Sheeba Singh

© Panjabi Byte, 2009

Human rights give us insight to what we are entitled to, simply by the virtue of being human. They apprise us about our freedoms, given that they are, in fact, our ‘rights,’ we have every reason not to have to fight for them in this day and age. Unfortunately, the September 11, 2001 shocker has confined the world’s view within the bounds of terrorism- causing grief, loss and increased struggle for civilians who wish to live only within the freedoms they know they have, and exercise rights, universally guaranteed.

For the Sikh community within North America, the struggle for practicing religion freely is being contested by socio-economic boundaries of its nation- one as many of them, consider their present abodes as their home just as much as the ‘white-Americans.’ Here is a brief resume of some of the rising concerns of the Sikh community today:

The PASS ACT of 2009

The PASS ID Act of 2009 is a proposed law designed to standardize photographic identification documents throughout the United States. The law fails to address explicit protections for religious head-coverings. The high-level bureaucrats at the Department of Homeland Security have the power to decide whether or not head coverings can be worn in identification photographs.

This is an issue of great concern, being advocated against by SALDEF- Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund- in order to avoid a situation in which the state governments depart from well-settled State Department standards and force Sikh Americans to remove their dastaars (turbans) as a condition to receiving critical identification documents.

During the previous year, three states—Nevada, Oklahoma, and Minnesota—have defended rules or proposed laws that would have required individuals to remove religious head coverings as a condition to receiving a driver’s license photograph. But for the intervention of interfaith civil rights groups in each of these states, observant Sikhs, Jews, and Muslims would have faced a false choice between their religious freedom and their full participation in a society in which identification documents are more and more frequently required. Because only a few states have enacted robust religious freedom legislations, individuals who wear religious head coverings stand on precarious ground in most states and remain vulnerable to future threats to religious freedom. With such a law being implemented, and Canadian-Sikhs have just as much a worry on their hands, being shadowed by such a powerful empire. SALDEF claims this would impair Sikhs to practice their religion, comparing to the havoc on the lives of Sikhs and other religious minorities in France. IS America also going the France way?

In response to this, SALDEF encourages civilians in America to get in touch with their Senators and informing them about On Common Ground – the law enforcement training video on Sikh religious practices co-produced by SALDEF and the U.S. Department of Justice.

In the Courtroom

In August 2009 SALDEF also urged Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to condemn a new rule authorizing Michigan judges to force witnesses to remove religious head coverings in court. According to Rajdeep Singh Jolly, SALDEF’s Director of Law and Policy, “We acknowledge the need for witnesses to be seen when they provide testimony, but there is no compelling justification for any judge to force an observant Sikh to remove a dastaar in a courtroom. Indeed, dastaars are worn daily as a matter of religious obligation and do not cover or conceal the face.” Another area of concern, and one more fight for the Sikh community.

In the Classroom

The State of Oregon recently enacted a law called the Oregon Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA). Although this should have generated fanfare among religious minorities, for whom there is insufficient protection under federal employment discrimination laws, Oregon’s WRFA has, in fact, generated enormous protest from Sikh Americans and a diverse coalition of religious groups and civil libertarians throughout the nation. Due to this, observant Sikhs, Muslims, Jews—and others who wear religious clothing in private adherence to faith—are shut out of the teaching profession in Oregon. With the possible exception of Pennsylvania, no other state in the country restricts public school teachers in this manner. SALDEF, with regards to this, demands an immediate appeal. But the problem in the classroom is not only with those who wish to teach, being Sikh. The concerns have extended to Sikh parents whose children may be exposed to hate crimes, such as in the case of Jagmohan, a high school student in New York.

