South Asians in New York Apprehensive After Recent Hate Crimes Against Sikhs

Younger members of the community have started to accompany the elders to the Gurdwara.

United Sikhs. Image used for representational purposes.

(stock image)

The South Asian community in New York has been on high alert in the wake of the recent hate crimes against Sikh men in Richmond Hill. According to The New York Times, three Sikhs were attacked in the New York City block in the last 10 days.

Richmond Hill is also an area that houses a large Sikh community and a Gurdwara, i.e., a Sikh temple. Residents in the Queens area are now apprehensive about walking around their neighborhood. Younger members of the community have started to accompany the elders to the temple.

The first round of attacks took place earlier last week when Gulzar Singh, a construction worker who came to the US from India in 2015, was walking to work when two men attacked him. They beat the 45-year-old Sikh across the back of the head, ripped off his turban, and left him bleeding on the sidewalk.

The next attack took place shortly after and on the same block. Sajan Singh, 58, was attacked by two men who beat him, robbed him, and ripped off his turban. According to NYT, this tree-lined street was the site of another attack nine days prior to Sajan Singh's mishap.

The second round of attacks took place the morning of the mass shooting on the subway in Brooklyn, which has further increased the level of panic in the community.

Rise in Number of Anti-Sikh Crimes

Even today, Sikhism remains a misunderstood religion in the US. Many victims of hate crimes who were Sikhs were mistaken for Muslims, also a religious community that has been at the receiving end of hate crimes and discrimination in the US.

The rise in the number of anti-Sikh crimes in the US has gathered the attention of Indian officials. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised the issue of hate crimes against the Sikhs in America during his joint press conference after the 2+2 dialogue with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, reported ANI.

While there were 94 anti-Sikh crimes reported in 2020, there were only 44 reported in 2018, according to the latest FBI hate crimes reported, as mentioned by NYT.