New York, July 13, 2005 : A Sikh, who was beaten and left unconscious with multiple fractures outside a restaurant here last year, has filed a lawsuit against the five men, charged with attacking him, and the eatery that served alcohol to the assailants.

Rajinder Singh Khalsa, 55, told reporters yesterday that he was seeking monetary damages because he was unable to return to his job for several months after the attack on July 11, 2004, which the police labelled a hate crime.

Mr Khalsa, who emigrated from India in 1996, said as a result of the beating, he lost vision in his left eye, and suffered a crushed nose that required surgery. He said he owes thousands of dollars for medical care because he had no health insurance.

"It’s been many months, and still, I am feeling pain," he said. "My eyesight changed. My life changed. When anybody looks at my turban or at my face, I am scared maybe they are going to beat me."

Mr Khalsa, who runs a car service in a New York City suburb, spoke in the Lower Manhattan offices of the Sikh Coalition, a rights group that helped him get legal counsel.

He said his lawyer filed the lawsuit on Monday in the State Supreme Court in Queens.

News Source : The Tribune, PTI

Jalandhar, April 24, 2005 : A Danish Court has imposed a fine of 3000 kroners on Ripudaman Singh, a student, of the Aahrus University, Denmark for wearing a 'kirpan’. Ripudaman Singh hails from Jalandhar.

Before his entry into the US Embassy in Copenhagen for the purpose of seeking a visa, Ripudaman Singh handed over his "kirpan" and mobile phone to the security staff of the embassy on May 24, 2004.

He was stunned when on his return the embassy security staff confronted him saying he should have confessed that he was in possession of a "knife".

Ripudaman pleaded that it was not a "knife" but a religious symbol worn by baptised Sikhs the world, over, but, Danish police officials who had been called by the US Embassy security staff remained adamant and directed him to either pay fine for possessing of a "knife" or face prosecution in a Copenhagen city court.

The case was subsequently referred to the Copenhagen city court. The "kirpan" was confiscated and the judge sent it for forensic examination which opined that the six-inch "kirpan" was a weapon, with "blunt edges and a sharp tip".

Mr Tarlochan Singh, Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities in India, took up the matter with Mr Michael Sternberg, Ambassador of Denmark in New Delhi, and urged him to convey to the Danish Government and the police that carrying of a "kirpan" was a religious duty of every baptised Sikh.

Mr Tarlochan Singh, referred to a circular issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Ministry of Civil Aviation, New Delhi, stating that Sikh passengers were allowed to carry a nine-inch "kirpan" with them on board domestic flights.

But, the Copenhagen city court, while accepting that the "kirpan" is a religious symbol, has slapped a fine of 3,000 kroners (about Rs 24,000) on Ripudaman.

While giving a 15-day notice to Ripudaman Singh for appeal in the case, the court has decided that in case he fails to pay the fine, he will have to undergo imprisonment for six days.

Mr G.S. Lamba, father of Ripudaman and editor of "Sant Sipahi", says it is ironic that a knife is allowed at a public place on certain conditions, but, not the "Kirpan", which is globally accepted religious symbol of the Sikhs.

News Source : Varinder Singh, Tribune News Service

New York, March 25, 2005 : A New York school district has revoked the suspension on a Sikh teenager for carrying a kirpan and allowed him to wear a smaller version of the sacred religious symbol.

Authorities in the Central 7 school district agreed to lift the suspension on Amandeep Singh, a ninth-grade honors student of Hartsdale, media reports here said.

Amandeep was suspended from Woodlands High School on February 4 for eight days after he was found carrying a kirpan, which the school authorities believed was a weapon.

"We had to balance the student’s First Amendment Rights along with the safety of all of our students in the district," school superintendent Josephine Mofett was quoted as saying, while explaining that weapons of all kinds were forbidden at school.

Soon after the suspension, Amandeep’s brother Kamaldeep Singh met school officials and demonstrated that several other classroom items, including a steel ruler and compass, were sharper than the kirpan, which was 3 inches long, the reports said.

The kirpan was "as sharp as a butter knife," Kamaldeep Singh said, adding that Amandeep had explained the significance of the kirpan to his teachers and never displayed it at school until the authorities asked to see it.

