Turbans on the Runway: What does it mean for Sikhs?
By now, you have surely been inundated with Facebook posts and discussions expressing excitement, amazement, or maybe skepticism about French designer Jean Paul Gaultier’s recent showcase of (non-Sikh) models wearing colorful “Sikh-style” turbans.
Gaultier has a thing for India, it...
Dreadlocks, Turbans, and Rollercoaster Racism
Living in Brooklyn, New York City as a turban-wearing Sikh, I attract plenty of negative attention from random strangers as well as the cops, which I’ve written about at length. Fortunately, I also get some love and respect from time to time as I walk or ride my bike in my neighborhood in central...
Sikh MTA Workers Say, “Don’t Brand Our Religion!”
Things are heating up as Sikh transit workers organize against the MTA’s requirement that Sikh workers wear an MTA logo on their turbans. The rationale? The MTA’s position is that this policy is necessary for customers to identify their employees. However, neither the NY City Council, nor...
Lose you turban and I’m outta here
The crisis of Sikh identity was once described to me in very simple terms; most Sikh males no longer want to look like Sardars and most Sikh girls don’t want to marry Sardars. In fact, I distinctly remember several Sikh guys that I went to school cutting their hair for the simple reason of “getting...
