As International Women’s Day approaches us this weekend, I wanted to highlight the story of one woman who left a life of violence to a home of comfort built from creativity. Tanya Momi, a Bay Area South Asian woman from Chandigarh, is a painter and owner of “Spoil-Me Salon”, who left a long-term abusive marriage where she was treated like an “educated maid”. On March 8th her work will be launched in San Francisco as part of Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women’s traveling art exhibit.
Vidya Pradhan writes:
“Tanya Momi rebuilt her life after a traumatic marriage and divorce and in her own quiet way she helps other women do the same. “Women come into my life through the salon,” she says. “They are like the missing puzzle pieces of my life.” Through her work in the salon and her paintings she reaches out to offer comforting messages of hope and renewal.”
As I was randomly going through youtube clips a few days ago, I came across the above video of a group of Sikh children in Fremont, who learn kirtan in classical raags. Despite the poor audio, its obvious that they are good and I know this also from having heard them (and some of their contemporaries) in person – they are GOOD.
A couple of weeks ago Jodha reported on an article that brought to light the fact that Sikh children are practicing the tradition of kirtan, but what I think we didn’t discuss there is how this generation of Sikh musicians has really become one of classical musicians, learning stringed instruments of old and performing keertan in the Classical or raag framework. The growth has been obvious, especially in recent years – with the rise of institutions such as the The Raj Academy in Great Britain and the Gurmat Sangeet Department at Punjabi University Patiala, which specialize in providing instruction in traditional (classical) kirtan, and even the Miri Piri Academy in Amritsar of which the Chardi Kala Jatha (classically trained professional Sikh musicians who happen to be American in nationality) is a product.
Yet another inexplicable case of profiling has come to light. On January 26th, 36 year old Rashad Bukhari arrived from Pakistan with a valid multi-entry visa into the US. Bhukhari is a former employee of the U.S. Institute for Peace, and currently the Urdu-language editor of the Common Ground News Service, whose goal is to build bridges between the Muslim world and the West. The news service is funded by the Search for Common Ground, a conflict resolution and conflict prevention ngo.
Immigration officials at Dulles could have easily verified all of this if Rashad had been allowed to make a phone call or if they themselves had chosen to check. Rather, they detained him for 15 hours, temporarily took away his cellphone and laptop, and eventually put him on a plane back to Pakistan. They prepared a transcript of the encounter in which an official justifies the United States not honoring Rashad’s visa by saying, “You appear to be an intending [sic] immigrant.” [Washington Post]
Bukhari was refused entry because the immigration agent he spoke with found that he was an “intending immigrant” or that he had an intent to remain in the US. His visa was a temporary visa (probably visitor). However, Bukhari has a wife and three children in Pakistan, a return ticket there, and a good job, all of which would normally indicate that he has no intention of remaining here in the US. The number of connections you have in your home country is what determines whether you have ‘an intent to remain’ in the US, and Bukhari’s connections, in ordinary circumstances, would be more than enough to assure authorities that he would return to Pakistan.
In words that don’t appear on the transcript of the case, the official told Bukhari that he could “voluntarily” withdraw, return to Pakistan, and reapply for another visa, or face a five year ban. So he left, and now faces the consequences that accompany being refused entry at a border.
Assemblyman Warren Furutani (D-Long Beach) has introduced a new bill requiring awareness trainings and instruction on how to approach Sikhs for California’s law enforcement agencies and officers. If passed, California, which is home to the oldest Sikh gurdwara in the U.S. (Stockton) and one of the largest Sikh populations in the country, would take affirmative steps to ensure that the rhetoric around national security is not inappropriately utilized to prevent Sikhs from the free and fully practice of our faith.
Assemblyman Furutani explained the need for this protection specifically in the context of the kirpan:
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Sikhs carrying the blade, which they consider sacred, have experienced a sharp increase in prosecutions, according to the legislation, AB 504, that Furutani has introduced.
“The Sikh community should not live in fear of arrest by law enforcement for carrying the kirpan, which is an integral part of their religious faith.” [link]
In light of the horrific experience of the Tagore family in Texas, it sounds like this kind of forward-looking legislation could prevent instances of ignorance-based harassment, or at the very least provide a legal basis for holding police officers accountable to culturally appropriate standards of enforcement for the diverse communities in which they work. The bill will be reviewed in March, and it will be interesting to see if it’s able to gain political traction in the upcoming legislative session.
Photo by Howard Koplowitz.
