Mistaken for Muslim, Sikh stabbed in US
Evoking painful memories of hate crimes against Sikhs in the US in the aftermath of 9/11, Iqbal Singh, a resident of Santa Clara, has been stabbed by a 20-year-old coloured man.
By Yudhvir Rana, TNN |
KHUSHAL PUR (PUNJAB): Evoking painful memories of hate crimes against Sikhs in the US in the aftermath of 9/11, Iqbal Singh, a resident of Santa Clara, has been stabbed by a 20-year-old coloured man. The attacker has been nabbed; Singh is recuperating at a hospital.
For the family of a victim of hate crime, there can be only questions and no answers. The only solace for Iqbal Singh’s family, in this backward village of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, is that their sole bread-earner has survived his ordeal.
A resident of Santa Clara, Iqbal was reportedly waiting for his family to go to a gurdwara in San Jose when he was stabbed in the neck. The attacker was allegedly a 20-year-old coloured boy, who reports claimed was racially or religiously motivated. He was caught later even as Iqbal is recuperating at a hospital. Iqbal had gone to US in 2005.
The attack has brought back memories of what happened after 9/11: Sikhs were mistaken as Arabs and many were attacked.
Raj Kaur, his wife, can’t stop praying for Iqbal’s welfare. “I want him to come back,” she said, adding, “we are happier here even if it means living in poverty. We don’t want anything from America.” Anguish was also writ large across the face of Iqbal’s son Bikramjit Singh.
“The attack could only be hate crime. I see no other reason why anyone would hurt my father,” he said, adding that even in foreign countries media should be involved in educating people about different ethnicities, so that they realise that Sikhs are peace-loving people.
Iqbal’s family is bitter with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) because of its alleged failure to acquaint the world with the distinct identity of Sikhs.
Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC president, while expressing concern over the incident claimed that with their efforts the hate crime against Sikhs have come down considerably. However he said he would once again reactivate the foreign wing of SGPC and ensure Sikhs feels safe in other countries.
For the family of a victim of hate crime, there can be only questions and no answers. The only solace for Iqbal Singh’s family, in this backward village of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, is that their sole bread-earner has survived his ordeal.
A resident of Santa Clara, Iqbal was reportedly waiting for his family to go to a gurdwara in San Jose when he was stabbed in the neck. The attacker was allegedly a 20-year-old coloured boy, who reports claimed was racially or religiously motivated. He was caught later even as Iqbal is recuperating at a hospital. Iqbal had gone to US in 2005.
The attack has brought back memories of what happened after 9/11: Sikhs were mistaken as Arabs and many were attacked.
Raj Kaur, his wife, can’t stop praying for Iqbal’s welfare. “I want him to come back,” she said, adding, “we are happier here even if it means living in poverty. We don’t want anything from America.” Anguish was also writ large across the face of Iqbal’s son Bikramjit Singh.
“The attack could only be hate crime. I see no other reason why anyone would hurt my father,” he said, adding that even in foreign countries media should be involved in educating people about different ethnicities, so that they realise that Sikhs are peace-loving people.
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Iqbal’s family is bitter with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) because of its alleged failure to acquaint the world with the distinct identity of Sikhs.
Avtar Singh Makkar, SGPC president, while expressing concern over the incident claimed that with their efforts the hate crime against Sikhs have come down considerably. However he said he would once again reactivate the foreign wing of SGPC and ensure Sikhs feels safe in other countries.
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