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A Sikh Professor Called Osama And Attacked


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Sikh Professor Who Wrote About Hate Crimes Gets Attacked by Teens The victim said the group of teens shouted "Get Osama" before punching and kicking him

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Sikh-Columbia-Professor-Attacked-Beaten-Possible-Hate-Crime-Harlem-224809352.html

A Columbia professor who wrote a New York Times op-ed last year about hate crimes against American Sikhs was attacked by a group of teens over the weekend, law enforcement officials tell NBC 4 New York.

Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh and an assistant professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, said he was walking on 110th Street and Lenox Avenue at around 8 p.m. Saturday when he was confronted by more than a dozen teens on bicycles who shouted slurs before attacking him.

"I heard 'Get Osama' and then 'terrorists,' and then the next thing I felt was someone moving past me, ripping at my beard and then hitting me in the chin," Singh told NBC 4 New York.

Singh said he started running and was punched in the face and in his sides. His attackers continued to kick and punch him after he fell to the ground, he said.

Singh was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital Saturday and had surgery on his jaw, which was fractured.

Singh believes he could have died if passersby hadn't helped get the teens off him.

"There's no doubt in my mind it was a bias-related event," he said.

The attack, he says, makes him worry that his 1-year-old son, "who will certainly resemble a Sikh man," will face similar hatred as he gets older.

"My fear is that they'll disappear into the neighborhood," he said of the assailants, adding that he hopes the community mobilizes to prevent similar attacks

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Sad this kind of stuff still happens to the Sikhs in the western world so many years after 9/11. This is exactly the reason why Sikhs living in western countries should move to an area with a large number of Sikhs. There is always safety in numbers for you and especially your children. This can still happen to a grown man, imagine what must happen to the children. If your child grows up in an area where he is the only Sikh with a Patka, then chances are that child will be a victim of bullying.

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http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/will-invite-my-assaulters-to-gurudwara-sikh-professor-attacked-in-us-422898?ndtv_rhs

New York: A Sikh professor, who was brutally attacked and injured by a mob of up to 30 people who called him "Osama" and "terrorist" in NewYork, has said he would invite the attackers to visit the Gurudwara and interact with members of the community to better understand his faith.

Prabhjot Singh, assistant professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, said it is "absolutely critical" to work with students and community organisations to spread awareness about other faiths and religions.

"If I could speak to my attackers, I would ask them if they had any questions, if they knew what they were doing. Maybe invite them to the Gurudwara where we worship, get to know who we are... Make sure they have an opportunity to move past this as well," a sombre looking Prabhjot, wearing a blue turban, said in a press conference yesterday.

Mr Singh was brutally attacked by about 20-30 young men who repeatedly punched him and "pulled his beard" as he was walking in the city's Harlem neighbourhood on Saturday night.

He was rushed to a local hospital, where he also works as a physician, and admitted with severe bruising, swelling, small puncture in his elbow and fracture in his lower jaw.

The New York Police Department has released a surveillance video of the suspects believed to be involved in the attack. The grainy clip shows a group of young 15-20 suspects riding their bikes shortly before they encountered Mr Singh.

Two days after the attack, Mr Singh, said he will not be deterred from his goal

There is need to understand "who gave these kids the green light to hate."

"These sort of things are not who we are. This is not an America that I recognise," he added. He said the attack will not change "how I move around the neighbourhood."

He would continue going to all parts of the city, "will still go there and still be received with the degree of welcome that I have received.

"It is clear that the associations between beards and turbans and terrorism are devastating for an entire community, so I want to continue working to show that core American values are core Sikh values as well," said Mr Singh.

"Most importantly, I want it so that my 1-year-old has nothing to fear in this neighborhood.

"It makes me even more committed to our community and redoubling our efforts," he said.

"I want to live in a community where somebody feels comfortable asking me what is on your head, why do you have that beard, what are you doing here, are you American. We should be able to ask those questions.

"I want to live in a community where young men instead of having to scream out and act out, can engage and learn about it some other way," Mr Singh said.

Recalling the attack, Mr Singh said as he passed the group of men, he heard one of the men shout "get him Osama" and "terrorist".

