dailyO
Politics

Trump administration should treat hate crimes as acts of terror

Advertisement
Harmeet Shah Singh
Harmeet Shah SinghMar 06, 2017 | 16:46

Trump administration should treat hate crimes as acts of terror

As a journalist, I have covered Sikh reactions from India, the cradle of the faith, to a number of assaults on the male members of the American Sikh community in the United States since Balbir Singh Sodhi's murder in Arizona post-9/11.

The coverage, I admit, has always been usual — condemnation and appeals for safety from India's government and Sikh leadership, assuaging comments from US ambassadors and file shots of the Darbar Sahib (the Golden Temple) and protest marches if it's for TV.

Advertisement

In the United States, American Sikhs have since launched their own awareness campaign about the faith, which is identified by the emblematic turbans and beards that its men wear.

But Sikhs are no strangers to and in foreign lands. They have been living and working there for a century now.

Despite the reportage, publicity and prosecution, American Sikhs remain subject to attacks in what I believe are euphemistically and shrewdly downplayed as hate crimes stemming from mistaken identity.

What mistaken identity? What hate crimes?

sikhs_030617041849.jpg
Most of those who have assaulted Sikhs post 9/11, raided, defaced or desecrated their religious centres are not persons of colour. Photo: Reuters

Is it possible for anyone to shoot at someone because of some confusion over the victim's dress, headgear and beard?

On August 5, 2012, an armed supremacist stormed a Sikh house of worship in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and killed six people inside.

Did he not read the sign "Sikh Temple", which every gurdwara is identified with in Europe, the Americas and in the Australian continent?

When Deep Rai was shot on his arm in Kent by a six-foot white man — the latest in a series of so-called hate crimes — the attacker was casually referred to as a gunman by US media, perhaps in accordance with their style-sheets.

Advertisement

Why stick to style-sheets? Why not call him a terror suspect?

sikh-gurdwara_030617043932.jpg
These assaults also shatter America's perception as a haven for human and religious rights. Photo: SikhCouncilUSA

Most of those who have assaulted Sikhs post 9/11, raided, defaced or desecrated their religious centres are not persons of colour.

If I connect the dots from news reports about such incidents, it appears the attacks on Sikhs, one of the most visible and identifiable brown-skinned communities overseas, are a manifestation of an aggressive homegrown far-Right ideology brewing in those parts of the world.

This radical dogma has taken a toll on the democratic values of American, European and Australian nations.

As a reporter, I would have wrapped up the Rai story with reactions and tweets from the Indian government and the US ambassador in general and the Sikhs in particular.

In Delhi alone, there are 46 elected representatives in the community's religious administration. In Punjab, where the faith was born, the size is bigger.

Getting a handful of sounbites and footage from here and there and turning them into visually-rich television packages will hardly serve any meaningful purpose.

It hasn't till now as Kent showed.

As a blogger in this digital age, I would like to move beyond. Human life is sacrosanct, no matter what the colour of your skin is, no matter which god or goddess you worship, no matter if you are an atheist, agnostic, monotheist or a polytheist.

Advertisement
balbir.jpeg_030617043505.jpg
From Sodhi's murder to the shooting attack on Rai, the American image has unfortunately taken quite a beating. Photo: 
sikhs-9-11.jpeg_030617043745.jpg
The Sikh Coalition protesting attacks on Sikhs post 9/11. Photo: The Sikh Coalition 

If I am strolling around a US city and am shot at for wearing a turban, I would like prosecutors of my host nation to treat the attack as an act of terror.

And it's not an unreasonable demand because such assaults are indeed aimed at terrorising communities that do not physically, linguistically and culturally fit into the standard definition of Americanism.

These assaults also shatter America's perception as a haven for human and religious rights.

From Sodhi's murder to the shooting attack on Rai, the American image has unfortunately taken quite a beating.

Run-of-the-mill condemnations might be okay for average news consumption, but they don't hold promise.

My suggestion, therefore, to the United States: designate hate crimes as terrorism in the first place.

Last updated: March 06, 2017 | 17:02
IN THIS STORY
Please log in
I agree with DailyO's privacy policy