SGPC creates committee to address racial attacks on Sikhs living abroad

AMRITSAR SAHIB : SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar created a 21-membered committee to collect information about the factors responsible for racial attacks on Sikhs abroad. The committee will work to ascertain the reasons behind racial attacks on Sikhs and prepare a report to recommend strategies to control such attacks. Eco-Sikh Chairman, Dr. Rajwant Singh, warmly welcomed the SGPC’s move. He said that his organization was already running a campaign across the U.S. to raise awareness about the Sikh identity. Rajwant Singh said that his organization has approached President Barack Obama and appealed to him to take action regarding this matter.A 30-second advertisement will be prepared for national TV channels to inform the American public about the Sikh identity. “A total of 1.2 million dollars are required to complete the advertisement plan, for which most [of the money] has been collected, while the SGPC is expected to contribute the rest,” said Rajwant Singh.
There has been a sharp increase in hate crimes on the Sikhs living abroad. Earlier in January, Gurcharan Singh Gill, a 68 year old store clerk was shot day. Since then, there have been at least 3 hate crimes in Fresno alone. In March, a Sikh teenager was attacked and bullied whilst on his way back to home from school. Just a few days ago, Supninder Singh Khehra from Quebec, Canada, was physically abused. Similar attacks on Sikhs have taken place all over the world in recent months.