STOCKTON, Calif. — This farming city in the Central Valley has made headlines for its financial struggles and its annual asparagus festival. But thousands of miles away in India, it is a symbol of terrorism.

To hear the Hindu-dominated media and government tell it, militants funded by the Sikh diaspora will stop at nothing to take over Punjab — the only Indian state where Sikhs are a majority — and turn it into a country of their own called Khalistan.

At the center of the separatist movement is the oldest Sikh house of worship in America: the Gurdwara Sahib...

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Countless exhibits can be found at the Fresno County Historical Museum and one of them uniquely showcased is the Sikh Exhibit.

Board Members of the Sikh Historical Society say it's important to have a place where anyone can learn about their roots and culture.

"That is something that, you know, we can cherish for a long time and you know, tell our story," said Sikh Historical Society Board Member Bill Singh Nijjer.

Source: https://abc30.com/fresno-county-historical-museum-sikh-community-new-exhibit-fairgrounds-board-...

New York, Dec 5 (PTI) An animated short film, with Michelin-star chef and filmmaker Vikas Khanna and Oscar-winner Guneet Monga as executive co-producers, shines the spotlight on inclusivity, kindness, resilience and acceptance through the real-life story of its protagonist - an American Sikh "superhero".

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/animated-short-film-on-american-sikh-superhero-backed-by-vikas-khanna-guneet-monga-shines-spotlight-on-inclusivity-acceptance-101701749137491.html

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will add the festival of Diwali to the list of public school holidays in recognition of the growth of the city’s South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.

Diwali, known as the festival of lights, happens October or November, depending on the lunar calendar.

However, this year it falls on Sunday Nov. 12 — meaning the 2023-2024 school calendar will not be affected by the change.

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Sikhs may no longer have to wear helmets while riding motorcycles in California.

On Wednesday, state senators voted 21 to 8 in support of SB 847, authored by Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Yuba City), which exempts the religious group from wearing the helmets, as long as the rider is wearing a turban, or has a patka, which is a cloth covering over a small, knotted bun on the top of their head.

The bill now moves to the Assembly.

Source: ...

The Utah Legislature passed a resolution Wednesday honoring the Sikh community.

Both the House and Senate unanimously approved House Joint Resolution 4, sponsored by Rep. Angela Romero (D-Salt Lake City) and Sen. Luz Escamilla (D-Salt Lake City), with members of the Sikh community in attendance.

The resolution notes that Sikhism is one of the largest religions in the world focused on "loving service to humanity," but "they...

The Sikh Coalition, a civil rights organization, has teamed up with researchers and academics to launch a nationwide online survey that asks Sikh American students about bullying, diversity and inclusivity and how much support they receive from teachers and other school staff when remarks are made about their race, ethnicity and religion.

The survey team is further partnering with gurdwaras and Khalsa schools as they seek to directly reach hundreds of students between the ages of 9 and 18 across the United States. The anonymous survey will be active until the end of March....

After Alabama’s GOP cast a vote of no confidence in Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, her leading opponent, Harmeet Dhillon, decided Monday to address questions about her Sikh faith.

“I would like to take a minute to address concerns that have been raised by a small handful of Alabama Republican Party activists regarding my faith and how that would impact my ability to champion our nation’s Judeo-Christian values that are encapsulated in our Party Platform,” Dhillon said in a mass email to Alabama’s Republican Party steering committee...

For the Hazrati family, Christmas Day typically includes a lit-up tree, gifts and a dal lunch. 

But after the wrapping paper remnants were cleared from around the tree, the Punjabi Sikh family living in Jersey City, New Jersey, didn’t always know what the rest of the day should entail for a family like theirs — so a few years ago, they started spending Christmas Day at the local gurdwara, a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. 

With no extended family nearby nor religious service to attend, and lacking the colorful parades that would flood India’s...

Muslim, Jewish and interfaith groups, as well as U.S. veterans, are rallying behind three prospective Sikh recruits who earlier this year sued the United States Marine Corps in their push to attend training while maintaining their turbans and beards.

Sikhs who serve in the Marine Corps can keep their beards and unshorn hair — which are articles of their faith — under a turban while on duty, according to the service’s grooming regulations, but are forbidden from doing so during combat deployment and in the course of recruit trainings.

Jaskirat Singh, Aekash Singh and...

The week dawned gloomily in New York, but the drab mist was little match for the holiday at hand: Diwali, the festival of lights that symbolizes the triumph over darkness.

Celebrated across South Asia in some fashion by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, the multi-day festival has secured a sturdy foothold far from the subcontinent in places with significant diaspora populations — like New York.

“One thing I would say — the...

Many preparations go into the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, which starts Monday.

There’s cleaning and decorating the house, buying new clothes, visiting friends and family — and of course preparing and sharing food. And although the foods associated with Diwali vary from culture to culture, one central theme is snacks and sweets.

The holiday honors the goddess Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity. It celebrates light over darkness, new beginnings, and the triumph of good over evil.

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She's not even a doctor yet, but a young Minneapolis woman is already a changemaker in hospitals all over the country. She's turned one really bad day at medical school into something great.

The OR of the top hospital in the country is a place southwest Minneapolis native Rewan Abdelwahab has dreamed of since she was in undergrad at Harvard University.

"I fell in love with the sciences, started volunteering in a clinic in Chelsea, and from there immersed myself in the pre-med track," she said.

Source:...

Officials at a North Carolina university are being criticized after an incident in which a Sikh student was detained for wearing a kirpan, a curved dagger carried by some Sikhs as part of their faith.

The incident took place Thursday in a student union building at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A 44-second video of the...

U.S. authorities are investigating complaints that the religious rights of dozens of Sikh asylum seekers were violated recently when their turbans were confiscated by Border Patrol agents in the Yuma, Ariz., area, officials said Wednesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona sent a letter Monday to U.S. Customs and Border Protection...