Sikhs take to L.A. streets on holy day

Participants turn out to celebrate their religion and bring awareness to recent hate crimes. By Jia-Rui Chong, Times Staff Writer April 9, 2007 With gold- and orange-fringed parade floats and the sound of harmoniums playing traditional hymns, more than 10,000 members of the Sikh community paraded through downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. Many participants wore traditional Sikh turbans as they celebrated Baisakhi, a harvest holiday that commemorates a key moment in the development of the religion. On the minds of many were recent hate crimes, made all the worse as they were apparently provoked by mistaken identity. “People don’t know. They think we’re Muslims,” said Raj Singh, 66, a Brea resident who was watching a float go by. “I hope, for the people standing on the road, or seeing this from their roofs, this will enlighten them.” Last month, a Redding man rammed a construction tractor into a Sikh temple and reportedly told police that he thought the building was owned by Arabs. Sikh leaders say such incidents have become more common since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “People see Osama bin Laden with a turban and beard, and they see us as the same because of ignorance,” said Sarbjit Singh, who teaches children about Sikh religion and culture at the Sikh Study Circle in Los Angeles. (None of the Singhs interviewed for this article are related.) Sarbjit Singh, 45, said that he doesn’t blame anybody for the harassment and that the Sikh efforts should not be taken to mean that the community believes it’s acceptable to discriminate against Muslims. “It hurts us when anybody gets harassed,” he said. Kavneet Singh, the Oakland-based managing director of the national Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said his office gets calls every month about acts of discrimination or misunderstanding about the religion. In one case this year, he said, a man was refused entrance to a bar in Costa Mesa because owners had a policy of not allowing hats — and he was wearing a turban. “There’s a real need for us to be more engaged in our communities,” said Kavneet Singh. “We need to introduce ourselves to our neighbors and make sure local law enforcement know who we are.” Baisakhi, which marks the year’s first harvest and the day when a principal guru in Anandpur Sahib, India, codified the religion’s spiritual and personal codes of conduct. For example, adherents keep their hair long and wear turbans as crowns of spirituality. Sikhism is the world’s fifth-largest religion with about 23 million practitioners worldwide. About 15 Sikh temples around California came together for the event. Daman Singh, 55, of Anaheim Hills said her family comes every year to L.A. to celebrate Baisakhi, which is also considered an auspicious day to get married. “It’s like people celebrate Christmas every year,” she said. As parade-goers talked about how the holiday is celebrated in India, Daman Singh pointed to a small boy who was in her husband’s arms. “This is for our grandson, to show him the culture of our land,” she said. Onlookers leaving the Lakers game at nearby Staples Center were at first puzzled by the glittering floats and sea of people, many of them in fancy embroidered versions of the traditional long shirt and pants known as shalwar kameez. Christian Portillo, 13, of Inglewood wondered, “Weren’t they a bunch of Islamic people?” Christian’s friend Cameron Harris, 13, of Gardena knew the difference. Cameron said he had asked one of the people in the parade what was going on and found out that they were celebrating a Sikh holiday. He said he understood his friend’s confusion because many ethnic groups wear turbans. “I got the message that they were trying to explain themselves and not be seen as outsiders,” Cameron said. “They look like good people to me.”

