Concerned over the increase in number of “hate crimes” or attacks against Indian diaspora, especially Sikhs, the Shiromani Akali Dal led Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) on Tuesday demanded establishment of a separate cell by the Union Ministry to take up such issues, besides a special campaign regarding Sikh identity.
Taking up the issue of shooting of a Sikh at Kent near Seattle in the US recently with Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the US Ambassador to India Richard Verma, DSGMC general secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa urged them to expedite steps to ensure stopping of racial attacks and discrimination with the Sikhs in the United States.
Sirsa stressed upon the establishment of a separate cell by the Union Ministry of External Affairs to take up such issues. He suggested that such cell can have members of the Indian Government and the representatives of Sikh people from the elected bodies like DSGMC and Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
He also said that that along with this, a proper campaign should be launched to ensure that such kind of incidents may not occur in future.
In separate letters written to Swaraj and Verma, Sirsa expressed serious concern on attacks on the Sikhs in US while describing as “very shameful and shocking” the killings of Sikh people in US which is continuing unabated over the past decade.
“Though Swaraj has been taking up issues keeping in mind feelings of the Sikh community, in spite of that the incidence of discrimination with the community by causing hurt, injury and sometimes killing is being repeated one after another,” he added.
Reminding the previous incidents including 2012 Wisconsin Gurudwara firing, discrimination with Sikh-American actor Waris Ahluwalia who was barred from boarding Aero Mexico flight from Mexico when he refused to remove his turban, and incident of a Indo-Canadian Sikh comedian Jasmeet Singh who was forced to remove his turban at US Airport and later barred from boarding a flight to Mexico, Sirsa urged both the leaders to take up steps urgently on the matter as the community was worried a lot keeping in view the changed circumstances in the US.