Sikh bodies condemn racial abuse of boy in US
Wednesday, 04/03/2015
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THE UNION GOVERNMENT MUST TALK TO THE US GOVERNMENT TO CHECK THE RACIAL ABUSE OF SIKHS. AMERICANS SHOULD BE MADE AWARE ABOUT SIKHS AND SIKHISM-MANJIT SINGH GK, DSGMC chief
NEW YORK/ NEW DELHI: A day after a shocking video of a Sikh boy being bullied by his schoolmates and called a “terrorist” appeared, a US-based Sikh rights group — the Sikh Coalition — has asked school authorities in the US to partner with parents, students and community groups to strengthen anti-bullying programmes.
The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has also condemned the incident. Its president Manjit Singh GK on Tuesday said: “The National Sikh Campaign in Washington has hired a firm which is trying to remove misconception about Sikhs and is making Americans aware of the Sikh religion,” he said.
The DSGMC chief said: “As per a survey by the Hart Research Associates, 60% of Americans don’t know who Sikhs are and 48% think that Sikhs are Arabs or Afghans.”
He urged the Union government to hold talks with the US government over awareness about Sikhs. The Sikh Coalition said it was aware of a video showing the Sikh student being bullied on a school bus, but said it had chosen not to publicise the matter out of respect for the privacy of those involved. The general public also respects the privacy of the affected child and his family and focus on the need to strengthen anti-bullying programmes in American schools, it said.
The Sikh boy in the US state of Georgia was called a “terrorist” by a group of schoolchildren with the video of the abuse going viral.
