Sikh Marine officer, recruits launch historic lawsuit for religious rights

Marine Captain Sukhbir Singh Toor filed suit vs. the USMC.

A officer and three recruits of the U.S. Marines filed suit against the U.S. Marine Corps saying they were being forced to choose between staying in the service and their Sikh faith.

The Sikh Coalition, Winston & Strawn, and Becket filed suit on behalf of USMC Captain Sukhbir Singh Toor and Marine recruits Milaap Singh Chahal and Aekash Singh. Jaskirat Singh, represented by BakerHostetler, joined the lawsuit.

“Despite more than a year of efforts to engage in good faith, the USMC continues to sideline our clients due to their articles of faith,” said Giselle Klapper, Sikh Coalition Senior Staff Attorney. 

“Treating a Sikh’s beard, a core tenet of the faith, as merely optional is unacceptable. It is time for the USMC to recognize what the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and armed forces around the world already know: Articles of faith do not preclude Sikhs from capable military service.”

The three recruits issued the following joint statement: “We remain ready to meet the high mental and physical standards of the Marine Corps because we want to serve our country alongside the best. We cannot, however, give up our right to our religious faith while doing so--not least of all because that is one of the core American values that we will fight to protect at all costs as proud U.S. Marines.”

All three have been told that they must forsake all of their articles of faith for the duration of their time at boot camp--effectively demanding that they give up their religious beliefs in the name of the USMC’s idea of "uniformity."

Capt. Toor was granted a historic, but incomplete and inadequate, accommodation by the USMC in June of 2021 after first applying for an accommodation in March of that year. Like the pre-accession recruits, his accommodation prohibits him from maintaining his beard when he is serving in a significant portion of the world--including many essential deployment locations for a Marine artillery officer with Capt Toor’s experience and expertise. 

The alleged safety concerns that the USMC is using to justify this restriction have long since been mitigated by other branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and militaries around the world; bizarrely, under the terms of his accommodation, Capt Toor could well be required to shave before being allowed to fight alongside bearded U.S. Soldiers, U.S. Airmen, and allied troops.

“I have proven my commitment to the Corps through my four years of service, and I’m ready to deploy just like any other service member,” said Toor. “I can’t do that, however, as long as I’m left on the bench because of my religious beliefs. I’m prepared to fight for the right to do my job while staying true to my faith with no caveats, asterisks, or discriminatory restrictions.”

To date, the Sikh Coalition, SAVA, and in coordination with other partners have helped more than 50 Sikh Americans in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force secure their accommodations; after 12 years of advocacy and legal action--and major policy changes to facilitate religious accommodations in the U.S. Army in 2017 and the U.S. Air Force in 2020--more than 100 Sikh soldiers and airmen serve with their articles of faith and are able to stay safe while doing so, both at home and abroad. 

“When I fought for one of the first religious accommodations for a Sikh Soldier in a generation, I explained that I would gladly sacrifice my life--but not my faith--for my country,” said Dr. Kamal Singh Kalsi, the founder of SAVA and a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, who served in Afghanistan with his turban and beard. 

“This is the same offer that these men are willing to make now. At a time when our Armed Forces need to leverage all available talent to confront a wide range of modern threats, the USMC should bring its policies in line with the U.S. Army and Air Force to let them serve.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Biden, Harris convene White House meeting with AANHPI civil rights advocates

THE WHITE HOUSE

Leaders of AANHPI civil rights advocacy organizations met with President Biden and top staff at the White House on Thursday.

Hate crimes against Asian American and Pacific Islanders, immigration voting rights were some of the issues aired by AAPI civil rights leaders in a meeting with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Biden wanted to stress to the group, that his administration is doing its best to advance his campaign promises. The meeting with AAPI leaders Thursday was the third such meeting after Biden and Harris met with Black and Latino community leaders.

"Let me start by acknowledging that on this day, in 2012, I was with another friend who’s half Sikh — he’s a Sikh. And we were on — dealing with the 10 people shot in a hateful act of bigotry at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Seven people lost their lives that day," said Biden as he opened the meeting.

