A century of achievement, punctuated by racism and violence

| by Shinder Singh Thandi

( August 20, 2012, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) This year Sikhs are celebrating the centenary of the establishment of the first Sikh gurdwara on American soil in Stockton, CA in 1912. The tragic killings of 6 Sikhs in the Oak Creek Sikh Temple, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, have brought a premature and sobering end to these celebrations. This was an unprovoked, brutal and cowardly attack on innocent Sikhs in their place of worship and a gross violation of Sikh sacred space.

Whichever way we characterise this crime, whether as an act of domestic terrorism or a hate crime, it is a stark reminder that even after more than a 100 years of settlement in the USA, Sikhs remain largely an "invisible", unrecognised and unknown religious minority in a land dominated by a melting pot of different races and ethnicities, with all having a shared experience of being immigrants and belief in living the American dream.

Being victims of racism or hate crimes is nothing new for the Sikhs as the experiences of the early Sikh pioneers testify. Although Sikhs started arriving on the Pacific coast in the final years of the 19th century but within 20 years, by the close of the second decade of the 20th century, the door to further immigration had been firmly shut.

Racist laws

A number of racist laws were enacted which meant Sikhs were not allowed to bring their wives or marry white women, could not own land or obtain US citizenship. Sikhs could only work the land as farm labourers or as leaseholders although some had earlier managed to gain employment in building railroads or in the lumber industry. Their presence was also detested by other immigrant groups because they were seen as taking their jobs and /or offering their labour at a lower daily wage. This ethnic tension often erupted in violence.

Two important incidents are worth recalling. In the town of Bellingham (near Seattle, Washington) in 1907 hundreds of Sikhs were woken from their beds during the night, physically thrashed and forced to flee across the border into Canada. In 1917 in Wheatland, California, a white gang made an unprovoked attack on Sikh farm workers which had a significant and enduring psychological impact on the political thinking of the community and which acted as a catalyst, along with the Komagata Maru incident in Canada, to the community engaging in radical politics through establishing the nationalist Gadar Party. It became clear to many in the community that oppression at home due to British colonial rule and experience of racism in British Columbia and California could only be resolved by liberating India from British rule.

Unfortunately this utopian dream (or worldview) was not to last long and the onset of World War II, eventual Independence of India in 1947 and relaxation of racist laws in both USA and Canada ushered in a fresh era for Sikh immigration and from the mid-1960s onwards we see the rapid development of Sikh communities on both the Pacific coast and also on the east coast of America.

Political turmoil in Punjab in the 1980s gave a further boost to the development of the Sikh community and led to the opening of many more Sikh temples and by all accounts the Sikhs were living the American dream and had bought into the white American characterisation of them as a fine example of the “model minority’ in America. But the 9/11 terrorist attacks and subsequent events were to bring a rude awakening.

After 9/11

With the murder of Balbir Sodhi in 2001, almost 48 hours after 9/11 attacks, it became clear to many Sikhs how their identity could be easily mistaken for Al- Qaida terrorists. They felt vulnerable and defenceless as the number of cases of harassment, Temple desecrations and violent crimes rose against them.

Due to this high state of anxiety, the community rallied around and went on a massive public outreach offensive, to tell American that they had no links with terrorists and were peace-loving despite the similarities in their headgear and that they were very patriotic and proud to be Americans. In the subsequent weeks and months, a number of new Sikh organisations emerged to convey these messages in a more organised and professional way.

Media monitoring on misrepresentation of Sikhs, compiling a list of all hate crimes and offering legal defence to victims of such crimes took priority. Over time the services provided by such groups expanded to include immigration issues, human rights, humanitarian relief and advocacy on promoting Sikh civil rights across the globe. With the passage of time, the latter types of activities appear to have become more important than the context which gave birth to these organisations. There was perhaps a loss of focus and direction.

The Wisconsin Sikh killings will undoubtedly lead to a period of deep introspection by community leaders and pertinent questions about the nature and quality of community outreach strategies will be asked.

Inform Americans

No doubt, other issues the community leaders have to confront are: Were the lessons of 9/11 fully learnt? Have the priorities shifted from educating their American neighbours about Sikhs, their tradition and values towards advocacy which at times has verged on becoming just an anti-India lobby?

What makes the Sikh massacre even more sad and unpalatable is that the USA is the only country outside Punjab where the Sikh community has been endowing Chairs/ Professorships at least since 1994 to promote the study of Sikh tradition and Sikhs.

All the religious communities, in America, India and elsewhere have condemned the Wisconsin killings and have been grieving with the Sikhs. There is tremendous sympathy and goodwill towards the community and the community now needs to use this tragic and sad occasion to take advantage of the media interest in Sikhs, to present the case of a caring, universalist, progressive and hard-working global community.

The academic study of Sikh tradition and Sikhs may have a vital role to play in effective community education and outreach. I am very confident that the Sikhs themselves will learn from this act of persecution — as they have from thousands faced earlier — and come out even stronger and more vibrant.

The writer is based at Coventry University, UK and was Visiting Professor in Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, during 2011-12.