Kalyani Shankar
Just two weeks after the shocking Aurora killings in a movie theatre in Colorado, this weekend there was another mindless shooting in the Wisconsin Gurudwara. Eyewitnesses said that the shooter Wade Michael Page casually walked into the Sikh temple and opened fire, killing six unsuspecting victims. He was identified as a 40-year-old Army veteran and former leader of a white supremacist heavy metal band. Authorities have now discovered that the guns and ammunitions were bought legally. White supremacists believe in genocide against the Jews and other minorities but so far there is no evidence about Sikhs in their list. The US authorities treat the Wisconsin incident as an act of ‘domestic terrorism.’
The Americans are taking the incident seriously. They took action swiftly and the police reached the venue within three minutes. With frequent interaction between the two governments things are being sorted out at the highest level. The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top State Department officials are quietly working to assuage the feelings of Indians over the attack. President Obama expressed his anguish by stating that the nation needs to do ‘some soul searching’ on how to reduce violence and reached out to the Sikhs.
Interestingly, the inward-looking American media is now focusing on gun control, which is a sensitive issue in the US. The anti-gun lobby is insisting that something should be done to stop this violence and free availability of guns. The New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an avid advocate of gun control, tweeted that “the people who want to run this country need to tell us their plan to end gun violence,” urging the two presidential candidates to be explicit about their views. The Brady campaign to prevent gun violence issued a statement claiming that there have been 61 mass shootings since the attack in Arizona last year in which then- Rep, Gabrielle Giffords was wounded and six others killed.
During his 2008 campaign, Obama supported reinstating the assault weapon ban. When the subject was raised again after the July 20 mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater, Obama indirectly reiterated his backing for the expired law. The Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who signed an assault weapon ban as governor of Massachusetts, has kept mum on the gun control. They both know there isn’t widespread support for new gun-control measures.
Why were the Sikhs targeted? The first lot the Sikh immigrants settled in California in the 1980s and worked as farmers and laborers. Later they spread out to the East Coast. Now they live everywhere but the concentration is more in Houston and Chicago. They have been peace loving citizens and contributed to the American economy as Obama noted.
They also had to undergo difficulties. In the Bay Area, 12 percent of Sikhs faced employment discrimination since 9/11, while 69 percent of Sikh students have suffered harassment because of their religion according to the Sikh Coalition, an advocacy group. It has reported more than 700 hate crimes in the U.S. since 9/11 and has complained from Sikhs about workplace discrimination and racial profiling. Just four days after 9/11, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a gas station owner in Arizona, was shot dead. The Sikh men also suffer at the airports, where the security isolates them for questioning because of their turbans. For Sikhs, maintaining appearances is a crucial part of the religion. Unfortunately, their turban and beard and their kirpan makes then easy targets. The hate groups mistake them for Muslims. But they cannot go about shooting anyone whom they think are Muslims or wear distinct clothes.
The Wisconsin incident is a wake-up call. The Sikh community has shown remarkable restraint after the incident. Rajwant Singh from the Sikh council of religion and education puts the onus on the politicians, media and non-profit groups to educate the Americans on the diverse cultures. Even before the bodies were cremated Singh was on television inviting all Americans for a lunger next Sunday to see what Sikh religion is. The incident has made the bonding of the Sikh community in the US in an unprecedented manner.
It is not as if the law makers are not aware of their difficulties. Last year, about 90 lawmakers wrote a letter to the FBI to treat the crimes against Sikhs as a separate category, but the Sikh leaders want more than that. There may be more focus on the minorities and their religious rights after this random killing.
One good thing is that the Americans are waking up to understand the Sikh religion and the religious beliefs of other minorities in the US. Since this Wisconsin tragedy, there is open support in the country, which is encouraging to the Sikh community. Though there have been numerous hate crimes against the Sikhs since 9/11, there has never been this much attention on the Sikh religion. Social media is also coming handy for broadcasting the beliefs of Sikhs.
At least now, the US authorities should think of finding a permanent solution to this kind of mindless hate killings. The Sikhs have obviously become more worried about their security and safety. The US authorities have the capacity to tackle this. President Obama has said, “I think it will be very important for us to reaffirm once again that, in this country, regardless of what we look like, where we come from, who we worship, we are all one people, and we look after one another and we respect one another.” This is indeed what the Sikh community expects in practice as well. (IPA)
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