26 Jan - Toronto, Canada:

A Sikh security guard who was asked to trade in his turban for a hard hat at a Milton Home Depot will have his case heard before the Human Rights tribunal today.

Deepinder Loomba has been fighting the hardware franchise for almost four years after a supervisor at a Home Depot construction site asked Loomba to wear a hard hat.

Link

23 Jan - Texas, USA:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), assisted by UNITED SIKHS, settled an employment discrimination case earlier this week against Champion National Security, a security firm that discriminated against Sukhdev Singh Brar.

The EEOC sought compensatory and punitive damages when filing the employment discrimination action against the security company, after numerous consultations with UNITED SIKHS to understand the importance of kesh (unshorn hair) covered by a dastaar (Sikh turban) as one of the five articles of faith Sikhs are required to wear as an inherent practice of the Sikh faith. Champion National Security settled the case, acknowledging the discriminatory policy and agreeing to a written change in company policy with continued Sikh awareness training, to be provided by UNITED SIKHS. Champion National Security will also post anti-discrimination notices on all employee bulletin boards and compensate Sukhdev Singh $24,000.

Link

20 Jan - New York:

A 21-year-old Sikh man was viciously beaten and stabbed in his left eye in Queens by three men who, he said Monday night, taunted him for his traditional beard and pulled his long hair.

Jasmir Singh of Richmond Hill was hanging out with a friend near a Jackson Heights grocery store about 4:49 a.m. Sunday when the men began hurling insults at the pair.

Singh, who is being treated at Elmhurst Hospital Center, claimed the attackers singled him out because of his long hair and traditional Sikh beard.

Link

8 Jan - USA:

The Sikh Coalition filed suit against the federal government this week to protect a Sikh employee's right to wear her kirpan to work. The lawsuit alleges that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Federal Protective Service (FPS) discriminated against Kawaljeet Kaur Tagore by prohibiting her from carrying a kirpan, a mandatory article of faith, on her job as a revenue agent at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in downtown Houston. Ms. Tagore was fired from her job in July 2006 because she refused to remove her kirpan.

"Sikhs should be entitled to work for their government, just like other Americans. In this case, the government put Ms. Tagore in the unacceptable position of choosing between her religion and her job." said Harsimran Kaur, the Sikh Coalition's Legal Director.

The lawsuit claims that the government's conduct violated both the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) and Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. It alleges that the FPS and IRS banned the
kirpan as a so-called "dangerous weapon," even though the government
allows hundreds of sharp knives and box cutters in the Leland
Building. Government officials banned Tagore's kirpan sight unseen,
failing to conduct any examination whatsoever of the kirpan before
banning it outright.

Link

7 Jan - USA:

The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the oldest and largest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, is
collaborating with the international computer-based testing business of Pearson VUE, to increase diversity awareness and service to minority communities.

In a mutual effort to increase understanding of minority communities in the United States and abroad, SALDEF is working with Pearson VUE to disseminate information about Sikhs and Sikh American cultural practices. Additionally, SALDEF will be invited to conduct Sikhism 101 trainings for Pearson VUE employees at regional seminars Pearson VUE will host across the United States.

In follow up to discussions with SALDEF, Pearson VUE reaffirms its support of Sikh patrons choosing to maintain religious accoutrements such as the daastar (turban) and kara (steel bracelet). Additionally, Pearson VUE and SALDEF acknowledged that Sikhs may undergo further scrutiny due to their kirpan (religious sword). As a result, an understanding was developed and adopted by Pearson VUE to foster an appreciation of Sikh cultural practices.

"The communication and equal partnership between SALDEF and Pearson VUE is unmatched by any other company in the United States." said SALDEF National Director Rajbir Singh Datta. "The more Corporate America works with members of minority communities, the better their services will be received and the more aware society will become about the issues facing these communities. We look forward to working with Pearson VUE in the future and providing ongoing training and
information on Sikhs and Sikhism."

Link

7 Jan - New Tork, USA:

For Bellerose resident Balbir Singh, New Year’s Eve was not a time of celebration.