Swaranjit Singh is running for New York City Council, representing Queens. An underdog in a new campaign for a new voting enclave, he’s running, in part, to ensure that “roti-eating people” have a voice, and a say, in New York’s politics:
“My biggest goal is to unite the roti-eating people. Only when we are united, that’s the way we can get any [political] positions,” Singh said… “We can make a difference…” [link]
He emphasized that he’s running to represent all people in the district, but that the desi population in the region is rapidly growing and that there’s a need for community participation and cultural understanding throughout government. At present, desis (mostly Sikh) represent roughly 34% of his district’s population.
Michael Singh, a filmmaker, has been attempting for years to finish a documentary on his experiences during 1984. However, without support from the Sikh community (yes, money) he has found himself unable to complete this work. His goal has been to make a one-hour documentary based on materials he recorded and filmed during three days in Delhi when mobs were roaming outside the compound where he and his brother Surinder were staying.
The documentary-film-in-progress Riding the Tiger will recount filmmaker Michael Singh’s personal and intimate journey into self-identity as a half-Sikh young man who survived the atrocities of 1984, denying his Sikh heritage and passing for a white man. His story is set against the backdrop of the bloodiest year in modern Sikh history, a year of which many young Sikhs know little. [link]
The filmmaker is concerned that the traumatic events of 1984 are “quickly fading” from the Sikh consciousness and is asking the community, “How serious are you about preserving Sikh culture?” Micheal’s story begins when he and his brother return home, to India. After Prime Minister Indira Gandhi lay siege on the Sikh’s holiest site, Michael and his brother Surinder managed to infiltrate it and view the destruction following the gunning down of hundreds of pilgrims. Upon returning to the US Micheal publicized his story, and to his delight, three Sikh film producers showed up at his apartment, expressing their desire to hear his interviews and bankroll his film. Michael tells us of the tragedy of this visit,
Presidents’ Day in the U.S. is kind of a all-in-one holiday, you celebrate Lincoln and Washington’s birthdays while honoring all U.S. Presidents. Some just enjoy the day off too!
On this Presidents’ Day, C-SPAN commemorated the holiday by releasing the results of its 2009 Historians Presidential Leadership Survey (last time they did it was in 2000). Sixty-five historians chosen by C-SPAN and its academic advisors, ranked the last 42 American Presidents across 10 attributes of presidential leadership. These attributes ranged from “International Relations” and “Economic Management” to “Moral Authority” and “Public Persuasion”. There was also a category for “Performance Within Contexts Of Times” to account for the variation in issues encountered by each President.
In 2006, Professors John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) and Stephen Walt (Harvard) published a book titled The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. In the book, Mearsheimer and Walt raise the following point – that since 1967, America’s relationship with Israel has been the centerpiece of its Middle East foreign policy.
They then ask the question:
Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides…. So if neither strategic nor moral arguments can account for America’s support for Israel, how are we to explain it?[link]
The answer:
The explanation is the unmatched power of the Israel Lobby. We use ‘the Lobby’ as shorthand for the loose coalition of individuals and organisations who actively work to steer US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. This is not meant to suggest that ‘the Lobby’ is a unified movement with a central leadership, or that individuals within it do not disagree on certain issues. Not all Jewish Americans are part of the Lobby, because Israel is not a salient issue for many of them. In a 2004 survey, for example, roughly 36 per cent of American Jews said they were either ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ emotionally attached to Israel.[link]
While the Israeli Lobby remains one of the most powerful groups in Washington DC, there is a rising group in town – the India Lobby. Sometimes I am shocked by the naivety of Sikh-Americans that have NO understanding of the power of the Indian lobby. They are generally completely ignorant of the vast prestige and increasing power of this group. (Then of course, there is the other extreme that believe ‘agents’ lurk around every corner and never hesitate to call anyone that disagrees with them, a ‘sarkari agent.’)
We covered the El Sobrante Gurdwara expansion — and the subsequent PR fallout — a while ago. Earlier this week, the county halted expansion plans pending a further environmental review. Local residents filed a petition for re-review, claiming the “regional service area” proposed in the expansion documents underestimated projected population growth/use in the area:
The appellants, El Sobrante Valley Planning and Zoning Advisory Committee and Quail Hill Homeowners Association, say the mitigated negative declaration does not adequately address their concerns regarding traffic, parking, noise, possible landslides, drainage, wildlife and emergency vehicle access.
Gurdwara leadership says that community members have it all wrong, though, and that they are off the mark in understanding how regional is defined and what it means for the future of the center.
Sikh leaders said they have spent the past 10 years fine-tuning the project to satisfy the county as well as neighbors.
“We have spent more than half a million dollars” — not including volunteer time and effort — “to comply “… and keep our neighbors advised…”
When we discussed this last time, I asked about the challenges we face explaining our presence and integrating into the fabric of religion in the U.S. We could revisit that conversation, but this time I thought it was curious that the project has been stalled in the face of a staggering economic slowdown in this region. Could this have generated jobs and funding at a time when the area could benefit from economic development? Or was this not worth the end result?