After the suspension was widely published, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington sent their lawyers for assisting Amandeep. "What we have here is evidence of religious discrimination," Jared Leland, media and legal counsel for Becket, was quoted as saying.

The school authorities were convinced and revoked and suspension last week.

News Source : The Tribune, PTI

Ludhiana, Dec 15, 2004 : A Sikh student, Herbakshish Singh, who was debarred from wearing a turban at the graduation ceremony at his school in the USA, is proud that he not only succeeded in getting Los Angeles school officials to back down on an arbitrarily imposed dress code but also helped create awareness about his community by resisting to wear a hat.

His Gursikh parents, Harmohan Singh and Charanjit Kaur from Model Town in Ludhiana, just back after visiting their son were overjoyed at the principled stand taken by their son. "Herbakshish initially attended Venice High School as a junior where some students targeted him because of the turban. They thought he was a Muslim and called him Osama and things like that," they told The Tribune here.

Things got worse as a couple of students came up to him and said they would kill him. "We appealed to the school Principal who arranged to have him transferred to Alexander Hamilton High School, given the number of Sikhs in the school population," his parents said.

"But when he got to the school, he found he was the only student wearing a turban. "He realised all Sikh students there were westernised and were not following the religion anymore when it came to observing the five K's of the Amritdharis," the parents pointed out.

Though he felt isolated, Herbakshish nevertheless engrossed himself into his studies. In his first year, he won the Outstanding Student Award and was asked to join the school's scholastic society. Months later, he became Vice-President of the student body. In his senior year, he won the Principal's Honours Award.

With a grade average of 3.91, having completed all necessary credits, he graduated from the school in December last year. Though he had finished early, there was no graduating ceremony and for the next six months he began taking courses at Santa Monica Junior College.

Three weeks before his graduation, Herbakshish had his sister call the high school's vice-principal in charge of ceremonies to have a gown reserved for him. Herbakshish Singh was keen to go because he had never been to any ceremonies earlier, his parents revealed.

The Vice-Principal reserved the gown, but two weeks before the ceremony, Herbakshish Singh was informed that he could not wear his turban at the ceremony since it violated the school policy mandating that students wear a cap and gown.

"The Vice-Principal said Herbakshish could wear the turban but he would have to wear a cap on the turban," Harmohan Singh recounted.

Herbakshish decided to fight the order and called up his cousin, Jagdeep Singh, who, in turn, rang up Nitasha Sawhney, an attorney at Burke, Williams and Sorenson, which specialises in labour, education and employment laws.

She coordinated with Amardeep Singh of the Sikh Coalition in New York who drafted a letter to the Principal of Alexander High School, explaining not only the tenets of Sikhism but also citing a similar incident a little more than a month ago in Ohio where a school district was ordered to allow a Muslim student to wear her hijab. This made the school allow Herbakshish to wear a turban at the graduation ceremony.

News Source : Amarjit Thind, Tribune News Service

Washington - Aug 20, 2004 : Spiritually uplifting cries of "Bole So Nihal-Sat Sri Akal" rented the White House as it marked 400th anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib, the first Sikh event it celebrated in 100 years.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson welcomed the Sikhs by saying "Bole So Nihal" as the guests responded to the greeting with a loud "Sat Sri Akal".

"You have strengthened the USA and we can count on you to play an important role in making this country strong. Your religion was founded to bring justice, to defend the weak and oppose tyranny", Mr Thompson added.

"I congratulate you on the 400th anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib on behalf of President Bush who has high regards for your community,’’ A Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) statement quoted President George W. Bush’s cabinet member Thompson as telling the community members on Wednesday.

Ten Sikhs were also invited by the White House in the morning to be present while President Bush was to leave for Minnesota for an election meeting.

President Bush waved at the Sikhs and greeted them with a thumbs up, a council member said.

A picture of the Sikhs waiving while President Bush’s helicopter was leaving has been posted at the official website of the White House.

A commemorative coin depicting the White House on one side and the handwriting of Guru Arjan Dev, the compiler of the Sikh scripture, on the other was released and presented to Mr Thompson by Prof Darshan Singh.