"There is a sensational aspect to this and there is painful aspect to this. I was called 'Get him Osama', I heard terrorist, my beard was pulled. It certainly felt that it was motivated by my appearance."

Mr Singh is working with the New York police department's hate crime unit, which is trying to solve the case on a "priority" basis.

Last year, Mr Singh had written an op-ed in the New York Times days after six Sikh persons were killed in a tragic shooting at a Wisconsin Gurudwara in August.

"The legacy of anti-Sikh violence and its contemporary prevalence make it painfully obvious that anti-Sikh violence is often purposeful and targeted. The government must begin tracking and counting anti-Sikh hate crimes, just as it must continue to vigorously combat bias and discrimination against all Americans, including Muslims.

"We must do away with a flawed and incomplete assumption of 'mistaken identity' regarding Sikhs; until we do, we will all be the ones who are mistaken," he had written in the op-ed titled 'How Hate Gets Counted.'

The incident comes less than two weeks after the first- ever nationwide public perception assessment of Sikh Americans, titled "Turban Myths," showed 70 per cent of Americans misidentify turban-wearers in the US as Muslim, Hindu or Buddhists.

The study, conducted by Stanford University researchers and sponsored by Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund, also showed that nearly half of Americans believe "Sikh" is a sect of Islam, and more associate the turban with Osama bin Laden than with named Muslim and Sikh alternatives.

"Unfortunately our research confirms that Prabhjot's experience is not the result of isolated misperception and intolerance," said Jasjit Singh, SALDEF's executive director.

"Here you have a practicing doctor, a teacher and a community servant falling victim to hate in the largest and proudest melting pot in America. This violence is an affront to all Americans' core values."

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Equally, you can't cut yourself from other races and communities out of fear, because when your kids are grown up and out in the real-world they will find it tough to relate to people who aren't Sikh. Unless they will cocoon themselves around Sikhs and Sikh environments that's just asking for trouble, mentally at least.

It's dangerous psychologically for the kid to separate them from society. Not healthy at all, the parents should supportive and help the child develop confidence.

I'll be the first to say that most Punjabi parents suck at being parents.

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It's dangerous psychologically for the kid to separate them from society. Not healthy at all, the parents should supportive and help the child develop confidence.

I'll be the first to say that most Punjabi parents suck at being parents.

The phrase "haven't got a clue" springs to mind. Sometimes it's not even malicious on the part of the parent; sometimes they simply don't have the toolset and the knowledge to nurture and cope with a child. They are quick to point out faults (that have come through their own inability to parent), but when something goes wrong the finger-wagging isn't held back, lol. I'm not one of those who knocks Punjabi parents - and never have been - but as you get older you notice this kind of stuff in your own life, and it gets to you.

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The phrase "haven't got a clue" springs to mind. Sometimes it's not even malicious on the part of the parent; sometimes they simply don't have the toolset and the knowledge to nurture and cope with a child. They are quick to point out faults (that have come through their own inability to parent), but when something goes wrong the finger-wagging isn't held back, lol. I'm not one of those who knocks Punjabi parents - and never have been - but as you get older you notice this kind of stuff in your own life, and it gets to you.

Yeah that's so true, it's not intentional at all and it's a lack of Sikhi and worldly gian/education. I think this is more of a recent problem after the bhed chaal of running after jobs, money and worldly things without a proper balance of family values and helping the young strengthen their character and confidence.

Don't think we had this problem before these past two generations really. Of course we're supposed to run after worldly things as well, but right now most Punjabis don't know how to balance it.

Lots of places we're lacking as a community.

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The phrase "haven't got a clue" springs to mind. Sometimes it's not even malicious on the part of the parent; sometimes they simply don't have the toolset and the knowledge to nurture and cope with a child. They are quick to point out faults (that have come through their own inability to parent), but when something goes wrong the finger-wagging isn't held back, lol. I'm not one of those who knocks Punjabi parents - and never have been - but as you get older you notice this kind of stuff in your own life, and it gets to you.

You are right. Punjabi parents aren't able to give their children a well balanced upbringing. They may focus too much on education and forget how to teach them to deal with worldly matters and build their confidence.

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