FBI Warned Prominent US Sikhs of Threats after Murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada

GUARDIAN INTERNATIONAL: Revelation comes days after prime minister Justin Trudeau blamed the assassination of the Sikh activist on the Indian government

Members of the Sikh community protest the visit of India's prime minister Narendra Modi to the White House in June. The FBI warned some American Sikhs that there lives could be in danger after the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Photograph: Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images
The FBI warned at least three Americans active in the Sikh community that their lives were in danger in the immediate aftermath of the murder of a Sikh activist in Canada last June.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has blamed the apparent assassination on the Indian government, as assessment that has reportedly been backed by Canadian and US intelligence sources and has created a rupture in Ottawa’s relationship with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The shocking accusation that India carried out an extrajudicial murder on Canadian soil – an allegation that has been denied by India – has prompted a re-examination of threats against Sikh separatists around the world, as well as Sikh activists’ claims of suspicious deaths in the UK and Pakistan in the weeks before the murder. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington | Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Multikulti: Alexandra Aitken, Her Sikh Husband, and What His Friends and Family Really Think about Their Marriage
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: When former 'It girl' Alexandra Aitken married a Sikh 'warrior' from the Punjab, it was regarded by many as an unlikely union.

Following a spectacular ceremony near Amritsar – organised at such short notice that her father, Jonathan Aitken, the disgraced former Cabinet minister, and her mother were unable to attend – the former society hell-raiser declared her intention to live a life of humble simplicity with "the most beautiful man I've ever seen".

But while most cross-cultural marriages are likely to bring their own particular strains and difficulties, the union of Alexandra Aitken and Inderjot Singh may have to bear more than most.

Already, some of Mr Singh's relatives have stepped in to denounce the marriage as contravening Sikh traditions, saying that it threatens to dilute the family's bloodline.

Members of his family have also cast doubt on Alexandra's widely publicised claim that her husband is a member of a devout Sikh warrior sect and that dozens of holy men left their caves to attend the wedding.

Furthermore, there are question marks over quite how religious Mr Singh actually is, with friends coming forward to point out that he used to be quite happy living a party lifestyle.

Alexandra Aitken's marriage to Mr Singh is the culmination of a tortuous journey, from party girl to yoga devotee and Sikh convert, that has seen her dabble in Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Kabbalah along the way. >>> Gethin Chamberlain in Ludhiana and Patrick Sawer in London | Sunday, February 13, 2011

Thousands of Sikhs Return to the Fold on World Turban Day
TIMES ONLINE: Thousands of Sikh men, each with a unique work of art perched on his head, will take to the streets of India today. Their mission: to prove to the world that the turban is not old hat.

Scores of rallies, prayer vigils and tying competitions will mark World Turban Day, an event conceived amid concerns that young Sikhs are abandoning the most conspicuous emblem of their faith — six to eight metres of cloth wrapped around their heads — in favour of close-cropped Western-style hairdos.

“We are inviting Sikhs who have forsaken the turban to return to the fold,” said Jaswinder Singh of the Akaal Purkh Ki Fauj (Army of God), a Turban Pride movement. “This day is their chance to reconnect with our gurus.”

Sikh men — and some women — have worn turbans since 1699 when Guru Gobind Singh, the religion’s tenth master, prohibited them from cutting their hair. Every man was given the surname Singh — lion — and was required to wear a steel bangle, long cotton underwear, a sheathed sword and wooden comb.

In recent decades many Sikhs have preferred to blend into India’s Hindu-dominated society. Their turbans and beards are often confused with those of Islamist extremists and count against them when job hunting, young Sikhs say.

“People think I’m Taleban,” said Gagandeep Singh, 26, a founder member of the recently formed Sikh Turban Pride Organisation. “The prejudice is ridiculous: I’m not a terrorist, I’m on Facebook.”

Others trace the demise to 1984 when Indira Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister and a Hindu, was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. In the riots that came after people wearing turbans were attacked.

There are no official figures but Sikh leaders say that about half the community wear turbans, compared with 80 per cent to 90 per cent a few decades ago. The trend must be reversed, they believe, if Sikhism is to endure. >>> Rhys Blakely | Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Radio Race Row at BBC's Flagship Asian Station
THE INDEPENDENT: Angry Sikhs besiege Asian Network over Muslim's 'joke'

The BBC's Asian Network was at the centre of a fresh race row last night after Sikhs accused the digital radio station of being insensitive towards their religion.

BBC bosses were forced to remove a show by the popular Muslim presenter Adil Ray from their website after the morning show DJ received threats from angry Sikh listeners who accused him of denigrating an important religious symbol.

The Birmingham-based network, which was set up eight years ago after the BBC's then director general Greg Dyke described his own organisation as "hideously white", has strongly denied the accusations or any suggestion that Ray meant to mock Sikhism.

But the anger from the Sikh community has nonetheless raised fresh questions over whether the digital network is serving its Asian listeners. Earlier this year, the BBC Trust told the network that it needed to attract more listeners after its audience fell from half a million to 405,000 in a year.

The complaints revolve around a show broadcast on Thursday 6 August in which Ray discussed the cancellation of a Punjabi music concert in Canada where police had banned a number of Sikhs who refused to remove their "kirpan" dagger – one of five ceremonial symbols that baptised Sikhs are expected to wear at all times.

A number of listeners believed that Ray had been disparaging about whether Sikhs really needed to carry their kirpans and began making complaints and threats against him. >>> Jerome Taylor, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, August 20, 2009