A special booklet was also released describing the history and the message of the Sikh scripture and which traced the 100-year-old history of the Sikhs in the USA.

News Source : UNI

Detroit, Michigan - Aug 17, 2004 : UNITED SIKHS Attorney and Legal Director Harpreet Singh, along with The Sikh Coalition, The World Sikh Council, Sikh Society of Michigan Gurudwara, and the Sikh Cultural Society of Windsor Gurudwara are very pleased to announce that the charges brought against Mr. Bhagwant Singh for wearing his Kirpan have been dropped by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

On Sunday, August 15, 2004, Mr. Bhagwant Singh, a resident of Windsor, Canada, was waiting in his car to pick up his father at the Detroit Metro Airport. The Detroit Metro Airport Police asked Mr. Singh to pull over to the side as his car was parked in front of the airport arrival area. While the police officer was asking Mr. Singh for his license and registration, the officer noticed that Mr. Singh was wearing his Kirpan. The officer immediately told Mr. Singh to step out of his vehicle, and then took the Kirpan away from Mr. Singh and searched him. Thereafter, the officer told Mr. Singh that he was being placed under arrest. Mr. Singh tried his best to explain to the officer the religious significance of the Kirpan as a required article of his faith, but the officer refused to accept the explanation. Mr. Singh was then placed in the police patrol car and taken to the Airport Police Department.

Thereafter, family members of Mr. Bhagwant Singh contacted the UNITED SIKHS, The Sikh Coalition, World Sikh Council, Windsor and Detroit-Madison Heights Gurdwara committee members. The Madison Heights Congregation members contacted Attorney Harpreet Singh to represent Bhagwant Singh.

Attorney Harpreet Singh contacted the office of the State Senator, Michael Switalski, and the Mayor of Sterling Heights, Richard Notte, who contacted the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office regarding the matter. Before Bhagwant Singh’s court appearance, Attorney Harpreet Singh and Kuldip Singh, Chairman of The World Sikh Council, met with the detective handling this case and informed him that the Kirpan is not a weapon but an article of faith required by the members of the Sikh faith. The detective was also presented with a memo prepared by The Sikh Coalition and a letter by The World Sikh Council.

The collective efforts put forth by all those involved in this matter persuaded the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office not to file criminal charges against Mr. Bhagwant Singh for wearing his Kirpan. Subsequently, UNITED SIKHS and the Detroit Sikh community are working to conduct education seminars about the Sikhs and Sikh religious practices within the different police departments in the Detroit area. With this the UNITED SIKHS has till date assisted in four cases where the charges regarding the wearing of the Kirpan have been dropped: two in New York City, one in Barcelona and one in Michigan and it is currently working on the Right To Turban campaign in France.

UNITED SIKHS commends the World Sikh Council for speaking out that the Sikhs be allowed to wear the “Kirpan” (Sikh article of Faith) on a Sikh event at the White House on the 400th centenary celebrations of the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhs have their sovereign right to wear their articles of faith, which define their very essence.

UNITED SIKHS advises Sikhs to adhere to the Sikh articles of faith where ever they are without any fear or compromise.

News Source : United Sikhs

July 29, 2004 : For the first time Sikhs would serve as officers in the New York City Police Department (NYPD) with their turbans and uncut beards, Washington-based Sikh Coalition said on Thursday.

On June 29, this year, New York City Commission on Human Rights issued a final decision and order calling on NYPD to allow traffic enforcement agent Jasjit Singh to serve with his turban and beard. The NYPD has not yet appealed against the decision, the Sikh rights group said.

"By deciding not to appeal the Human Rights Commission decision, the NYPD has effectively decided to allow Sikhs to serve with their turbans and beards," it said in a release.

The Sikh group said, "It is for the first time that Sikhs would serve in the NYPD with turbans and beards."

The NYPD has time till August 4 to file its final motions in the federal law suit by another agent Amrik Singh. Over two years ago, Jasjit Singh and Amrik Singh were hired as traffic enforcement agents with the NYPD. They were ordered to remove their turbans and trim their beards because of the NYPD's uniform policy. When they refused to do so, the NYPD fired Amrik Singh and forced Jasjit Singh to resign.

