Members of a local Sikh temple -- the women in vibrant tunics and some of the men in turbans -- had spread across the square last weekend to give away soft drinks and water to passersby and carloads of people stuck in construction traffic.

The responses ranged from a quick "No, thanks" to a skeptical "Nothing's free," and, most frequently, a curious "Free? But why?"

The drinks are distributed to commemorate the death of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, a Sikh spiritual teacher from the 17th century, said Satvir Kaur, who teaches Punjabi classes at the Sikh Sangat Society Boston temple in Somerville. "It's also a way to give back to the community and to raise awareness about the Sikh faith," she said.

Sikhs have been reaching out to Greater Boston for several years. But the puzzled reactions last weekend showed that many of their neighbors are still not acquainted with the religion....

Last year, the Sikh community gave away 10,000 drinks in the Haymarket area, Kaur said. This year, at the less-congested Union Square location, they filled the back of a U-Haul van with 5,000 cans of soda, bottles of water, and jars of mango juice, chilled in enormous tubs of ice....

The Sikh community has had a presence in Boston since the 1960s, said Diana Eck, a professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard University. But public perceptions took a downward turn after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"There were a lot of images of [Osama] bin Laden on television, and people were confusing Sikhs as linked with Al Qaeda," said Harpreet Singh, a 32-year-old graduate student at Harvard University.

Turban-wearing Sikhs were physically attacked, prohibited from boarding planes and trains, or taunted and insulted. On Sept. 12, 2001, a member of the Sikh temple in Milford was removed from a train because he was wearing a turban and misidentified as a possible terrorist.

Sikhs are still frequent targets for hate crimes and discriminatory remarks. The Sikh Coalition, an advocacy and outreach group, registers several violent attacks against Sikhs every month in its online database. According to Singh, it is "almost a given" that when he is out in public, someone will call him "Osama bin Laden," despite the fact that bin Laden is a Muslim.

In a study released by Cambridge-based Discrimination and National Security Initiative in 2006, 83 percent of Sikh respondents said that "they or someone they knew personally had experienced a hate crime or incident after 9/11."

Another 64 percent of Sikh respondents said that they were fearful for their physical safety after 9/11, compared with 15 percent of Indian Hindu respondents and 41 percent of Pakistani Muslim respondents.

Muslim women who wear head scarves and Sikh men who wear turbans directly experience "what it means to be a visible minority in America," Eck said.

"There is a sense in the community that one's visible difference can make you a target, but the Sikh response has been one of outreach, with campaigns to let people know more who Sikhs are," Eck said. "Part of what we're seeing with the distribution of drinks is a continuation of that effort."

While Sikhism is a distinct religion from Islam, Eck added, "Sikhs are very sensitive to the fact that saying they are not Muslim does not mean it's OK to discriminate against people who are Muslim." [Link]