News & Update

The Sikh Coalition has launched a new online tool, ReportHate, to help Sikh Americans and others report incidents of harassment, discrimination, and hate violence.

“Hate comes in many forms,” Arjun Singh, law and policy director of The Sikh Coalition, told NBC News. “This new tool will allow us to capture the many ways in which Sikh Americans are being targeted, whether legally actionable or not.”

With better data, the nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization hopes to be better able to identify and quantify the types of bigotry Sikh Americans face — such as verbal harassment, physical assault, property vandalism, school bullying, employment discrimination, denial of public accommodation, airport and airplane difficulties — as well as locate the geographic areas of the country where Sikh Americans are particularly vulnerable. The organization also plans to use this data to more effectively target outreach efforts at local, state and federal levels.

“This data will allow us to better understand where and how Sikh Americans are being targeted,” Singh said. “We can then share the data with relevant lawmakers, law enforcement, and educators to better combat hate and hate violence.”

Although the Sikh religion originated in the Punjab region of India and Sikhs have been in America for more than 125 years, Sikh Americans have been increasingly targeted for violence and intimidation because of their turbans and beards, which represent equality and justice.

In the two months since the shootings in San Bernardino, The Sikh Coalition reported that the number of legal intakes processed increased three times compared to the same period in previous years.

The Sikh Coalition has also developed a hate crime poster which is being distributed to gurdwaras across the country to help Sikh Americans identify hate crimes and know what to do.

Source- www.nbcnews.com

Sikhs lawyer Davinder Singh the CEO of law firm Drew and Napier was appointed as the vice-chairman of ICC Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-Corruption. The board based in Paris sets rules on trade and commerce and mechanisms and standards used around the world.

The ICC is composed of 13 commissions which is comprised of representatives from around the world. The board develops rules on how to best practice on code of conduct, fighting corruption among other things.

The appointment comes in a week where a number of historical things have occurred concerning the Sikh community from Waris Ahluwalia Incident, Sukhjit Kaur’s performance on Australia’s Got Talent, and Harinder Kaur being appointed as the new Indian High Commissioner to Australia.

Share & Spread to be a part of his achievments!

~ Source: DailySikhUpdates

18-year-old Karanveer Singh, a high school senior at Eastern High School in New Jersy, has come out with a comprehensive book titled ‘Bullying of Sikh American Children – Through the eyes of a Sikh American High School student’.

According to reports, a survey in the US in 2014 had found that two third of Sikh children wearing a turban are bullied and often called ‘Bin Laden’ and couple of video’s recorded by victims himself had gone viral on net in the recent past.

He said that the book by Karanveer detailed the background about Sikh religion, the turban and the history of Sikhs in America.

“Sikh-American youth are largely unrepresented and do not seem to have a voice on the national stage or in the media, especially when it comes to bullying,” NBC News reported Karanveer as saying, and adding, “I wanted to help in any way I could to alleviate this pain and suffering which children from my faith go through on a daily basis”.

“The young author has done an extraordinary job through detailed survey to find the current status of bullying among children in the Sikh American community. He then interviewed several mental health professionals to get practical solutions in order to mitigate bullying,” he said.

Gulbarg said that the chronicler not only brought out some rarely discussed topics but also suggested many solutions based on his own personal experiences which could help not just his peers from within the faith community but for all children who were bullied every day in schools across our country.

Meanwhile hailing the efforts of young Sikh boy in taking up the issues of racial attacks on turban wearing Sikhs in the US, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said that the community should stand united under the aegis of Akal Takht to initiate worldwide programmes informing about distinct identity of Sikhs, significance of turban in Sikhs’ life and how it was different from that worn by Muslims.

Source- timesofindia.indiatimes

Waris Ahluwalia turns an awful airport experience into a powerful teaching moment. He stands firm that it doesn’t happened with any one again. He stayed two days at the airport to stand for the rights of the SIKHS. The turban is of great significance to SIKHS.

In Waris Ahluwalia’s own words, “being asked to remove your turban in public is like being asked to remove all your clothes in public.”
“It’s no longer about me and my comfort,” We have a situation here, and that situation is ignorance.”

It did not take long for Aeromexico to apologize but Mr Singh was up for a greater change. According to him An apology was for the past and training was for the future.

He issued a list with the help of Sikh Coalition and refused to leave until they are met. He strongly stuck to it as he did not want anyone to face the same discrimination due to his/her religious faith.

Ahluwalia’s insistence paid off after two days at the Airport. Aeroméxico took some actual action steps to implement a religious education and sensitivity training program — and Ahluwalia was free to fly to New York, just in time for Fashion Week.

“That’s all I wanted, and here it is in a few lines — it’s right there in black and white,” Ahluwalia said to ABC News. “I’m getting goosebumps right now that if this makes a difference for anyone traveling into the country or leaving the country, then it was all worth it.”

Tolerance is one thing! Understand different cultures and faith is another.
Warris won’t be the FIRST or LAST Sikh to face this discrimination! But his story surely marks a changing point!

~ Source: DailySikhUpdates

Waris Ahluwalia finally receives an apology after being barred from the flight because of his turban. The security check demanded him to remove his turban even though it had not triggered a metal detector.

“We apologize to Mr. Waris Ahluwalia for the bad experience he had with one of our security elements in addressing your flight to New York in the Mexico City International Airport,” the airline wrote in a statement.

Aeromexico has issued a directive to its staff regarding the religious significance of the Sikh turban, and plans to make a formal request to the TSA and the Mexican government to implement religious and diversity sensitivity training regarding screening of passengers with religious headgear into its airport security training curriculum.

Although he felt great after receiving the apology but he thinks more work has to be done in this. The 41 yr old actor feels we are half way through until the airline also guarantees that it will train employees to better work with Sikhs and educate them on how to screen people in religious headgear.

He hold no hard feelings against them but wants to spin this into a positive thing.

Affiliated Team of Harvard University came across surprising conclusions regarding the tangible effects of meditation on human brain structure.

An 8 week program of mindfulness meditation produced MRI scans for the first time showing clear evidence that meditation produces “massive changes” in brain gray matter.

Harvard Medical instructor in Psychology stated that, “Meditation practitioners aren’t just feeling better. They are literally undergoing changes in brain structure that create the associated sustained boosts in positive and relaxed feelings.”

Fellow MGH researcher Sue McGreevey notes that previous studies by Lazar’s group found structural differences in the brains of meditation practitioners compared to those with no prior experience most notably in the thickening of the cerebral cortex; the area responsible for attention and emotional integration. These prior studies, however could not narrow down the structural differences to meditation specifically until now.

The Study reveals that an Average of 27 minutes of a Daily practice of mindfulness exercises stimulated a significant boost in gray matter density, the area of the brain in which self-awareness, compassion, and introspection are associated.

Source- SimpleCapacity.com