UNITED SIKHS Blog

Palatine, Illinois: On Sunday, December 16^th, UNITED SIKHS joined the South Asian and Sikh community at Palatine Gurdwara to commemorate the passing of House Resolution 1193 (HR 1193). This Resolution denounces the deplorable attacks on Sikh Americans and denounces hate crimes and hateful political rhetoric.

UNITED SIKHS worked with South Asian Policy and Research Institute (SAAPRI), Council on American-Islamic Relations Chicago (CAIR-Chicago) and the Sikh Religious Society of Chicago (Palatine Gurdwara Management Committee) in drafting the language and advocating for this resolution. “We hope the resolution will provide an agenda for even more specific laws for the future,” said Ami Gandhi, Executive Director at SAAPRI.

Rep. Biss speaking to Palatine Gurdwara Sangat (Photo courtesy of CAIR-Chicago)

Ald. Pawar, Greg Bales, Rep. Biss and Sen. Murphy (Photo courtesy of CAIR-Chicago)

Rep. Mussman  speaking to Palatine Gurdwara Sangat (Photo courtesy of CAIR-Chicago)

Palatine Gurdwara President Sukhdev Kaur began the commemoration by observing a moment of silence for the victims of the Newtown Connecticut shooting and making a request that the congregation pray for the families of the victims. Among the elected officials who made remarks at the commemoration and the press conference that followed were Senator Matt Murphy (27^th District), Rep. Daniel Biss (17^th District), Rep. Michelle Mussman (56^th District), Alderman Ameya Pawar (47^th Ward) and Greg Bales from US Senator Dick Durbin’s office.

Ald. Pawar, Sen. Murphy, Rep. Biss and Rep. Mussman (Photo courtesy of CAIR-Chicago)

Ekta Kaur, Ald. Pawar, Vikram Singh, Amrith Kaur, Rep. Biss, Sukhdev Kaur and Sen. Murphy (Photo courtesy of CAIR-Chicago)

Community at Press Conference (Photo courtesy of CAIR-Chicago)

“We are excited to work with our state legislators, faith-based groups, and policy organizations to promote tolerance and counter bigotry,” said Rabya Khan, Staff Attorney at CAIR-Chicago. “This resolution is a first step in acknowledging that there is a greater need to educate the greater Illinois community on Sikh Americans and other minorities,” said Ekta Kaur, Regional Director of UNITED SIKHS. She added “Our community and the Illinois government must work together to create further programs to help prevent hate crimes and uphold our civil rights.”

Shiva Singh Khalsa, Ald. Pawar, Sen. Murphy, Vikram Singh and Rep. Biss (Photo courtesy of SAAPRI)

UNITED SIKHS, SAAPRI, CAIR-Chicago and Sikh Religious Society of Chicago with Elected Officials (Photo courtesy of SAAPRI)

Tejas Shah, Ekta Kaur, Ald. Pawar and Vikram Singh (Photo courtesy of CAIR-Chicago)

SEE ALSO: Recent article by local journalist Mariam Khan, “State lawmakers’ new anti-hate resolution could boost Chicago’s immigrant-friendly drive.”

To volunteer in the greater Chicago area, please contact Ekta Kaur at ekta.kaur@unitedsikhs.org.

Vikram Singh
Pro Bono Counsel
UNITED SIKHS (Illinois)
Tel: 888-243-1690
vikram.singh@unitedsikhs.org

UNITED SIKHS – Recognize the Human Race as One

23^rd Assu (Samvat 544 Nanakshahi)

Oct 7th. 2012, Palatine, Illinois: On Sunday, October 7th, UNITED SIKHS along with the Asian American Institute held a Voter Registration Drive at Palatine Gurdwara. A total of 35 people were registered to vote in Illinois at the Gurdwara. The President of the Gurdwara, Sukhdev Kaur Ghuman was very supportive and commended UNITED SIKHS for their successful and collaborative community advocacy efforts. Ekta Kaur of UNITED SIKHS said, “We loved working with the Palatine Gurdwara community and request other Gurdwara leaders to play an active role in encouraging their members to register to vote.”

UNITED SIKHS would like to thank Ami Gandhi, Executive Director of South Asian Policy and Research Institute and Reema Ahmad, Civic Engagement and Field Operations Manager at the American Asian Institute for all their assistance. Two members of the Asian American Institute assisted UNITED SIKHS at the Gurdwara and also brought Illinois Voter Registration forms and Mail-In Ballot forms.

While the Gurdwara had held voter registration drives in the prior two weeks by other organizations, this event registered significantly more members of the Gurdwara because of the ability of the UNITED SIKHS team to communicate effectively with community members, many of whom only spoke Punjabi. Sukhdev Kaur, the Gurdwara President said, “I am very excited about UNITED SIKHS efforts and look forward to working with you again in the future on advocacy projects directed toward the Sikh community.”

Vikram Singh, a UNITED SIKHS Volunteer Attorney based in Chicago, IL, said, “Sikhs and other minorities in every state should make their voices be heard by registering to vote and encouraging their communities to participate in civic engagement. Our vote is a very powerful mechanism for giving us a voice and the ability to control the legislation and policies enacted in our states, including laws that affect the rights of Sikhs and other minorities.”

To initiate a voter registration drive in your Gurdwara or local community center, please reach out to Ekta Kaur at ekta.kaur@unitedsikhs.org or voter-registration-usa@unitedsikhs.org.

