The study conducted by Harvard University found that 83% Sikhs respondents had personally experienced hate crime, compared to 35% Pak Muslims.
NEW YORK: In the wake of the terror attacks in the US, South Asians faced pointed discrimination and Sikhs and Pakistani Muslims were caught up in the spiral of hate crimes, said a report linked to the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.
The Discrimination and National Security Initiative released the report titled “We are Americans Too”. The author, June Han, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University, noted; “We now live in an era in which individuals who are or who are just perceived to be Arab or Muslim, including South Asians; are viewed with suspicion.”
The report focuses on Indian Hindus, Pakistani Muslims and Sikhs living mainly in the Washington, DC area. It noted Sikh Americans, particularly those wearing turbans, were most affected by hate crimes in the immediate aftermath.
Of the three groups, Pakistani Muslims were the worst affected by government policies and programmes after 9/11, including Special Registration and the USA Patriot Act. Hindus by contrast were largely unaffected. Only 15 per cent of Hindu respondents felt afraid for their physical safety, as compared to 41 per cent of Pakistani Muslim respondents and 64 per cent of Sikhs. A very high 83 per cent of Sikhs said they or someone they knew well had experienced a hate crime or incident. Evidently, 35 per cent of Pakistani Muslims actually considered packing their bags and leaving the US.
Indian immigrant Balbir Singh Sodhi was apparently the first person to be killed as a result of a hate crime.
Han interviewed Sikhs who said they were surprised not to get the job or promotion they were tipped to get. Some said they were actually getting used to passengers sitting next to them on a plane asking to be reseated.
The report also examines the emergence of hyphenated identities after 9/11 such as “Muslim-American” and notes that Sikhs and other Asians are careful about demonstrating their patriotism by putting up American flags on their homes and cars.
Spreading Sikhism in US
Sanghita Singh
NEW DELHI: An exhibition on Sikh art will attempt to educate Americans about the distinct identity of Sikhs. “I See no Stranger: an exhibition on Early Sikh Art and Devotion” opens at The Rubin Museum in New York on September 18 presenting approximately 100 works of art spanning three centuries (16-19th century). The National Museum, along with the Sanskriti Museum and Chandigarh museum have sent their collection of Sikh art to the Rubin museum. The Shiromani Gurduwara Parbandhak Committee is also in the process of organising a seminar to create awareness in America about Sikhs.
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