Although the Hothi murder has been covered by my fellow Langa(w)riters, the case has re-appeared in the news.
To catch everyone up, in 2007 Gurparkash Singh Khalsa is alleged to have killed Ajmer Singh Hothi in Stockton, after he felt “dishonored” by a relationship and possible aborted pregnancy between Hothi and his daughter.
Khalsa is now behind bars in a San Joaquin prison. In the latest twist, the Times of India reports “Sikh Man slapped with USD 15million lawsuit.” (Why his religion is relevant, I am not sure as even the article in the Stockton Record is only “Victim’s family sues suspect in honor killing“, but I digress).
The city of Fremont in the Bay Area probably doesn’t need much introduction for most California Sikhs. A turn onto Gurdwara Road takes one into the residential area that houses the famous Fremont Gurdwara. A site of community energy, it has also been sporadically the site of community violence. Still the story of the Sikhs in Fremont is just one of Fremont’s stories.
From a sleepy white city of 23,000, Fremont has become the Bay Area’s fourth largest city with a population of over 200,000 and an Asian-majority. The city is home to the largest Afghan population in the US. The city has a prominent role in Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner movie and novel, as many Afghans came to this city following the violence in their homeland during the Soviet invasion in 1979. My own experience with the Afghans living there was limited to the Afghan-Punjabi youth violence during the early/mid 1990s.
The press, unsurprisingly, has paid significant attention to Barack Obama’s inauguration. The importance of Obama’s ascendancy to the presidency — in terms of its symbolic and historic significance as well as the substantive policy changes that will follow — cannot be overlooked. Interestingly, the Sikh aspect of Obama-mania also has reached the pages of prominent press outlets. Those reports contain some good news, and even some bad. First, the good….
Obama gained points when he took the time to provide answers to a questionnaire about Sikh interests and concerns. Indeed, a Harvard professor on religion and the religious diaspora in America, noted: “The Sikhs heard from you too. Your response to the questions… made it clear that you know your Sikh constituents and have a real concern for the issues of discrimination, hate crimes, and profiling they have faced. Your thoughtful response to the Sikhs stood in stark contrast to that of your opponent: ‘No Response.'”
Also, the Sikh Inaugural Ball — however viewed by some Sikhs themselves (see here and here for our previous coverage) — generally has been favorably seen by non-Sikhs. The Washington Post, for example, profiled a Sikh woman’s journey from California to Washington, DC, to attend the ball. The overarching theme of the piece was how Obama’s election has reinvigorated the Sikh woman’s conception of politics and her place in America. “Now,” she said, “I feel I can call this country my home.” [Aunty Ji, Gulshan Gachoke, is pictured at right.]
The Wall Street Journal, another respected publication, reported from the ball itself. In addition to discussing the details of the ball, the Journal offered this observation: “Several people at the event drew a comparison between Barack Obama and Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh prime minister of India, a country where only 2% of the people identify as Sikh.” (I haven’t drawn this connection in my own mind, but a healthy debate may be had about whether a meaningful link between the two may be made on the basis of their minority status and respective places in the American and Indian governments.)
And now the “bad”….
As the economy’s downturn affects millions of North Americans, you wonder how documented/undocumented immigrants are impacted by it; particularly, when many left friends and families in their home-countries for economic opportunities in the West. Maple Leaf Sikh gave us some insight into how the Punjabi Sikh population is being affected in Canada.
Last week, a KGET news report (view below for video report), focused on the undocumented population in California’s Central Valley. Despite economic hard-times in Kern County, its large undocumented population, who are primarily Latino, has no intention of going back to their home-countries. Regardless of soaring unemployment rates, US economic recession, and a major downturn in California’s construction, service, and agriculture industries, many undocumented workers maintain a tremendous amount of faith in the US economy.
Here is a report by “Voice Of America” that takes a look at the Sikh Inaugural Ball (Publius covered it earlier here) as part of the Indian-American take on the Obama inauguration story. An interesting perspective following the recent discussion on the TLH post: Sikh or Indian?.
Thoughts?
A friend sent me a video of Harbhajan Singh [Yogi Ji] the other day. I never really listened much to Yogi Ji, but I think he makes some interesting analogies in his katha.
Here are a few that I thought were pretty cool and some that go to our previous discussions of what it means to be a Sikh. My favorite is the one that is the heading of this post:
A sikh has to practice to be the son of the Great Guru.
If we do not understand the Guru’s values, we wont survive. We can make claims. We have to have to have an understanding. Under stand. It means “stand under.” Stand under something, which is real and clear.
Somebody asked me “why we have to meditate?”
I said “why we have to take bath?”
