Sikhism in the United States (Redirected from Sikh American)

American Sikhs
Sikhs in Union Square Somerville.jpg
Members of the Sikh community of Somerville, Massachusetts
Total population
700,000-1,000,000 (2020 est.)
(1.7%-2.2% of the population) Increase
Regions with significant populations
Northeastern United States (Greater Boston, New York) · California (Los Angeles County/Orange County, Sacramento Valley, Silicon Valley) · Texas · Virginia · Maryland · Midwestern United States
Religions
Sikhism
Languages
English · Punjabi and its dialects · other Indic languages

Sikhism is a religion originating from medieval India (predominantly from the Punjab region of modern-day India and Pakistan) which was introduced into the United States during the 19th century. In 2007, there were estimated to be between 250,000 and 500,000 Sikhs living in the United States, with the largest populations living on the East and West Coasts, together with additional populations in Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Indianapolis. The United States also has a number of non-Punjabi converts to Sikhism.

Sikh men are typically identifiable by their unshorn beards and turbans (head coverings), articles of their faith. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and subsequent other terrorism related activities by Islamic groups, Sikhs have often been mistaken as Muslims or Arabs, and have been subject to several hate crimes, including murders. Sikh temples have also been targets of violence due to being mistaken for mosques. A 2012 shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin garnered national and international attention, with then President Obama ordering flags to be half-staffed at all federal buildings.

Demographics

Occupations

Military service

A gathering of British veterans who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War; a Sikh is present among them (c. 1917)
A Sikh-American U.S. Army officer(2010)

Sikhs have served in the United States military at least as far back as the early 20th century, when one Bhagat Singh Thind, who though not a citizen joined the United States Army and served in World War I. Thind requested citizenship at the end of the war, being granted and revoked twice, before finally being naturalized in 1936. Far larger numbers of Sikhs served in World War II, and all American wars following.

The ability of observant Sikhs to serve in the American military has, since 1985, been compromised by a discontinuation of exemptions to uniform standards which previously allowed Sikhs to maintain their religiously-mandated beards and turbans while in uniform. As of 2010, a Sikh doctor, Kamaljeet S. Kalsi, and dentist, Tejdeep Singh Rattan, are the only Sikh officers to be permitted to serve in uniform with beard and turban. In addition, Simranpreet Lamba was permitted to enlist, with exemption to wear his turban and beard, in 2010 due to his knowledge of Punjabi and Hindi.

Policing

In 2016, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) began to allow turbans, subject to standards compatible with unimpeded performance of duty. In 2015, Sandeep Dhaliwal became the first Deputy Sheriff in Texas to wear a turban on duty (Harris County Sherriff's Office). He was shot and killed from behind in 2019 while conducting a routine traffic stop on the Copperbrook subdivision in Houston Texas.

In 2019, the Houston Police Department changed their rules to allow beards and turbans, joining 25 other law enforcement agencies.

Professionals

Many Sikhs started life in America working in lumber mills, mines, and as farm laborers, with many eventually becoming landowners. Many early Sikh immigrants were restaurant owners. In 1956, Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian Indian-born person to be elected to the United States House of Representatives.

Elected officials

Settlement

The most concentrated Sikh community in the United States has traditionally resided in agricultural Yuba City, California, although this agglomeration has since dispersed as Sikhs have gained a greater educational foundation, enabling them to have now spread out to metropolitan areas all over the United States. The largest and most rapidly growing Sikh community in New York City is based in the Richmond Hill area of the borough of Queens; the majority consist of more recent emigres from India and Canada. Conversely, in the Sikh Foundation of Virginia, most members comprise both recent and more established Jatt Sikhs and Ramgarhia Sikhs. Most Sikhs of Española, New Mexico are non-Punjabi converts to Sikhism.

History

First immigrants

Sikhs have lived in the United States for more than 130 years. The first Sikh immigrants to the United States started to arrive in the second half of the 19th century, when poor economic conditions in British India drove many Indians to emigrate elsewhere. Most Sikh immigrants to the United States came from the province of Punjab and came to the U.S. to work on agricultural farms in California, travelling via Hong Kong to Angel Island.

In the years just after 1900, hundreds of Sikhs had arrived to work in the lumber mills of Bellingham, Washington. In 1907, 400–500 white men, predominantly members of the Asiatic Exclusion League, attacked the Sikhs’ homes in what is now known as the Bellingham riots. This quickly drove the East Indian immigrants out of the town.

Some Sikhs worked in lumber mills of Oregon or in railroad construction and for some Sikhs it was on a railway line, which allowed other Sikhs who were working as migrant laborers to come into the town on festival days.[unreliable source?]

A big effect on Sikh migration to the western states occurred during World War I and World War II, where Sikhs were recruited by the British Indian Army to serve for them. Sikhs fought bravely during these wars and began to live in England after their serving period. Among the Sikhs who already lived in America prior to the wars, many Sikhs joined them, mainly during World Wars I and II. Among those who served in the US military include Bhagat Singh Thind in World War I.

The first Sikh gurdwara established in the U.S. was the Gurdwara Sahib Stockton, in Stockton, California, which was established in 1912 by Baba Wasakha Singh Ji Dadehar and Baba Jawala Singh Ji.

Discrimination after the September 11 attacks

Sikhs of America parade float at the 2016 Martin Luther King Day parade in Midtown Houston
Houston Sikh Community at the 2016 Martin Luther King Day parade in Midtown Houston
2018 Sikh Festival and Parade, San Francisco Civic Center

As a result of the September 11 attacks, some Sikh Americans have become subject to discrimination, often from individuals who mistakenly believe that they are Arab or Muslim.

Balbir Singh Sodhi, a gas station owner, was killed on September 15, 2001, due to being mistaken for a Muslim. In a 2011 report to the United States Senate, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported several assaults and incidents of arson at Sikh temples after September 11. All were labeled as hate crimes that resulted from the perpetrators' misconceptions that their targets were Muslim. In August 2012, a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was the site of a shooting, leading to six Sikh individuals being killed. On May 7, 2013, an elderly Sikh man was attacked with an iron bar in Fresno, California, in a possible hate crime. On September 21, 2013, Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh professor was attacked in Harlem, New York, by a group of 20-30 men who branded him as "Osama" and Terrorist".

A 2007 survey of Sikh students by the Sikh Coalition found that three out of four male students interviewed "had been teased or harassed on account of their religious identity." In 2014, the Sikh Coalition released a national report on the bullying of Sikh children in American schools. The report found that 55.8% of Sikh students surveyed in Indianapolis reported being bullied, while 54.5% of Sikh students surveyed in Fresno, California, reported being bullied. According to the surveys, Sikh students wearing turbans are twice as likely to be bullied as the average American child.

Converts

In the 1960s, due to increased Indian immigration and rising interest in Indian spirituality in the American counterculture, a number of non-Punjabi Americans began to enter 3HO. Prominent in this trend was Yogi Bhajan, leader of the Sikh-related movement 3HO (Healthy, Happy, Holy Organization), whose Los Angeles temple was the first to introduce non-Punjabi Americans to Sikhism.

Notable Sikh Americans

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-09-03 03:14 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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