jia-rui.chong@latimes.com http://www.latimes.com/

By Rob Young/Appeal-Democrat

A 19-year-old Sikh man was told he would have to shave off his beard to qualify for the Yuba City Police Department’s cadet program, a national Sikh rights group said Wednesday. Police Chief Richard Doscher differed somewhat with the version of events as put forth by the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, or SALDEF. Nothing in department rules disqualifies a Sikh with a beard and turban – and even with a ceremonial kirpan, or dagger – from becoming an officer, as long as the kirpan is worn under the uniform, said Doscher. A turban the same color as the uniform would be acceptable, the police chief said. SALDEF said the applicant, Harvir Singh Uppal, was told by Officer Kim Slade, director of the cadet program, that “though the turban was acceptable, the beard does not conform to the uniform standards of the Police Department and it would have to be shaved off.” Doscher said SALDEF’s complaint arose from a misunderstanding between Uppal and Slade. He said it was unclear if Uppal was even wearing a beard at the time. Uppal, a Yuba College student, told the Appeal-Democrat late Wednesday that he had a full beard and wore a turban during an interview last fall at the Police Department. According to Doscher, Slade asked Uppal if he intended to wear a beard. Uppal then asked if the beard would disqualify him from the program but did not respond to letters and phone calls inquiring whether he was still interested in being a cadet, said Doscher. Uppal said Slade told him by phone about a week after the interview that the beard was unacceptable. Uppal did not give a religious reason during the interview for having a beard. The subject of Uppal’s Sikh religion did not come up, Doscher said. SALDEF said that, after Doscher and Mayor John Miller were informed of “the discriminatory nature of this policy,” Doscher wrote a letter of apology to SALDEF and reaffirmed the department’s policy of religious diversity. In the Jan. 23 letter, Doscher wrote that Slade “did say he asked Mr. Uppal if removal of his beard would be objectionable (not being fully versed in the significance). No rejection letter was ever sent to Mr. Uppal.” “Please accept this as an unintentional oversight be one of my staff officers, which I take responsibility for. I can assure you that as of this writing there is no misunderstanding any longer,” Doscher wrote. Doscher asked SALDEF to have Uppal recontact the department. Although SALDEF said Uppal was denied employment, the cadet program is made up strictly of unpaid volunteers age 15 and over who are exploring law enforcement careers, said Doscher. Uppal, a full-time student and Home Depot employee, said he was “honored that they’re welcoming me” but is undecided about reapplying. He said he hopes the controversy results in other law enforcement agencies hiring Sikhs who wear beards and turbans. In the post-9/11 world, Sikhs with beards and turbans are still viewed erroneously as terrorists, he said. Uppal said he initially contacted SALDEF, but he now thinks “it was a misunderstanding and that it was blown out of proportion. If I’d spoken with the chief, it wouldn’t have gone this far.” “I don’t blame Slade,” said Uppal. “At least they’re trying to resolve things.” Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young can be reached at 749-4710. You may e-mail him at ryoung@appeal-democrat.com. Appeal-Democrat

The great thing about the OC Turban Flap is this: The actual damage is microscopic, while the underlying principle can be pumped up to Brown vs. Board of Education proportions. The “victim” is not physically or financially injured, but the implications are so menacing that you can, if you try hard enough, see the outline of Jim Crow in the background. As has been widely reported, Sanjum Paul Sing Samagh, a UC Irvine medical student who always wears a Sikh turban in public, was turned away from a Costa Mesa bar that does not allow its patrons to wear hats. Big deal, you say? As discrimination goes, this rebuff hardly ranks with Rosa Parks. Gather your party and go to another joint where hats (and, therefore, turbans) are allowed. Really, who has time to make a federal case out of such a trivial affront? That’s the grumbling get-over-yourself view. But if one is so inclined – and Samagh is, along with his Rancho Bernardo family and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund – you can take this front-door rejection and rev up the civil-rights engine to the red line. A hat is one thing, they contend, a Sikh turban another. The two are as similar as a Yankee cap and a Jewish yarmulke. The hat can be taken off at will. (Or when your mother lays down the law at the dinner table.) The turban can’t be removed without also removing the faith. For practicing Sikhs, turbans are sacred expressions of identity. Conflating the two types of “headgears” – baseball caps and turbans – does appear to discriminate on the basis of religion, a dicey move under the Constitution. This, you would think, is the sort of issue best broached by the legal bar, not a dance bar. OK, it’s understandable why the Pierce Street Annex might want to enforce a hat-free zone in its raucous confines. Expressive hats among well-lubricated clubbers can be like gang (or, maybe more provocatively, USC or UCLA) colors on the head. A bar is certainly within its rights to impose a dress code that raises the sartorial tone – and preserves the peace – as patrons drink, mingle and dance to hip-hop music. Ironically, in taking a step to improve its image and pacify the mood, the Annex has punched itself in the eye. It is now a lightning rod for the daily slights suffered by the nation’s more than 150,000 Sikhs, a non-Muslim religious group that has been ignorantly subjected to anti-Muslim prejudice. Adding injury to insult, the Annex is a target of a pro-Samagh UC Irvine boycott. It’s unclear what the student stiff-arm will do to the bar receipts, but it can’t help in a competitive nightclub market. So what should the Annex have done on the night of Jan. 25? It’s simple. The management should have realized that its policy did not anticipate someone like Samagh. Every rule has exceptions. This was one such occasion. Think about it. What would the Annex do for a cancer patient wearing an inoffensive cap to hide his bald head? Tell him to go someplace else to dance? If you did, how would you sleep at night? The Annex’s owner reportedly told Samagh and his aghast friends that he was a lawyer and that he had the right to treat all headgear as headgear, period. In a legal sense, that may be true. But in a business sense, it’s self-defeating to defend it. This bar has been open for about 32 years. It’s survived all sorts of changes in a trendy market. In short, it’s adapted. Now it’s time to adapt again. If the no-hat policy is retained, a bright line should be drawn between commercial headgear and a religious turban. Granted, someone in a do-rag might push for “equal” treatment at the door. “It’s an expression of my Rasta religion, man.” That may be awkward to deal with, but nothing like the negative publicity the bar is experiencing now. As civil-rights stages go, the OC bar is, at best, a symbol of more serious confrontations. Sikhs have been taken off commercial flights because of the ceremonial daggers their faith can require them to carry. In Europe, the failure of devout Muslims to assimilate in dress has sent shock waves through France and Britain. Distrust of Muslim immigrants fuels the debate. So far, Samagh is asking for is an apology and a change of bar policy. That should be so easy. That is, unless the Annex has a thing about serving Sikhs. In which case, the bar deserves to lose its hat.

