Obama administration assures Sikhs of support

Obama administration assures Sikhs of support

New Delhi: Melissa Rogers, special assistant to US President Barack Obama said that the Obama administration is standing by the Sikh community in America in the aftermath of the racial attacks against the community.

Sikhs have faced a series of attacks as a result of lack of ignorance and islamophobia prevailing in the American society.

She paid condolences to the Sikhs for the violence and attacks against them. She said these incidents are a matter of concern to the US government and the government promises to stand with the community in these challenging times.

US army allows Sikhs to grow a beard and have a turban which was not allowed earlier. According to a study by Sikh American Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), seventy per cent of Americans cannot differentiate between a Sikh and Muslim as people from the both faiths keep the beard.

A large portion of the American population thinks that Sikhism is a sect of Islam and turban is the part of it. The bias against the color and the religious faith of a person is so much into the minds of an American that they have created stereotypes.

Last month a man made the video in which he called a Sikh man sitting next to him in a flight, 'Osama Bin Laden'. Especially after the California Massacre, a fear among the US public had increased and top of that the Republican candidate for President Donald Trump has been absurd in his speeches where he demanded the complete ban on Muslims entering in the nation.

However, the root of the issue is not being addressed. Which is the ignorance. There is a need eradicate the lack of knowledge from the American society. Somebody needs to find the reason how can a person be called terrorist just because he has a certain religious belief which are not same to yours.

Indian diaspora in the USA or other western countries is a large section of those countries and time and time again they have contributed heavily for their adopted nations but even after that, there is a feeling of being unwanted and such racial attacks prove it right.

It would be better for Sikhs and humanity in general if the Obama government or the next government, provide them the feeling of security and encourage the public to treat Sikhs and all other communities without any biases.

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