After a violent attack outside his home on 248th Street in Bellerose that left blood gushing from his right eye, Balbir Singh, 40, spent nearly nine hours on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

The man, whom Community Board 13 member Swaranjit Singh said was the victim of a hate crime because he is a Sikh, cannot go back to work as a taxi driver for at least a week as the result of the injuries he sustained during the attack. He suffered a fracture in his right eye socket.

[...]

Swaranjit Singh, who is running for the 23rd City Council District seat, now held by Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis), said the event was one of several attacks, verbal and physical, that Sikhs have suffered in the neighborhood. The community board member said Sikhs, some of whom wear turbans on their heads, are often mistaken for Muslims and have been especially targeted after Sept. 11, 2001.

Link

23 Dec - California, USA:

A Bakersfield family says they were discriminated against by a UPS driver. Their neighbor e-mailed 17 News after he says the driver wrote a derogatory term on a tracking slip while dropping off a package.

Anant Singh says his father is a member of the Sikh religion and wears a turban. When his father signed for a UPS package last week, the driver asked for his signature as usual, the younger Singh said.

But the family calls what they found on the tracking slip days later both hurtful and upsetting.

“I just happened to see it said signed by the word "terrorist." So I was amazed. I printed the paper and read it again, and it said signed by a "terrorist," Singh explained.

Link

16 Dec - Ireland:

AN under-age football club is expected to lodge an official complaint with the FAI after a 12-year-old Sikh boy was ordered to remove his turban during a game.

Karpreet Singh had worn his turban during matches without incident for four years before a problem arose during a recent schoolboy game in Co Meath. The youngster was told by the referee to remove the 'headgear' during the first half, and didn't return to the pitch for the second.

[...]

"The referee told him to remove the 'headgear'. The boy said that he couldn't expose his hair, and his teammates rallied around him."

Link

16 Dec - Europe:

A Sikh rights group asked a U.N. human rights committee on Monday to declare that France violated a student's rights by expelling him for wearing a turban and to recommend repealing the law that led to it.

France passed a law in 2004 banning children in state primary and secondary schools from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, including Muslim headscarves, Jewish yarmulkes, large Christian crosses and Sikh turbans.

Bikramjit Singh was 18 when he was expelled from school in France in 2004 for refusing to remove his turban, according to a group called United Sikhs, which held a civil rights Conference in New York near the United Nations on Monday.

Link

05 Dec - Houston, TX, USA:

A northwest Harris County family said they were treated like criminals after their home was burglarized, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.

On the night before Thanksgiving, Raman Deep Sinth said thieves broke into his family's bathroom window and ransacked his home. He said about $15,000 worth of stuff was stolen.

Sinth said he called the Harris County Sheriff's Office for help.
"That night we were actually robbed twice," Sinth said. "Once by the actual burglars, who we don't know who they were, and secondly by the sheriff's department, who we knew who they were."

He said he believes the deputies were troubled by his turban. He wears it as a member of the Sikh faith. He said he also believes the deputies were also afraid of his sister's kirpan, another religious symbol.

[...]

Sinth said soon, he, his sister, mother and another relative were in handcuffs. He said he was locked up in the back of a sheriff's cruiser.

Link

From November 21:

A Halifax County man was turned away from a local mission when he refused to remove his turban while trying to make a donation.

Gary Khera, who is a Sikh with U.S. and Indian citizenship, went to the Union Mission this week to donate cash or food, The Daily Herald of Roanoke Rapids reported Thursday. Khera said he had previously mailed in his donations but wanted to visit the site in person.

The mission has a rule - explained in large lettering on the mission's door - asking all males to removed headcoverings inside the facility, and mission directors asked him to remove the turban. Khera refused to do so because he wears it all day as part of his religion.

Link

THE first museum in the UK to be dedicated to Sikh history has opened in Derby.
Hundreds of people gathered yesterday for the official opening of the National Sikh Heritage Centre and Holocaust Museum in Pear Tree.
The £25,000-plus project is the first in the world to showcase Sikh history from the perspective of British Sikhs.
It also looks at the Sikh holocaust, in which more than a million people lost their lives because of their faith.
The idea for a national museum came from the Sikh Community Youth Service in the 1980s.