Ekta Kaur
Cell: 516-286-6727 | Tel: 1-646-688-3525 | Toll Free: 1-888-243-1690
Fax: 1-810-885-4264 | Email: ekta.kaur@unitedsikhs.org

UNITED SIKHS – Recognize the Human Race as One

Hofstra University and the Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair in Sikh Studies invites you to a conference on the  literary and  visual cultures within, or pertaining to,  Sikh traditions both in Panjabi and Diasporic contexts. The conference will be held from Oct 19-21, 2012 at Hofstra University.

For more information and registration, please visit:

http://www.hofstra.edu/Academics/Colleges/HCLAS/REL/SIKH/sikh_literature_fall12.html

For inquiries please contact Mehwish Shafi : mehwishafi91@gmail.com

Poster 1 Two Talks 8.5×11

Poster 2 Two Talks in Conf 8.5×11

Poster 3 All 11×17

Community Update
Washington DC, DC: The Senate Judiciary Hearing on Hate Crimes and Domestic Extremism is today,  Wednesday, September 19th at 2:30 pm (Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216 – Please note the location change). 

Even though the hearing is today, there are still many ways that your organization can show its support as well as resources to assist you.

1.       Attend the hearing and post-hearing press conference:  We need to pack the hearing room to emphasize the importance of these issues to all communities.  Also, a press conference will be held at approximately 4:30pm (immediately after the hearing) outside of the hearing room featuring allies supporting the hearing.  Please attend and encourage colleagues, local affiliates, and constituents to attend!  If you plan to attend, please fill out this RSVP form created by the Sikh Coalition so that we can get a sense of the number of people attending and the necessary space required.  If you cannot attend, you can also stream it here.

Continue reading ‘Attention:​Venue Change for Senate Hearing on Hate Crimes on September 19th’ »

Governor Brown Speaks & Signs Legislation Bills AB 1964 & SB 1540 at Capitol Hill

Highlights:

	Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signs the AB 1964(Yamada) SB 1540 (Hancock) today. State Senator – California Senate District 09. The Sikh community is thankful to Governor Brown for upholding the Civil Liberties by signing the bills.
	SB 1540  (Hancock):Introduced by State Senator – California Senate District 09: Introduced by Assembly Member Loni Hancock. This bill will now requires the California State Board of Education to consider the adoption of a revised the history-social science framework. Senator Hancock has spent nearly four decades as a forceful advocate for open government, educational reform, environmental protection, economic development, and social justice. UNITED SIKHS thanks Senator Hancock and her staff and also all indivduals, organizations and especially Dr Onkar Singh Bindra, the pioneer behind the bill
	AB 1964 (Yamada) :  Introduced  by  Assembly Member Mariko Yamada- California’s 8th district. Provides reasonable accomodations to Discrimination in Employment. Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Allen, Cedillo, Dickinson, Fong, Bonnie Lowenthal, Senator Corbett, DeSaulnier, La Malfa, Lieu, Rubio, Steinberg, Yee. An act to amend Sections 12926 and 12940 of the Government Code, relating to employment. UNITED SIKHS thanks Assembly Member Yamada and her staff and also thanks sister organization, the Sikh Coalition that pioneered this bill.

Continue reading ‘Victory in California’ »

MARK THE DATE : SEPTEMBER 16th – PALO ALTO downtown for SEVA IN MOTION – UNITED SIKHS Walk-Run-Bike Event
Join us to SUPPORT FAMILIES & SAVE LIVES with UMEED-UNITED SIKHS National Family Resource Center. Your support will help expand services to our community including Counseling for Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse, Senior Care Support Services, Youth Leadership Training Program, Bullying Prevention Interventions and After School Academic Programs. We greatly appreciate your time and support of our efforts!
- UMEED Team
To support and donate see information in link below….

SEVA IN MOTION – UNITED SIKHS WALK-RUN-BIKE EVENT -https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1TMXVc5t0p4e5ZmSt4kADVz-0aPzbGQua1p1nPCgTMFg

April 17, 2012 - Today, Senator Dick Durbin, Chairman of the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights Subcommittee in the Senate Judiciary Committee, has convened the first  Senate hearing on racial profiling since September 11th. Over the past ten years, South Asian, Muslim, Sikh and Arab communities living in the United States have been targeted for heightened scrutiny by law enforcement based on their religion, ethnicity, national origin, or nationality. Examples include frequent searches by airport security and border inspection officers, mandatory registration of certain male nationals from predominantly Muslim-majority countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, under the National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS) program, and targeted surveillance of South Asian places of worship by federal and local law enforcement. In a statement for the record submitted for the Senate hearing,SAALT underscored the ongoing harmful effects of profiling on South Asian community members.  Continue reading ‘Action Alert: Support the End Racial Profiling Act’ »

http://www.unitedsikhs.org/Health_fair_Queens.htm

  July 09, 2004                                                                                                   25^th Harh, 536 Nanakshahi

 PRESS RELEASE

 HEALTH FAIR HELD IN QUEENS, NEW YORK

 Queens, New York – UNITED SIKHS organized a Health Fair at Gurdwara Makan Shah Lobhana (113-10 101 Ave, Richmond Hill, New York 11419) on June 20, 2004, in which variety of health and safety information was made available to the attending public. In addition, the Health Fair invited speakers to give their views on Health and Nutrition, Early detection of Cancer, Women’s Health, Domestic Violence and Alcohol Abuse as well as how to manage medical emergencies. A Blood Donation Drive was also arranged as part of the Fair on the special request of Long Island Blood Center to meet the blood shortage in the tri-state area. Continue reading ‘HEALTH FAIR HELD IN QUEENS, NEW YORK’ »