He was denied entry for wearing a turban By Lisa Petrillo UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER February 9, 2007 A turban-wearing Rancho Bernardo medical school student claims he was discriminated against when he was turned away from a popular college hangout. The bar in Orange County has a “no hat” rule. But Sanjum Paul Singh Samagh, an American-born Sikh, said he tried to explain to the bar owner that his black turban was a centuries-old religious symbol, not a fashion statement. Samagh, a Stanford University graduate, has now joined forces with a national civil rights organization demanding a public apology and a policy change from the Pierce Street Annex bar in Costa Mesa. “It may be a small thing, just getting into a bar to have a beer with my classmates, but it’s the tiny things in life that add up,” Samagh said. “If I don’t fight the fight, then what happens the next time?” His classmates at the University of California Irvine Medical School have declared a boycott against the bar. Pierce Street Annex officials did not respond to media questions about their policy or the incident. It began Jan. 25, a Thursday, generally a popular night of cut-rate drinks at the bar. Samagh, 24, said he and about 20 classmates headed to the Annex to celebrate a birthday and the end of exams for the first-year medical students. Samagh said he reacted with shock when the bar owner barred his entry, telling him that headgear was headgear, religious or not. “He kept saying he was a lawyer and he knew his rights, and I tried to talk to him, one professional to another, but he was adamant,” Samagh said. He and his parents, Pam and Paul Samagh of Rancho Bernardo, said they have joined forces with the Washington, D.C.-based Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, formally requesting an apology. They are pursuing the action, they say, to raise awareness of acts of discrimination against Sikhs. California is home to one of the largest Sikh populations in the United States, numbering more than 150,000 people, according to the Sikh organization. The Samagh family has been active in Poway’s Sikh temple, where an official there said that blatant acts of discrimination against local Sikhs have been rare. Paul Samagh said the biggest problem he experienced living in San Diego County was people mistaking him for a Muslim, because of the turban and beard that he and most Sikhs wear. It became dangerous for Sikhs for a brief period after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks, he said. “People . . . threatened to kill me more than once,” said Paul Samagh, who owns gas stations now but ran a gourmet food store in Poway at the time. “I just stopped going to work after 9/11.” The Samagh family said they never experienced outright discrimination while they raised their children in San Diego’s North County. Their son was class president, played basketball and was on Rancho Bernardo High School’s varsity tennis team – always wearing the turban. He also was senior class valedictorian. Nationally, the Sikh American Defense group said they encounter anti-Sikh bias incidents at least a few times a month, although generally the problems can be resolved quickly. Recently, a Sikh youth was turned down as a volunteer for a local police department in Northern California because of a no-beard policy, said Rajbir Singh Datta of the Sikh American Defense group, who successfully fought the rule. “You have to pursue every single one of these cases,” Datta said. “What we want to do is have a society where Sikhs are not looked upon as foreigners. They are part of the fabric of the diversity of the United States.”