"Today, we honor everyone impacted by this tragedy. And we think about all the pain during this pandemic, with the rise of hate crimes, harassment, bullying, and other forms of bias against Asian Americans. It seems not to stop," he said.

He also paid recognized the role of AANHPI frontliners in combatting the coronavirus pandemic. The Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community has “been on the front lines from the beginning and is critical to helping us vaccinate America,” Biden said.

Despite the executive order condemning the attacks against Asians and signing of the Hate Crimes Act, and the appointment of AANHPI to top-level positions in his administration, the President acknowledged that there is much more to be done to address AAPI concerns. 

"The community is also critical in keeping the U.S. economy strong. In six months, we’re seeing the fastest growth at this point in any administration’s history — in no small part because of this community.," said Biden. "The fastest-growing economic growth in nearly 40 years."

The definition of what constitutes a hate crime came up for discussion after the shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis earlier this year did not meet the criteria for a hate crime by the prosecuting attorney despite the victims included Sikh workers; and one of the county District Attorneys in Georgia did not seek hate crime charges against the Atlanta shooter who killed eight people, six of whom were Asian.

Satjeet Kaur, Executive Director of the Sikh Coalition,  brought up the case of a shooting in Seattle where hate crime charges were also not sought.

“One thing we have to understand is that hate crimes should not require a singular motive of bias,” said Kaur. “Oftentimes with crimes you have multiple reasons as to why that happened and so we need to close the federal loophole and that was absolutely discussed.”

“We discussed the importance of protecting the right to vote and how South Asian and Asian American communities—which turned out in record numbers in 2020—are now the target of voter suppression efforts,” Indian Impact Fund executive director Neil Makhija told The Yappie. “The president acknowledges that our communities are essential to the fabric of America, but our current laws undermine these values.”

Makhija said that the topic of Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act was brought forth by those at the meeting, as well as the America’s Children Act, according to The Yappie.

“It was an honor to be able to thank President Biden for his legacy in passing the 1980 Refugee Act, which allowed my family and our refugee community to find safe haven in the United States — and to share the heartbreaking condition of those same refugees who today have final orders of removal for crimes of youth and poverty committed decades ago,” said Quyen Dinh, Executive Director of South East Asian Refugee Action Committee (SEARAC). 

"he Biden-Harris Administration expressed their commitment to protecting democracy amidst a rise in autocracy," said Christine Chen of APIAVote.

"We support the Administration’s efforts to pass the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancements Act. While they may not take a straightforward path, we were reassured that it remains a high priority. We will continue to work with the Administration to ensure stories from our community are used as examples of the danger these anti-voter laws have."

Also on Thursday, Biden offered an 18-month “safe haven” to thousands of Hong Kong residents to remain living in the U.S. rather than to face repression by being deported to the Chinese-controlled territory affecting approximately 330,000 visitors, students and workers from Hong Kong who are currently in the U.s., according to a senior administration official.

“The level of engagement with our communities shown by this Administration is something we have not seen in four years, and we greatly appreciate the attention that the President, Vice President, and their teams have given this issue," said Dinh.

The AANHPI leaders in attendance Thursday included:

• Seema Agnani, Executive Director, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD)

• Christine Chen, Executive Director, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)

• Quyen Dinh, Executive Director, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)

• Satjeet Kaur, Executive Director, Sikh Coalition

• Kiran Kaur Gill, Executive Director, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)

• Kūhiō Lewis, President & CEO, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA)

• Neil Makhija, Executive Director, Indian American Impact

• Gregg Orton, National Director, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)

• Tavae Samuelu, Executive Director, Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)

• Chiling Tong, President & CEO, Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (National ACE)

• Alvina Yeh, Executive Director, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)

• Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF)

WATCH the meeting between President Biden and AAPI leaders here.