If you don’t take bath you will stink, if you don’t meditate and chant the naam your mind will stink.
If you will not excel and serve everyone with smile and love, your soul will stink.
Yesterday, the newly inaugurated president said, “… the world has changed and we must change with it.”
But just what has changed? In the euphoria of yesterday’s ceremonies, some seemed to expect that from now on, the sun would always shine and no one would ever go hungry again. The inaugural ceremony itself provided ample examples of both what had and hadn’t changed.
What ha
d changed, at least for a few days in DC was that people were exuberant. Strangers became friends. Hugs, high-fives, and tears were shared with neighbors crowding the national mall, cafes, and homes throughout the city. People were generous. An older woman from California gave her flannel shirt to a younger woman who had been waiting beside her in the bitter cold since 6:30 in the morning.
But in some areas where organization was lacking, the chaos vividly showed that when people’s expectations were unfulfilled, survival of the fittest remained the governing natural law. A Congressman reportedly tried to drive through people waiting in line and got stuck in the crowd when they surrounded his vehicle. At least 4 ambulances were seen transporting people injured by the crushing crowd. These scenes resembled a Delhi train station more than the Washington DC I’m used to.
So, what’s changed?
In Richmond Hill, early Sunday morning, another Sikh youth became a victim of a hate crime. Jasmir Singh’s hair and beard were pulled, and he was stabbed in the eye. He may lose his eyesight. [link]
Word has passed through the grapevine that a Sikh candidate is up for election as council member-at-large in the upcoming Hoboken City Council race. Meet Ravinder (“Ravi”) Bhalla, a New Jersey native and attorney currently serving as a committee member for his district. A Democrat, Bhalla is running on a platform that centers around limiting property taxes and “increasing fiscal responsibility” in addition to focusing on transparency and modernization of public archives/resources:
Hoboken is a great city, but as many people feel these days, we can do much better. Property taxes and spending are out of control. Too many important decisions are made in the shadows of City Hall and without the knowledge or involvement of ordinary citizens. [link]
Bhalla is running in an overwhelmingly white suburb of NYC that currently has only one non-white city councilmember. In exploring his own background as a practicing Sikh and as an attorney, some of his work has featured relatively prominently around civil rights issues and freedom of religion:
In 2006, Kawaljeet Tagore was fired for refusing to remove her kirpan. This month, she has filed a lawsuit, along with the Sikh Coalition and Becket Fund, against the IRS.
Kawaljeet Tagore, a Sikh American, sued the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Houston federal court on Jan. 6 claiming the IRS discriminated against her by prohibiting her from wearing a kirpan, a mandatory article of faith, on her job as a revenue agent at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in downtown Houston. [link]
The case is significant for a few reasons, but this is the first time someone has litigated the right to wear the kirpan specifically in a work-context. There have been other incidents (and sometimes cases) in which a Sikh’s right to wear the kirpan in an educational setting or in a vehicle or place of public accommodation has been disputed and resolved.
As Lohiri season approaches us, the issue of gender equity was once again resurfaces. Some families will celebrate Lohiri for their daughters to show there is no difference, while others will keep it as a boy tradition. I think we should also reflect on the fact gender equity isn’t just solved by equal celebrations when from the beginning we don’t even allow daughters to be born. How many celebrations will “make-up” for the gross in-balance between the male-female ratio in our community?
The issue of female feticide in the South Asian community is an infamous issue. We have heard about the studies in India, Punjab’s high ranking, and the SGPC’s desire to raise unwanted daughters. The common source cited for killing female children is abortion- just never letting them be born. However, the issue is also prevalent in the South Asian Diaspora in America. According to The Mercury News, Indian families are 58 percent more likely to have a son after having three daughters, compared to the natural 51 percent chance.
The dance continues. India’s infamous Central Bureau of Investigation just made a trip to the US to record testimony from two witnesses who identified Jagdish Tytler as an organizer of three days of violence in 1984 against Sikhs in Delhi.
A team from India’s Central Bureau of Investigation came to the U.S. Dec. 22-26 to take testimony from two key witnesses who allege that former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler organized three days of violence against Sikhs in New Delhi 1984, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. [India West]
Jasbir Singh, one of the men whose testimony was taken, was a witness before the Nanavati Commission in 2004. The Nanavati Commission found that there was sufficient evidence against Tytler to open an investigation against Tytler. However, the CBI closed the investigation last year claiming that it couldn’t find the witnesses.
The Nanavati Commission concluded that sufficient evidence against Tytler existed to launch an investigation. The CBI had closed the case against Tytler — still a prominent member of the Congress party — last September, saying it could not find the witnesses. It reopened the case after several media reported that Jasbir Singh was residing in Fremont, Calif. [India West]