By JEFF OVERLEY THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER COSTA MESA – Is a turban the same as a hat? That question has stoked a debate about religious freedom that’s pitting a local medical student against a Costa Mesa nightclub. Sanjum Paul Singh Samagh, a 24-year-old living on campus at UC Irvine, says Sikh attire cost him entry to the Pierce Street Annex bar, where the dress code prohibits hats. On Jan. 25, Samagh arrived at the watering hole with about 20 friends. The bar’s owner refused to let him in, citing the dress code, Samagh and several friends say. “It’s not a fashion statement I’m trying to make,” Samagh recalled telling the owner, explaining that his black cotton turban, or dastaar, is worn for religious reasons. The bar’s owner, Doug Adsit, did not return several calls. A woman who identified herself as the bar’s manager declined to comment. Samagh and his friends left Pierce Street Annex after he was denied entry, but aren’t letting the incident slide, instead calling for a boycott. “My classmates are amazing; they stood up for me,” Samagh said. The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national advocacy group, wants an apology and a policy change. “This is blatantly discriminatory,” said Rajbir Singh Datta, the group’s executive director. “You’re trying to have fun with your friends, and you’re forced to stay outside because of your religion.” The incident’s legal underpinnings are unclear. Eugene Volokh, a UCLA law professor, said that under state law, the bar would only be liable if it intentionally discriminated. The dress code “may burden Sikhs … more than it burdens others, but … that’s not something the bar has to worry about,” Volokh said. Under federal law, Samagh might have a case, because rulings have varied, Volokh added. Chapman University associate law professor Lawrence Rosenthal said that if Samagh made clear the turban was religiously important, the bar might need to accommodate him. Friends of Samagh’s who were at Pierce Street Annex say that while they disagree with Adsit, the bar owner was polite. “He was not disrespectful,” friend Paola Case recalled. “He said, ‘Ma’am, this is not a policy intended to discriminate against people.’ ” Nonetheless, Case said the incident was “reminiscent of Jim Crow” laws. “If I have to make an exception for him, I have to make an exception for everyone,” friend Jon Falakassa recalled Adsit as saying.

COSTA MESA, Calif. – A national Sikh-American advocacy group has asked a bar for an apology and a policy change after its owner allegedly refused to let a man enter because his turban violated a dress code prohibiting hats. “This is blatantly discriminatory,” Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund director Rajbir Singh Datta said this week. “You’re trying to have fun with your friends, and you’re forced to stay outside because of your religion.” Sanjum Paul Singh Samagh, a 24-year-old University of California, Irvine, medical student, said the Pierce Street Annex bar turned him away on Jan. 25 when he refused to remove his black cotton turban, or dastaar. Samagh said he tried to explain to owner Doug Adsit that he wears the headpiece for religious reasons, but that Adsit refused to make an exception. A woman who identified herself to The Orange County Register as the bar’s manager declined to comment. A phone call seeking comment from Pierce Street Annex was not answered Thursday [http://www.mercurynews.com/]

