AMRITSAR – American Sikh Congressional Caucus has strongly condemned the various incidents of violence against the community members in the US. Caucus co-chair John Garamendi, Pat Meehan, vice-chair Judy Chu and David Valadao have taken up the matter with top US administration authorities to check the recent attacks targeting Sikhs, the American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC) coordinator Pritpal Singh told TOI on Friday.
He said that in the past two months, they had seen a Sikh shopkeeper murdered, other community members harassed and beaten, and gurdwaras vandalized and desecrated. “This builds on more than a decade of attacks and discrimination against Sikh Americans who are wrongly associated with terrorism,” said Pritpal.
It was a sad state of affairs that Sikh organizations in the United States regularly warned their members to be vigilant in the wake of terrorist attacks perpetrated by followers of other faiths, he said, adding, “Sikh Americans and people of all faiths and ethnicities should not fear the blindness of ignorance and xenophobia.”
AGPC president J S Hothi said the caucus members had stated that the Sikh Americans had made great contributions to the country’s progress and they were peace-loving business owners, professionals and community leaders. “The caucus had always been at the forefront to raise the concerns and the issues of the Sikhs,” said Hothi.