News Source : PTI

July 29, 2004 : Police have charged five persons for harassing and beating a Sikh in a suburb of New York after hurling insults on him and his companion. If convicted, they could get up to 15 years in prison.

In the July 12 incident, Rajinder Singh Khalsa and his cousin Gurcharan Singh were walking towards a restaurant, Tandoori Express, owned by the latter when they were confronted by apparently drunken men who ridiculed their turbans calling them 'dirty curtain' and asking them to take them off.

When Khalsa tried to explain that they were Sikhs and their turbans were religious symbols, the accused started beating, kicking and hitting him till he fell unconscious.

The attack took place in the Richmond section of Queens, which has a substantial immigrant population. Khalsa (54) suffered multiple cuts, bruises and a broken nose. He had migrated from India with his family in the mid 1990s.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the arrested men, identified as Nicholas Maceli (22), Victor Cosentino (58), Terence Lyons (53), Ryan Meehan (18) and Salvatore Maceli (26) have been charged with multiple counts, including second-degree assault.

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, Sikhs have been at the receiving end of several attacks and verbal abuses as they are mistaken for Muslims because of their beard and turban.

Sikh organisations had launched a major media campaign to correct the impression and some even wore a button saying: I am a Sikh.

News Source : PTI

New York, July 13 : In what is considered to be a hate crime, a Sikh limousine driver was beaten unconscious on a sidewalk in a New York suburb during the weekend by apparently drunken white youths.

At least one person has been arrested and the police was on the look out for two others. The incident occurred in the Richmond area of Queens, which has a large immigrant population, on Saturday night.

The 54-year-old Rajinder Singh Khalsa suffered multiple cuts, bruises and a broken nose.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he said he alongwith his cousin Gurcharan Singh were confronted by the youths who ridiculed their turbans calling them "dirty curtain" and asking them to take them off.

Gurcharan Singh, who owns a restaurant, 'Tandoori Express', said they were walking towards a restaurant where they intended to have tea. But as they were passing by an Italian catering hall, the men, who appeared to be drunk, started using abusive language.

Khalsa said he tried to explain to them that they were not Muslims but covered their heads because of respect for God.

According to Gurcharan Singh, the verbal insults turned into violence when he said he would call 911, the police emergency telephone number.

He called the police anyway but by the time, ambulance and the police arrived, Khalsa had been beaten into unconsciousness.

Since Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, Sikhs have suffered several attacks and verbal abuses as they are mistaken for Muslims because of their beard and turban.

Sikh organisations had launched a major media campaign to correct the impression. Some even wore a button saying, "I am a Sikh." ?

News Source : The Tribune, PTI

New Delhi, May 22, 2004: Dr Manmohan Singh was today sworn in as the Prime Minister of India. Dr Singh is the first Prime Minister from the Sikh Community and also heads the first-ever Congress-led coalition government. Dr Singh was administered the oath of office and secrecy by the President APJ Abdul Kalam. Dr Singh is the 13th Prime Minister of India.

News Source : PTI

New York, April 30,2004: In a significant judgement, a US court has asked the New York Police Department to reinstate a Sikh traffic policeman, who quit after he was barred from wearing turban while on duty, and allowed him to wear the religious headgear.

"Jasjit Singh Jaggi, a traffic officer, was discriminated against based on his religious beliefs and should be reinstated, as well as allowed to wear a turban and grow his beard," Administrative Law Judge Donna Merris ruled yesterday.

The judgement, which could be the first step in allowing Sikhs and employees of other religions to wear their religious articles while at work, came in a case filed by Mr Jaggi last year with the city Commission of Human Rights, accusing the NYPD of religious discrimination.

Mr Jaggi filed the complaint on June 19, 2002, after he was told by the department that he had to remove his turban and trim his beard or face severe consequences, including removal from job.

His efforts to convince the department by offering to wear a white turban, the same colour as the hat the city's traffic officers wear, with a badge on it was turned down.

Reacting to the judgement, the New York Police Department said it hoped to convince the human rights commission that every employee should wear an eight-point hat.

The Police Department in its argument had said that sporting a religious headgear would hamper work. "He would not be recognised as a traffic agent and he could not put on a gas mask or an escape hood in an emergency," it had said. ?

News Source : The Tribune, PTI

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