Washington, D.C., February 2, 2007 — On January 25 2007, Mr. Sanjum Paul Singh Samagh, a first year medical school student at the University of California – Irvine Medical School (UCI SOM), was denied entrance to the Pierce Street Annex in Costa Mesa, California, because his religiously mandated head-covering, called a dastaar (or turban), violated the business’s “no hat’s” policy. Mr. Samagh entered the Pierce Street Annex to join his medical school classmates in celebrating another classmate’s birthday.  When trying to gain entrance to the establishment, the security guard noted that Mr. Samagh was wearing a religious head covering, and that it would not be a problem, but advised that he speak to the owner. The owner, Mr. Douglas Adsit, then informed Mr. Samagh that the Pierce Street Annex does not allow entry to anyone wearing “headgear” and denied him entry.  After hearing the stance of Mr. Adsit, the group of 20 students whom Mr. Asagh was supposed to meet, left the establishment and moved the celebration to another location. In a show of solidarity, the UCI SOM first and second year students have formally implemented a boycott against any medical school functions being held at the Pierce Street Annex until this issue is resolved to the satisfaction of Mr. Samagh. In response to this incident, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) noted in a January 27, 2007 letter to Mr. Adsit, “The Sikh turban is a fundamental and integral part of a Sikh’s identity.  It is not a hat or cap that can be removed and put on casually.  The turban is a religious article of faith which has been protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution as well as Federal and State courts across the country.” “Business’ whose “no hats” policies do not allow for religious accommodation are in violation of the Freedom of Expression doctrine in the United States Constitution,” stated SALDEF Western Regional Director Kavneet Singh.  “Such acts are blatantly discriminatory by nature and seek to denigrate not only the 500,000 Sikh Americans but also our brothers and sisters in other faith communities who wear religious head-coverings as part of their beliefs.”

English and Spanish Calendars produced to inform neighbors, co-workers, classmates about Sikh Americans Washington D.C., January 31, 2007 – As 2007 begins the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) has again begun distribution and taking orders for their highly popular Pocket Calendars. The Pocket Calendar is a great resource and tool to increase awareness about Sikhs and Sikhism in your local community. The 2007 calendars, which are professionally designed and printed, have full-color images of Sikh Americans, along with examples of core Sikh values and facts about Sikhs in the United States. On the back, the calendars have a 2007 calendar year in a small, handy, easy to use design. The calendars are available in packages of 100 for $10 plus shipping and handling fees. Additionally, building upon the success of last year, SALDEF has again produced a Spanish language version of its 2007 Calendars, for distribution as well. These calendars are great for distribution by community members at their workplace, business, community meetings, senior citizen centers, convenience stores, gas stations, through cab drivers and at other appropriate locations. This is SALDEF’s fourth year of producing the Pocket Calendars. We admire the commitment of the Sikh American community to take the initiative in informing their friends, co-workers, business patrons and acquaintances about their culture and faith. To order the calendars and other SALDEF publications, please click here or contact us at pubs@ saldef.org To view a larger image of the English Calendar, please click here To view a larger image of the Spanish Calendar, please click here

SALDEF works with Pearson VUE Testing to revise accommodation policy to include religious apparel Washington D.C. – January 23, 2007: The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the nations oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, received a formal letter of apology from Pearson VUE Vice President Anthony Zara in response to an incident of mistreatment of Ms. Jagjit Kaur Khalsa, as she sought to sit for a standardized test at one of Pearson’s facilities. On October 13, 2006, Ms. Khalsa went to a Pearson VUE testing facility in Austin, TX to complete her Oriental Medicine Licensure exam. Upon arriving at the testing facility, Ms. Khalsa was denied entrance into the exam room by a security guard due to her religiously mandated turban. The security guard told Ms. Khalsa that the removal of her “hat” was for her own protection and concerned her career. Ms. Khalsa told the guard that she was not wearing a “hat,” but rather a mandated religious article of faith, a dastaar (turban) and that she could not remove it. SALDEF letter to Pearson VUE’s general counsel informed them of the discriminatory action of the security guard and recommended necessary steps to remedy this situation quickly to Ms. Khalsa’s satisfaction. In a letter to Ms. Khalsa, Pearson VUE Vice President Anthony Zara noted, “We thank you and your attorney for bringing the matter of October 13, 2006 outlined in your letter to our attention. We take matters such as this very seriously and we regret that you felt humiliated during this incident.” Additionally, SALDEF received a separate letter from Mr. Zara indicating Pearson’s formal policy changes allowing for exceptions for religious head coverings specifically mentioning Sikh turbans. In his response, Mr. Zara wrote, “In response to your letter, Pearson VUE has updated its policy on religious and cultural apparel. Please note that under the revised policy no candidate will be asked to remove any item of religious apparel for inspection.” “Your support means a lot to me as for years people have on occasion made uneducated comments about turbans that I have usually just brushed off.” said Ms. Khalsa. “I am so reassured and grateful that your organization is here to help for the sake of many others as well offering support and education! Thank you for helping to get them to change their policy! I could not do that on my own.” SALDEF thanks Pearson VUE for their immediate attention to resolving this matter so that individuals of faith have the ability to use their facilities without having to remove their religious head covering. Additionally, SALDEF commends the courage of Ms. Jagjit Kaur Khalsa for reporting this incident to SALDEF and making sure that her rights as a Sikh American are not marginalized. Unfortunately these incidents have occurred on a frequent basis with many other testing and employment facilities across the country. If you or anyone you know has been the victim of workplace or employment discrimination, please contact SALDEF immediately at 202-393-2700 or info@saldef.org.