It considered venues from all over the country but chose a former factory in Derby, owned by the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara temple, because of the enthusiasm which had been shown by the city's Sikh community.
Gurmel Singh, one of the volunteers who helped to set up the museum, said he expected people from all over the world to visit the centre.
He said: "The people in Derby expressed such an appetite for this centre. All the funds have been donated by the community and they have put in a lot of time and effort to make it happen.
"We want Sikh young people to get a sense of their connection with Britain as Sikhs and the British have been interacting since the 1700s.
"I think this will become a major tourist destination for people all over the world."
The museum, which is opposite the Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara temple, off Prince's Street, features a collection of cannons, hand-held weapons and coins from the Sikh empire in 18th-century India and also memorabilia from the time of the British Raj.
There are soon to be interactive displays and a full educational section with a specialist library of more than 300 books.
There is also a collection of material addressing the history of Sikh persecution.
During the 18th century, Sikhs were outlawed by the Indian government and endured barbaric persecution for about 50 years.
In the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination in India by two of her Sikh guards in 1984, thousands of Sikhs were slaughtered.
Mr Singh said: "The world is quite rightly aware of the Jewish holocaust but also the Sikhs have had an experience and it's almost an untold story."
The opening was attended by the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Barbara Jackson, and the MP for Derby South, Margaret Beckett.
Mrs Beckett, who released 300 balloons at the event and was wearing Sikh dress, said: "I think this is a tremendous thing that we now have in Derby. It's very important for the young people of the Sikh community to know about their origins and for others to learn about it.
"There's a tremendous tradition of working together

http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Country-s-Sikh-museum-opened-Derby/article-495424-detail/article.html

A San Joaquin County Superior Court judge says a Sikh man facing trial over the murder of his daughter's former boyfriend will have to appear before jurors without his turban.

Judge Charlotte Orcutt says that the long fabric pious men use to wrap their hair could hide a weapon or be used as a noose. [Link]

Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal, a 42-year-old software engineer from the Evergreen area of San Jose, knows what it's like to feel less American than others. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he was accosted by strangers and told to "go home" because, as a Sikh, he wears a turban.

But Bainiwal senses that America has become a more tolerant place since those scary days. And he was thrilled when his 17-year-old son, an Obama supporter, went to work as a poll worker, wearing his turban.

With Obama's election, Bainiwal said, "more barriers will continue to fall. People will vote for people based on the skills and knowledge that they have and what they stand for — and not because of the way they look." [Link]

The Sikh community is seeking a comprehensive response to two violent attacks against their members last month, and the mayor's office convened a meeting Wednesday to begin to address their concerns.

"We'll hopefully get some action to prevent it in the future," said Gurjit Chima, the daughter of the victim of the most recent assault. "This goes so underreported, I think this should be publicized. You want people to know what's going on."

Her father, Ajit Singh Chima, 69, was beaten in the face and kicked before dawn by an unknown attacker last week. Less than three weeks prior, a 10-year-old boy, Gagandeep Singh, was jumped while walking home from school. His turban was removed and his hair was cut off, an offense to Sikhs who grow their hair as a sign of religious devotion.

The two cases are being investigated as bias crimes by the Carteret Police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office, but no arrests have been made. [Link]

A judge has decided a Sikh man can testify at a trial later this month by video conference for religious reasons after he was refused entry to court for wearing his kirpan.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Bryan Mahoney made the ruling after hearing an application from Crown prosecutor Beverly Bauer on Friday.

Bauer said defence lawyer Patrick Flynn agreed to what is essentially a compromise.[Link]

A man and a young boy were attacked because of their religion Monday night.

A 67-year-old New Jersey man, a Sikh, was beaten and bloodied, while a 10-year-old boy was also attacked.

"It shouldn't happen to anyone," Ajit Singh Chima said.

Battered and brave is 67-year-old Chima, talking about how his usual morning exercise on Carteret St. Monday suddenly turned into a violent exercise in hate.


"I said, 'what do you want?' And he hit me," Chima said. "A blow on the nose knocked me to the ground, [then] he kept punching and punching."

The man who jumped him was in his twenties, had a medium complexion and may be the same suspect in another bias attack on a young boy three weeks earlier.

10 year old Gagandeep Singh was walking home from school. His main injury is something he does not want anyone to see – to his hair, which Sikh boys and men consider a gift from god and keep long.

