Will invite my attackers to gurdwara: Sikh professor

“If I could speak to my attackers,I would ask them if they had any questions,if they knew what they were doing. May be invite them to the gurdwara where we worship,get to know who we are… Make sure they have an opportunity to move past this as well,” a sombre looking Singh,wearing a blue turban,said in a press conference here on Monday.

Singh was attacked by about 20 to 30 young men who repeatedly punched him and “pulled his beard” as he was walking in the city’s Harlem neighbourhood on Saturday night. He was rushed to a local hospital,where he also works as a physician,and admitted with severe bruising,swelling,small puncture in his elbow and fracture in his lower jaw.

The New York Police Department has released a surveillance video of the suspects believed to be involved in the attack. The grainy clip shows a group of young 15 to 20 suspects riding their bikes shortly before they encountered Singh as he walking with a friend.

Two days after the attack,Singh,who has lived in the city for 10 years,said he will not be deterred from his goal of engaging with communities to educate and uplift people to make them become better human beings. “There is need to understand who gave these kids the green light to hate… These sort of things are not who we are. This is not an America that I recognise,” he said,adding that the attack will not change “how I move around the neighbourhood.”

“It is clear that the associations between beards and turbans and terrorism are devastating for an entire community,so I want to continue working to show that core American values are core Sikh values as well… Most importantly,I want it so that my one-year-old has nothing to fear in this neighborhood. It makes me even more committed to our community and redoubling our efforts,” he said.

Recalling the attack,Singh said as he passed the group of men,he heard one of the men shout “get him Osama” and “terrorist”. “There is a sensational aspect to this and there is painful aspect to this. I was called ‘get him Osama’,I heard ‘terrorist’,my beard was pulled. It certainly felt that it was motivated by my appearance,” he added.

Singh is working with the New York police department’s hate crime unit,which is trying to solve the case on a “priority” basis.

Last year,Singh had written an op-ed in the New York Times days after six Sikh persons were killed in a tragic shooting at a Wisconsin Gurudwara in August. Rights group the Sikh Coalition said the attack on Singh is a “tremendous blow” not just to Sikh Americans but to the ideals of all New Yorkers.

Manpreet slams SGPC

CHANDIGARH: PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal described the recent attack on a Sikh professor at Colombia University in New York as another example of the lack of adequate outreach efforts made by SAD-controlled SGPC.

“The SGPC has singularly failed to spread the message and not embarked on any Sikh outreach programme. Its failure in not being able to adequately communicate the fundamental tenets of the Sikh faith is evident… Instead of blaming foreigners for their lack of knowledge,I wish to ask the SGPC if they have any global Sikh outreach or education programme,” Manpreet said in a statement.

He added: “Does the SGPC website have any globally relevant publicity material communicating the Sikh tenets? Have they produced any international material in various languages about Sikh faith? Have they produced any videos or social media material that can educate the rest of the world about Sikhism? The answer to these questions is a big no.” ENS