Training video to increase awareness among law enforcement officers about Sikh American cultural practices Washington DC, January 19, 2007 – This past Wednesday, January 17, 2006, the Community Relations Service (CRS) of the Department of Justice in partnership with the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), the largest and oldest Sikh American civil rights and advocacy organization, released a first of its kind police roll call training video titled, On Common Ground – Sikh American Cultural Awareness for Law Enforcement. The ground breaking 17-minute training video was developed by SALDEF for the Community Relations Service and released at an event attended by over 150 members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as prominent members of the civil rights and Sikh American community. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, there has been a sharp increase in the number of hate incidents and hate crimes against Sikh Americans of South Asian decent. These attacks have been primarily due to the lack of awareness and the common misconception that Sikh Americans are either from the Middle East, Arab or Muslim. Speaking in absentia, United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez noted, “The film is designed to educate law enforcement working in non-emergency circumstances about cultural norms of Sikh Americans. It makes clear that Sikhs are an integral part of American society. I commend CRS, and I offer my sincere appreciation to CRS and SALDEF for their perseverance and creative effort in producing this educational film.” The training video will be distributed to federal, state and local law enforcement officials across the country. The educational film includes detailed information about the cultural practices and articles of the Sikh faith which are commonly unfamiliar to law enforcement. The protocols for the respectful handling of the articles of faith recommended in the training video are designed with officer safety in mind and are to be followed only in a non-emergency, non-crisis situation. “This video is a product of continued successful collaboration between SALDEF and the Community Relations Service and the pioneering vision of Director Sharee Freeman,” said SALDEF President Mirin Kaur Phool. “Director Freeman has worked tirelessly after September 11, 2001 to ensure that the American public is aware of the Sikh American community.” Additionally, at the event, Director Freeman also announced her plans to step down as the Director of U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service. During her five year tenure, CRS has been a leader in the government’s effort to build and sustain community partnerships within racial and ethnic communities across the nation. On behalf of SALDEF and the entire Sikh American community we thank Director Freeman for her esteemed public service and dedication to supporting the voice of minority groups across the United States. SALDEF would like to especially recognize Sandeep Singh of Marketwise Communications, the director and production manager of this ground breaking educational film. His involvement and unflinching dedication were instrumental in the production of this high quality educational film. SALDEF also extends thanks to all the volunteers and the staff of CRS for their assistance with the organizing of this event. Over the past several years, SALDEF has successfully collaborated with government agencies to produce material that informs law enforcement about Sikh American culture and articles of faith with the objective of ensuring a positive interaction between Sikh Americans and law enforcement personnel including most notably:

  • In December 2004, SALDEF collaborated with the U.S. Department of Justice to publish a poster entitled, Common Sikh American Head Coverings. The purpose of the poster is to provide law enforcement with basic information about the various types of head coverings worn by Sikh men and women.
  • In November 2006, SALDEF partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to release a poster entitled, Sikh Americans and the Kirpan. The poster seeks to create awareness about the Kirpan (religious sword) and recommends protocols on its appropriate handling.

The video will be available for viewing and download in Mid-February. Please visit www.saldef.org for information on the video and its distribution.