Sikhs want probe into FedEx shooting to look into racism as a possible motive

SCREEN CAPTURE / BBC

Members of Indianapolis' Sikh community pray for the victims.

The motive for the FedEx shooter are still unknown but Sikhs are calling for an investigation into  "the possibility of bias as (a) factor."

Four of the eight fatalities of the Thursday rampage were identified as Sikhs. Their deaths come amid a year-long surge in hate violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It also comes just weeks after a shooter killed eight people in Georgia, six of whom were Asian women. 

“We extend our deepest condolences to the victims of this horrific violence,” said Satjeet Kaur, Sikh Coalition Executive Director. “While we don’t yet know the motive of the shooter, he targeted a facility known to be heavily populated by Sikh employees, and the attack is traumatic for our community as we continue to face senseless violence." 

A joint letter from the eight Sikh houses of worship in the Indianapolis area said:

"We do not yet know the motive of the shooter, and we may never know for sure what drove him to do what he did. We do know, however, that the FedEx facility he targeted was well known for having a large Sikh workforce. Given everything our community has experienced in the past -- the pattern of violence, bigotry, and backlash we have faced -- it is impossible not to feel that same pain and targeting in this moment. We expect that the authorities will continue their full investigation and share what they learn when they can, and they will take this into account."

The victims of the shooting as Matthew R. Alexander, 32, Samaria Backwell, 19, Amarjeet Johal, 66, Jaswinder Kaur, 64, Jaswinder Singh, 68, Amarjit Sekhon, 48, Karlie Smith, 19, and John Weisert, 74.

The alleged shooter was identified as 19-year-old Brandon Hole, who reportedly died by shooting himself. He was a former employee at the FedEx facility and last worked there in 2020, according to police.

There are  8,000 to 10,000 Sikh Americans living in Indiana, said Kaur.

After 9/11, Sikhs were often victims of hate violence from racists who believed they were Muslim. Six people were killed and three others were wounded on Sunday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, WI.

Komal Chohan, the granddaughter of one of the FedEx victims, Amarjeet Kaur Johal, said,  “Enough is enough. Our community has been through enough trauma.”

2020 Census will help Sikhs identify their place in US society

2020 will be a landmark year for Sikhs and the Census. For the first time, Sikh Americans will be able to identify themselves as Sikhs in the 2020 Census questionnaire.

"I'm so grateful to the United States that has given us a warm welcome to be part of their society, part of their culture, but we are misidentified as somebody else," said Vikas Singh, chairman of Guru Gobind Singh Sikh Center in Plainview, New York. "Right now, [when] somebody looks at me, 95% of the time people think I'm a Muslim because I wear a turban."

Some Sikhs have faced hate crimes as a result, he added, particularly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"Sikh" will be included as a distinct detailed population group within the "Asian" racial category, and not classified as "Asian Indian" as it was in the 2010 Census when it was viewed solely as a religious preference.

According to the Census Bureau, anybody who writes "Punjabi" will be aggregated as part of the "Asian Indian" tabulation category. Both "Sikh" and "Punjabi" will ultimately be included in the "Asian" count.

Before 2020, the representation of Sikhs in America has not been correctly represented through census information gathering. Without this true record of Sikhs, the community will be underserved, underrepresented and be counted OUT of the $675 billion of annual federal funding that can be earmarked for Sikh communities. This funding could assist with including, civil infrastructure, schools, educational programs, and any other important public needs in the growing Sikh population.

After extensive research and demand over the past decade; the Census Bureau has made considerable updates to the race and ethnicity code list. For the first time in United States history the US Census will include “Sikh” as a population group within the Asian racial category. With this opportunity to be heard, Sikhs living in the United States now have an opportunity to advocate for their own communities by simply being counted.

The census is prohibited by law from soliciting information on a person's religion. Sikhs, however, fall into a category similar to the Amish, The ethno-religious category is where a person's religion is intertwined to become more of a cultural identity.

