'We are writing to request that you join us in signing the attached letter that we are sending to Secretary (Robert) Gates regarding a fundamental issue of fairness, justice, and religious freedom: the right of Sikh Americans to abide by their religious articles of faith while serving in the United States Armed Forces,' wrote Congressmen Rodney Frelinghuysen and Carolyn Maloney in a 'dear colleague' letter.
Three years after the horrific massacre of Sikh worshippers at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, gurdwara by a gunman with ties to supremacist organisations, a federal system to help track hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindu, Arab American communities has been formalised.
A Sikh can be allowed to enter the United States military with turban and beard, the Pentagon has said, noting that the approval in this regard would be given on a case by case basis and there is no universal or automatic approval to the new relaxed religious norms.
Close on the heels of a blistering missive by Congressman Tom Lantos, warning the TSA not to indulge in religious profiling of Sikhs several other lawmakers, both in the House and Senate, have also slammed the agency.
Amrit Singh believes violent measures have resulted in some Americans feeling it is okay to racially profile South Asians, Sikh Americans and Arab Americans, whom they perceive as terrorist threats.
In a first of its kind lawsuit, a decorated Sikh-American soldier has sued the US military, alleging that because of his religious beliefs he is being subjected to "discriminatory" testing that no other soldier in the US army goes through.
Fifteen years after 9/11, the Sikh Coalition, a non-profit organisation, turns to art to open American hearts and minds to the community.
Crimes committed against Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Arabs and three other minority religions would now be tracked as hate crime by law enforcement agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Attorney General Eric Holder said.
A Sikh professor at Columbia University was allegedly attacked by a group of men, who called him "Osama" and "terrorist", in an assault which police are investigating as a hate crime.
The stabber was upset over not getting admission into a university.
A 41-year old Sikh-American IT specialist was brutally attacked by some men, who knocked off his turban and allegedly cut his religiously-mandated unshorn hair with a knife, prompting a civil rights organisation to demand a hate crime investigation into the incident.
Ahluwalia, 41, was not allowed to board the Aeromexico flight from Mexico City to New York on Monday.
Harmeet Dhillon, vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party, delivered the Sikh prayer on the national stage in Punjabi and then translated it into English.
A gurdwara in California has been vandalised and the word "terrorist" scrawled on its walls in an apparent hate crime, days ahead of the first anniversary of the Oak Creek gurdwara shooting in Wisconsin.
Khalsa was driving home on the night of September 25 when a group of men in car threw a beer can at his vehicle.
'A concerned citizen called the police to investigate me while having lunch because of my suspicious container. Just my bamboo flutes,' Dhillon wrote in an Instagram post about Tuesday's incident.
Deputies say that Pittman was arrested early Thursday morning wearing nothing but a sheet taken from the temple's furnishings. He was also holding the gurdwara's ceremonial sword.
A 20-year-old Sikh-American student has won a significant legal battle in the United States with a court allowing him to enrol in an army programme without removing his articles of faith like the beard and turban.
In a major decision that might have a far reaching impact on Sikhs joining the United States military, the Pentagon has issued new instructions relaxing norms to allow troops to wear jewellery and apparel to comply with their religious requirements.
A New Jersey car dealership will pay monetary compensation to a Sikh man to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit, which alleged that he was not hired by the dealership because he maintains a beard.
New York-based Sikh designer and actor Waris Ahluwalia gets recognised for fighting racial discrimination in New York.
The graffiti painted on the wall of the Gurdwara in Southern California on July 29 has once again proved that Sikhs are a target of mistaken identity, says president of Riverside Gurdwara.
'You shouldn't mistreat Muslims, you shouldn't mistreat Sikhs, you shouldn't mistreat anyone you perceive to be the other.'
Waris Ahluwalia, 41, who had been on a trip to Mexico, took a photo of himself and his boarding pass for an Aeromexico flight back to NYC, explaining in a caption that he had been prohibited from boarding.
A bipartisan group of 39 influential American lawmakers has asked the International Basketball Federation to end its discrimination against Sikh players and allow them to play while wearing a turban.
Gurpreet S Kherha, who was denied a job at Tri-County Lexus -- a car dealership in Little Falls, New Jersey -- due to its 'no-beard' policy will get $50,000 in an out-of court settlement with the firm.
Sikhs have been mistaken for terrorists and radicals and continue to suffer after 9/11 terror attacks in the US, community members feel following the latest attack on an elderly Sikh man in California which is being probed by police as a hate crime.
A Sikh man, critically injured after being hit by a truck, was called a "terrorist" by the attacker, victim's wife said, demanding justice for him and terming the assault as an attack on her community.
'We will fight hatred with love, we will fight bigotry with inclusivity. And today I am a Muslim too.' New Yorkers by the thousand, representing myriad backgrounds and faiths, converged on Times Square, to let Muslims know their fellow Americans stood by them.
Just days after a Sikh man was hit and dragged by a truck, another Sikh man and his mother were attacked in New York by a group of teenagers who called them 'Osama Bin Laden' in an apparent hate crime, sparking fresh outrage among the community members.
The move was taken to honour Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was killed when 51-year-old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him at his friend at a bar.
"It is wonderful. I had been living a double life, wearing a turban only at home," Simratpal Singh said, adding, "My two worlds have finally come back together."
For the third time in a row the California state legislature passed a resolution to declare November as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation month. This year the resolution was proposed by Assembly Member Bob Wieckowski (Democrat, Fremont).
But it will be a giant leap for America when all can serve freely in the US Armed Forces, Major Kamaljeet Singh Kalsi tells Suman Guha Mozumder about the Pentagon's relaxing of rules on religious wear
Amid growing anti-Muslim rhetoric in the US poll campaign, President Barack Obama today made his first visit to a mosque as part of his effort to assure the religious minority of their safety and security and celebrate religious diversity of the country.
'I came to this country from India 20 years ago to create a better life for my family. I am a father of four and a proud American citizen. I am also what America looks like.'
Indian Americans speak up about the daunting challenges on the 16th anniversary of the tragedy.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances