal provides a profile of The Sikh Gurdwara of San Francisco, a Sikh congregation in the West Bay area of greater San Francisco, California. The Gurdwara, having just celebrated its first year of existence, is unique: the congregation actually meets monthly in a space provided by a synagogue called Peninsula Temple Beth El: “We’re willing to make room for them whenever we can … until they expand or run out of space [for their services],” [Peninsula […]

Categories: Interfaith, News Bits, Profiles • Tags: Blair Brown, California, Mehar Singh Mahal, Peninsula Temple Beth El, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Mateo Daily Journal, The Sikh Gurdwara of San Francisco, West Bay

A protestor holds up a sign during a "Free Bhullar" rally in San Francisco, CA, April 18, 2013. (source: Sikh Roots)

Picture of the Day: “Free Bhullar” rally in San Francisco, CA

April 19, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Yesterday, demonstrators assembled outside the Indian consulate offices in San Francisco and New York to protest the imminent execution of Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar in India. Devender Pal Singh’s conviction in the case of a 1993 assassination attempt in India was based on very questionable grounds, and while the judiciary seeks to execute him when he is deemed mentally fit, voices opposing the execution have been increasing within India and abroad.

Categories: 1984, Civil Rights, Events • Tags: California, Davinderpal Singh Bhullar, Devender Pal Singh Bullar, protest, San Francisco

“Free Bhullar” protests scheduled tomorrow in SF and NY

April 17, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Tomorrow, Sikhs in San Francisco and New York will be protesting outside the Indian consulate offices in each city at noon (local time) against India’s imminent execution of Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar . As mentioned on this blog last week, Professor Bhullar has been sentenced to death by hanging in India for a 1993 bombing even though the evidence convicting him and the judicial process thereof has been extremely questionable. Adding to the dubious nature of this case is that […]

Categories: 1984, Civil Rights • Tags: Capital punishment, Davinderpal Singh Bhullar, Devender Pal Singh Bullar, India, New York, protest, San Francisco

"Indians, many of whom were Sikh, worked at the Hammond Mill before its demise in 1922. During that time period, the Indians left their mark on Astoria, participating in wrestling matches, occupying Alderbrook also known as "Hindu Alley," and forming the Ghadar political party. Courtesy of Clatsop County Historical Society." (source: The Daily Astorian)

Celebrating the centenary of the Ghadar Party, in Oregon

April 8, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

One of the legacies of the earliest Sikh and Indian immigrants to the United States at the turn of the twentieth century was the creation of the Ghadar Party, a political movement based in northern California that sought to promote India’s liberation from British rule. Led by Indian expatriates in the United States, the Ghadar Party was formed in 1913. One of its main activities was the publishing of literature to promote resistance to British rule and for a free […]

Categories: Events • Tags: Astoria, Bruce La Brack, Daily Astorian, Ghadar, Ghadar Party, Johanna Ogden, Oregon, San Francisco, Stockton

Guru Nanak portrait c. 1770 (source: The Sikh Foundation)

Picture of the Day: 18th century portrait of Guru Nanak

March 29, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

According to the Sikh Foundation, the Satinder Kaur Kapany Gallery at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California, is “the only permanent collection of Sikh Art in a North American museum.” Due to the delicate nature of the collection, the pieces in the gallery are rotated every six months. The Sikh Foundation provides a sample of the artwork on display during this spring, including the above portrait that is believed to be of Guru Nanak (the founder and first […]

Categories: Art, Events • Tags: Asian Art Museum, California, Guru Nanak, San Francisco, Satinder Kaur Kapany Gallery

"As co-founder and chief strategy officer of Appirio, Narinder plays a key role in keeping Appirio at the forefront of cloud computing. Heâs chairman of the board of the Sikh Coalition and executive sponsor of Appirioâs philanthropy program. " (source: San Francisco Business Times)

SF Business Times names three Sikh entrepreneurs among Top 40

March 5, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Local business journal The San Francisco Business Times has released its 2013 edition of Top 40 under 40 young professionals in California’s Bay Area. Among the entrepreneurs named in the list are three Sikh Americans including Narinder Singh (co-founder of Appirio and Board Chair of the Sikh Coalition), Gurbaksh Chahal (CEO of RadiumOne and founder of the BeProud Foundation) and Manav Singh Grover (of accounting firm SOAProjects). Read more at The San Francisco Business Times.

Categories: Profiles • Tags: Appirio, BeProud Foundation, California, Gurbaksh Chahal, Manav Singh Grover, Narinder Singh, RadiumOne, San Francisco, San Francisco Business Times, Sikh Coalition, SOAProjects

San Francisco, CA, Sikh politician faces racist smears from own party

February 28, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, a Sikh attorney and politician in San Francisco, California (and, who last fall ran an unsuccessful bid for a California State Senate seat), has reportedly been the target of racist smears by members of her own party as she now runs to become the Vice Chair of the California Republican Party. The bigoted comments were circulated on social media, according to the SF Gate: “I was told by one of Harmeet’s friends that because of her religion, […]

Categories: Politics • Tags: Ann Coulter, California, Harmeet Dhillon, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon, Republican Party, San Francisco

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

Busy upcoming weekend for California’s Sikhs

September 20, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This weekend will be a busy one for California’s Sikhs, with a variety of events from Saturday through Sunday. Sikhs celebrate a century in the United States Stockton, California, September 22-23 As previously mentioned, the Stockton Gurdwara in Stockton, California will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the establishment of the Gurdwara — considered the oldest in America — with a conference on Saturday, September 22, entitled “The Sikh Journey to America“, at the Spanos Concert Hall at the University of […]

Categories: Events, TV/Movies • Tags: 3rd i, 5K for the 5Ks, Article of Faith, California, Roots of Love, San Francisco, San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival, Sikh Centennial, Sikh Coalition, Sikh I Am, Sikh Voices, Siklidar, Stockton, Sunnyvale

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: San Francisco