Satjeet Kaur, executive director of the Manhattan-based Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group, said in an email: "For any community, the option to be able to self-identify is critical — and that applies to Sikhs as well. Additionally, the ability to get specific about populations can create the potential for distinct community needs to be met."

“We cannot realize our nation’s promise of equal representation without being represented in the Census, which includes allocating funds for dozens of federal grant programs, including grants for minority business and industry development loans, natural disaster recovery, education, public health services, and Medicaid and supplemental nutrition programs,” said Manvinder Singh, United Sikhs legal director.

Suspect arrested for fatal stabbing attack on Sikh man

Stabbing suspect nthony Kreiter-Rhoads, left, and Parmjit Singh, right.

ASAM NEWS

After Parmjit Singh’s family had offered a $20,000 reward in exchange for information leading to an arrest for his slaying, police announced Saturday (Aug. 31) that they arrested a suspect, reports KCRA.

Singh, 64, was stabbed and bled to death while on a nighttime neighborhood walk in Tracy, California on August 25.

According to CBS Sacramento, detectives sought an arrest warrant for Anthony Kreiter-Rhoads, 21, after presenting evidence to a county judge on Friday.

According to the warrant, officers arrested Kreiter-Rhoads on Saturday and searched his home for evidence. It is currently unknown to the public what tipped off investigators that led to them seeking the warrant. The investigation is also still ongoing.

The Sikh Coalition claims Singh’s death is the seventh attack on an elderly Sikh man wearing a turban in the Central Valley/Northern California area since 2011, according to HuffPost.

Civil rights organization United Sikhs is calling for an FBI investigation, suspecting prejudice was involved, reports CNN. But according to police, the motive is still unclear.

Hundreds mourned Singh’s death at a vigil on Wednesday night.

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Second anti-Sikh attack in California in a week

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

Neighbors and Sikh community members  rallied against the recent attacks on Sikhs in the Modesto, Calif. area.

ASAM NEWS

LESS THAN A WEEK  after a Sikh man was beaten and his truck vandalized, another Sikh man was assaulted in Manteca, Calif., reports the Modesto Bee. 

Video footage caught on Monday (Aug. 6) shows two adult males confronting Sahib Singh Natt, kicking him repeatedly, and spitting on him, in what the police are investigating as an attempted robbery.

In the video, Natt, in his 70s, attempted to walk around the two men after being confronted during his daily walk, but they followed him. After being kicked and knocked to the ground, Natt got up to defend himself, at which point he was kicked down again. After his attackers began to leave, one returned to kick Natt several more times while he was still on the ground.

“As the suspects left the scene, it is believed that one may have waved a firearm in the air,” according to a news release. “The elderly man was medically treated and released from a local hospital.”

“He was in such a shock,” said relative Parminder Singh Sahi, according to FOX40. “He was not able to tell us exactly what happened so he would tell us one thing and then he will mumble and say something else.” An epileptic seizure seven years ago has impaired Natt’s ability to communicate with others.

“We were disheartened, we were shaken, it was way worse than what we were thinking may have happened to him,” added Sahi.

According to officials, there are no indications so far that the assault was a hate crime, especially since Natt is unable to tell officers exactly what his attackers said.

The full confrontation is shown in the video below. Warning: contains disturbing content.

According to Buzzfeed News, Sikh Coalition Legal Director Amrith Kaur released the following statement: “We are currently investigating the case and looking to directly connect with the impacted community member to guarantee that his legal rights are protected and that all steps are taken to thoroughly investigate this crime. At this stage, we are closely monitoring the situation in order to determine what the evidence shows the motivation of this vicious attack to be. We hope to learn more soon and will share appropriate updates then.”

Last Tuesday, the words “Go back to ur country” and a Celtic Cross, believed to be a hate symbol used by White supremacists, were spray-painted onto a 50-year-old Sikh man’s truck. The victim was beaten to the ground and told by his attackers, “You’re not welcome here!” and “Go back to your country!” This incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

A Sikh man was beaten and his truck spraypainted with a hate message in California Aug. 1

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