Student-to-Student Bias-Based Harassment

The Sikh coalition- a human rights organization working in the States- reports, over 90 percent of the student-to-student bias-based harassment reported to school officials failed to have any follow up investigation. While the media controls our perception of the world to such a degree, the images that are conjured up do not fail to reach the young minds. In June 2008, a Sikh high school student, Jagmohan Singh Premi, in Richmond Hill, New York was exposed to a hate crime first hand. Another student, whose identity has been withheld, pulled at Jagmohans’ patka and beard, while also throwing punches at him- wounding him severely. The school, unfortunately, did nothing in this matter. Having been taken to court, Judge Lubow, in New York family court, ruled in favor of Jagmohan, as a result of which the attacker faces up to 18 months in juvenile detention. According to Judge Lubow:

1) Assault in the Second Degree, Charged as a Hate Crime; 2) Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree; and 3) Criminal Possession of Weapon in the Fourth Degree. The sentencing hearing in this matter is scheduled for September 9 before Judge Lubow in Queens Family Court.

Sikh Coalition finds that a majority of the students are not aware of the resources available to them in order to respond to bias-based harassment. This can be done by emailing respectforall@schools.nyc.gov.

In the Army

With the US Army’s ban on turbans, Capt. Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and Second Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist are being told to remove heir turbans, and cut their hair and beards in order to report for duty. This, being the case, despite having been told that by military recruiters at the time of enrollment that their being a Sikh, and their turbans ‘would not be a problem.’ Having maintained their identity through four years of training in Army facilities, Capt. Kalsi alleges that he was shocked, “. To learn that the Army would go back on their promise, and expect me to choose between my faith or my service to my country… There is nothing about my religion that stops me from doing my job. I know I can serve well without compromising my faith.’

The ban on ‘conspicuous’ religious articles by the Army came into force in 1981. No person of any religious background in the army before then had to face any repercussions as a result of their faith. As a result, Colonel Arjinderpal Singh Sekhon, a doctor, and Colonel G.B. Singh, a dentist, continued to serve in the U.S. Army with their turbans and unshorn hair for the past twenty-five years. Colonel Sekhon retired in January ’09 while Colonel Singh retired in ’07. Despite this, Captain Kalsi and Second Lt. Rattan are being prohibited from taking up the very same positions in the Army today.

Sikh Coalition began a public petition in order to protest against this ban. Forty-one Members of the United States House of Representatives wrote to Defense Secretary Gates last week, urging him to permit Sikhs to join the U.S. military. The letter was the result of nearly a month of intense lobbying efforts by Sikh Coalition staff, McDermott, Will & Emery attorneys, volunteers from SCORE and hundreds of community members across the nation. The hope is that the letter will reach the Secretary’s desk before he has made a decision about the case, so that his decision takes into account the broad-based support for Sikhs in the military.

Proposed Law AB 504

The bill was introduced by Assembly member Warren Furutani who has worked tirelessly with the Sikh Coalition and local Sikh activists to ensure that the bill is a priority for the legislature and for the “California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. ”

AB 504 is an important bill that recognizes the state’s responsibility to protect religious freedoms, while ensuring public safety,” said Furutani. “The Sikh community should not live in fear of arrest by law enforcement for carrying the kirpan, which is an integral part of their religious faith.” The proposed law AB 504 would create and include training about the kirpan in the state curriculum for law enforcement officer training. While several police and sheriff’s departments have recognized the need for this type of training and have been conducting it on an ad hoc basis, the bill would standardize the process statewide. The training would specifically advise officers about “how to recognize and interact with persons carrying a kirpan.” This would, hopefully, provide a means to reduce wasteful arrests of Sikhs due to the misunderstanding causing police to believe Sikhs are in violation of concealed weapons. The bill will now make its way to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He will decide whether to sign it into law.

Conclusion

The concerns covered here deserve the attention and need to be brought to the fore by every member of the community. As members of racial, ethnic or religious minorities belonging to North America fight harder for, what they know be their only home- the struggle has become harder since 9/11. Steps being taken by organizations such as The Sikh Coalition, SALDEF and members of the community have brought into light, to the political agencies- the need to work beyond just words. The urgency in the matter of hate crimes and bias-based harassment calls for action. Through a communal understanding of the cultures that surround us, it would be possible to live in the freedoms we all are entitled to. To be able to exercise our rights as humans and not have to fight for the freedoms we know we have- should never be in question by social or political agencies. They are bestowed upon each of us, despite whatever difference, because we are human, and equals.

*For more information about these issues and more, please visit www.sikhcoalition.org and HYPERLINK “http://www.saldef.org” www.saldef.org