Selma | American Turban

"Simran Kaur, advocacy manager for the Sikh Coalition, recently spoke to 10 classes at Selma High School to help educate them about the Sikh community. The coalition wants to increase awareness, following the May 5 beating of an 82-year-old Sikh man in Fresno. The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office has called the assault a hate crime. Here, Kaur sits at teacher Alison Sickler’s desk as students write about what they learned from Kaur’s presentation." (Source: The Selma Enterprise)

Eliminating stereotypes through education

June 5, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the wake of last month’s attack on 82-year-old Piara Singh in Fresno, California, the Sikh Coalition provided awareness presentations to ten classes at nearby Selma High School. The school’s principal, Mark Babiarz, discusses why it was important: “We need to educate others outside the community of Selma about the many contributions that the Sikh community makes to Selma, the state of California and throughout the nation. Education is the key to eliminating stereotype bias and ignorance about any culture.” […]

Categories: Education • Tags: California, Fresno, Mark Babiarz, Selma, Selma High School, Sikh Coalition, Simran Kaur

Vaisakhi celebrations continue across the United States

April 16, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending the Vaisakhi celebration at the Sikh Center of Pacific Coast Gurdwara in Selma, California, which brought together a large gathering of Sikhs from the Fresno County area for a Nagar Kirtan (religious procession). It was very well attended and the atmosphere was quite festive. A local television station covered the celebrations in Selma, which you can watch here. I certainly enjoyed my first visit to this Gurdwara and celebrating with them the […]

Categories: Events, Sikhism • Tags: Albany, Bothell, California, Dallas, Lawrenceville, Los Angeles, Nagar Kirtan, New Jersey, Niskayuna, Niskayuna Gurdwara Sahib, Seattle, Selma, Sikh Center of Pacific Coast, Sikh Center of Seattle, Sikh Sabha of New Jersey, Southern Methodist University, Stockton, Texas, Vaisakhi

The Panj Pyare, or Five Beloved Ones, lead the Nagar Kirtan in Los Angeles, California on April 7, 2013. (source: SikhNet)

Picture of the Day: Leading the Los Angeles Nagar Kirtan

April 12, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On April 14, Sikhs across the United States and around the world are celebrating Vaisakhi (or Baisakhi), which is the most significant celebration on the Sikh calendar. In many cities, this celebration includes a Nagar Kirtan (religious procession) through the city, and these are taking place across the country this month. In Los Angeles, California, Vaisakhi was celebrated on April 7 with a large Nagar Kirtan originating at the Los Angeles Convention Center (pictured above). Similar celebrations are also taking […]

Categories: Events, Picture of the Day, Sikhism • Tags: Baisakhi, California, Los Angeles, Nagar Kirtan, New York, Panj Pyare, Selma, Stockton, Vaisakhi

Artwork by Khushboo Gulati for Ensaaf's Decade of Disappearances Art Contest (source: Ensaaf Facebook page)

2012 murder-suicide in Selma, CA, has origin in Kashmir human rights crimes

February 1, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

An article in Guernica by Shubh Mathur tells the story behind last year’s murder-suicide in Selma, California, of Avtar Singh, who murdered his wife and three sons before turning his weapon on himself. Prior to his murderous act, Avtar Singh was being confronted about his dubious past as a major in the Indian army: The story of his crimes and the manner in which he evaded justice for sixteen years is a grim chronicle of Indian crimes against humanity in […]

Categories: 1984, Art, Civil Rights • Tags: Avtar Singh, California, Decade of Disappearances, Ensaaf, impunity, Kashmir, Selma

Two Vaisakhi celebrations this Sunday in California

April 12, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

This Sunday, the California cities of Selma and Stockton will each be holding a Nagar Kirtan in celebration of Vaisakhi, one of the most significant anniversaries on the Sikh calendar. The celebration in Selma is the 18th annual of its kind and will draw from Fresno and surrounding counties: The parade is scheduled to start about 10.30 a.m. from the Sikh Center on Highland Avenue. The parade will go north on Highland, east on Rose Avenue, north on Thompson Avenue, […]

Categories: Events • Tags: California, Nagar Kirtan, Selma, Stockton, Vaisakhi

More Vaisakhi celebrations across the USA

April 19, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

I’ve been enjoying surveying all the different Vaisakhi celebrations across the United States among various Sikh communities. It’s become apparent that many Sikh communities are using these celebrations as outreach efforts to educate non-Sikhs about the religion and the Sikh identity. Princeton, New Jersey: On his website, one Savraj Singh posted a couple of pictures of Sikhs celebrating Vaisakhi at Rockefeller College in New Jersey. The setting for their service appears to be an old college building and gives the sense of […]

Categories: Events, News Bits, Sikhism • Tags: Baisakhi, California, Connecticut, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Foundation, Lawrence, Los Angeles, Nagar Kirtan, New Jersey, New York, Norwalk, Princeton, Rockefeller College, Savraj Singh, Selma, Sikh, Stockton, Vaisakhi

Vaisakhi celebrations continue across America

April 15, 2011 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

While the official date of Vaisakhi was yesterday, Sikh communities in several cities have already had formal celebrations to commemorate the day. I attended American Sikh Day a couple of days ago in Sacramento, California. And, across America, various media outlets are covering the continuing celebrations in their communities.

Categories: Events, News Bits, Sikhism • Tags: American Sikh Day, Anderson, Baisakhi, California, Fresno, Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Center, Los Angeles, Nagar Kirtan, New York, Plainview, Redding, Selma, Southern California, Stockton, Vaisakhi

“Why do you wear that thing on your head?”

November 15, 2010 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The Sikh Council of Central California held a session at a Gurdwara in Selma, California this past weekend (video): “It’s quite unfortunate that right after 9/11, Bin Laden and his associates had turbans and flowing beards. They almost looked like Sikhs and in fact are different people. The Sikhs are against any terrorism,” Ranjit Singh Rajpal, M.D. said. Members say raising awareness of the Sikh culture is especially important among children because children are often teased and bullied in schools. […]

Categories: News Bits, Reflections • Tags: California, Selma, Sikh Council of Central California