"He came out of nowhere," Singh said. "He just came up behind me, threw me on the floor, held me with his feet and cut my hair with the knife or scissor. Then I jumped a few fences and ran away because I was so scared."

Singh could not see the face of the suspect, who wore a mask. Because both victims are Sikh and because there was no theft, police believe the motive is hatred, based on the victims' religious beliefs.

"The Sikh community in Carteret is very tight-knit, numbering at about a thousand people. The question members have for the attacker or attackers is why.

"Why did you cut my hair?" Singh asks. "What do you want from Punjabis?"

Gagandeep's sister Jasvir Kaur summed the problem up.

"We respect other religions, and we want them to respect us too." [Link]

Dave Singh wants to get a message out to people in the Goodman area: Don’t fear the turban.

Singh, a native of India who recently purchased the Goodman Mini-Mart, is a member of the Sikh religion, which, according to Wikipedia, is the fifth largest religion in the world.

Singh, who came to Goodman from Pennsylvania, wears a blue turban in keeping with his faith.

“I want to tell people that I am good people and I want to do business here,” he said. “I like the countryside. Where I’m from in Pennsylvania, it is a lot like here, a lot of countryside.”

Singh and his family, including his wife, their three children and his elderly father, have been in the United States for 20 years. His father worked for the British government during World War II, while a brother has followed the father’s footsteps and also worked for the British.

“All of my family are now citizens of the U.S.,” he stated.

He proudly talks of his three children, saying all three are employed: A daughter works for a bank, another works for a gas company, while his son works with him in the business in Goodman.

“We want to do something good in the community,” he said. “We hope to do very good.”

Singh first worked for a convenience store in Pennsylvania for six years before starting his own in 1998. Several weeks ago, he heard the Goodman store was for sale, purchasing it just over a month ago.

“I kept all three of the employees, as they’re very good people,” Singh said. “They helped me clean the store and they take good care of the customers.”

“I enjoy working with them — they’re good people,” said Kimberly Mensink, a clerk at the store. “I hope they succeed here. Dave has a lot of good ideas for the store.”

The mini-mart offers gasoline and typical convenience store grocery items such as soda, snacks, beer, and coffee.

Sometimes, customers ask for items the store doesn’t carry. When they do, Singh writes down each request, placing those items in his next order to suppliers.

“We try to make everyone happy,” Singh said. [Link]

Admitting for the first time that soldiers were killed in the anti-Sikh riots in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984, Army authorities have sought details of such victims and called for speedy compensation for the next of kin.

The Rehabilitation and Welfare Section of Ceremonial and Welfare Directorate, Adjutant General’s branch in the Army Headquarters in Delhi, sent a note to various Commands and Regiments that as many as 34 Army personnel (including one ex-serviceman) were killed in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. And that all efforts be made to report on the progress of their compensation cases with respective state governments in tune with the package announced by the Centre in January 2006....

Said Pratap Singh Phoolka, a retired Army officer who has been leading the campaign and is identifying such cases on his own: “The untimely delay caused by the Army in this regard has caused immense damage. Parents of many such unmarried victims have also died in these 25 long years. Who will get the compensation now?”

He, however, welcomed the Army recognising the killing of its personnel during transit in 1984. Phoolka claimed that only a few have been identified so far and that there could be around 300 soldiers who had lost their lives in the riots.

Phoolka started his campiagn after two of his own men in 63 Cavalry died in transit, Capt I P S Bindra in Meerut and Sepoy Sukminderjit Singh Morena in Madhya Pradesh. The SGPC recently announced a Rs 1-lakh grant to the families of the soldiers killed.[Link]

A soldier who pulled off a man's turban during an Edinburgh nightclub scuffle because he "didn't like" people with turbans has been fined £280.

Raty Yavala, 29, had just returned from fighting in Iraq with the First Scots Regiment when he went out in Edinburgh.

Yavala, from Fiji, was in the All Purple Bar in Hanover Street when he began arguing with another clubber.

Yavala pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to a breach of the peace at the club on 30 September 2007.

Yavala, who is based at Dreghorn Barracks near Edinburgh, shouted and swore at the Sikh man before pulling off his turban and calling him a racist name. [Link]