Simran Jeet 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

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Depiction of the execution of Bhai Mani Singh in 1737.

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

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Split image of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. (Source: Keene Trial Consulting)

Of racism, the victim and the perpetrator within

July 17, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Sikh Americans continue to reflect about racial inequity after Saturday’s not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial in the murder of Trayvon Martin. Simran Jeet Singh discusses means of racial oppression and the dichotomous way such oppression operates within each of us — as both victim and perpetrator: The reality is that the global society is complicit in structural discrimination, and we have all become actors in that process. Sure in some way we are all Trayvon Martin. Each of […]

Categories: Civil Rights, Hate Crimes, Reflections • Tags: George Zimmerman, Racial profiling, Racism, Simran Jeet Singh, Trayvon Martin

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A graphic by the National Sikh Youth Federation in the United Kingdom describes the initiating events during the Indian government's attack on Darbar Sahib (aka the Golden Temple) in June 1984, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths. (Source: NSYF)

Remembering June, 1984

June 3, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

The year 1984 is forever etched into the Sikh psyche after it was added to the long list of atrocities against the Sikh people by rulers of their land. During the first week of June of that year, the Indian Government launched “Operation Blue Star“, an attack on the center of the Sikh faith in Amritsar, India, and invasions of numerous other Gurdwaras (Sikh houses of worship) across Punjab and India, under the pretext of neutralizing militants that had taken […]

Categories: 1984 • Tags: Amritsar, Darbar Sahib, Golden Temple, Gunisha Kaur, Guru Arjan, Guru Arjun, India, Indian Army, National Sikh Youth Federation, NSYF, Operation Blue Star, Punjab, Simran Jeet Singh

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Simran Preet Singh Lamba graduates from U.S. Army Basic Training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC. He is the first Sikh enlisted soldier since the 1980s. (source: Sikh Coalition)

Sikhs have proven they can serve in the US military

May 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

On The Daily Beast, Simran Jeet Singh examines common — and often, outdated — rationale used to deny practicing Sikh men from serving in the US military with turbans and beards intact: Concerns with placing protective masks on people with beards first emerged during World War I, but technology has developed enough over the past century to render this a moot issue. Sikhs who maintain their articles of faith are serving in the military but require specific exceptions from military […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Employment Discrimination, Simran Jeet Singh, Simran Lamba, United States, United States Armed Forces, US Army, US military

The Surat Fauj Running Club in New York. (source: The Huffington Post)

Running with a purpose

April 10, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Bandana Kaur and Simran Jeet Singh write on The Huffington Post about the Surat Fauj Running Club, a Sikh American group that has taken its inspiration from the famous 102-year-old (and recently retired) marathoner Fauja Singh: “Running has become such an important part of the American cultural landscape, and participating in events like these will help us combat stereotypes that lead people to see us as different. We want everyone around us to see for who we are, and we […]

Categories: Profiles • Tags: Bandana Kaur, Fauja Singh, Huffington Post, Simran Jeet Singh, Surat Fauj Running Club, Surat Initiative

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A mock advertisement was recently placed on a retail website that was actually a satirical statement about the TSA's security procedures. (source: Amazon)

Still the TSA after all these years

February 19, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

What does one do when an officer of a government agency does not follow their own policy and in the process violates your rights? If we are speaking about the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), we often don’t know. On the Huffington Post, Simran Jeet Singh shares a recent episode when a TSA officer forcefully patted down Singh’s turban — a religious article of faith for Sikhs: I’ve made this cross-country journey hundreds of times in my life and have […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: Racial profiling, Simran Jeet Singh, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

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Tejdeep Singh Rattan dons a gas mask during his military training in 2010. (source: US Army)

US military lifts ban on women in combat; could Sikhs be next?

January 24, 2013 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

Yesterday, it was announced that the Pentagon will be lifting its 1994 ban on allowing women solidiers from serving in combat situations: [Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta’s move comes in his final weeks as Pentagon chief and just days after President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech in which he spoke passionately about equal rights for all. The new order expands the department’s action of nearly a year ago to open about 14,500 combat positions to women, nearly all of them in the […]

Categories: Civil Rights • Tags: DADT, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Employment Discrimination, gender discrimination, Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi, Pentagon, Simran Jeet Singh, Simran Lamba, Tejdeep Singh Rattan, United States, United States Armed Forces, US Army, US military

People gather outside the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin for the raising of the Nishan Sahib flag a week after the mass murder that occurred there. A group of about 50 men and boys unwrapped the orange cloth covering the pole, washed the pole with water and milk and then re-wrapped it with a fresh cloth. (source: USA Today)

Victimhood in the context of chardi kala

December 26, 2012 by Rupinder Mohan Singh

In the shadow of the mass murder of Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Simran Jeet Singh discusses the growing narrative of Sikhs as victims in American society in the context of Sikh history and tradition: A few of the prominent themes have included buzzwords such as “unprecedented,” “victimization,” and “suffering” endured by Sikhs in America. Although these buzzwords rightfully point to the challenges faced by Sikh Americans, they fail to aptly capture the spirit and attitude with which Sikhs have […]

Categories: Hate Crimes, Reflections, Sikhism • Tags: chardi kala, hate crimes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Oak Creek, Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, Simran Jeet Singh, Wisconsin

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American Turban

Considering the experience of Sikhs in America.

Tag: Simran Jeet Singh

On American Sikh identification versus purpose

Rejecting the victimhood narrative

Of racism, the victim and the perpetrator within

Remembering June, 1984

Sikhs have proven they can serve in the US military

Running with a purpose

Still the TSA after all these years

US military lifts ban on women in combat; could Sikhs be next?

Victimhood in the context of chardi kala