Targeted attacks against Sikhs have been on the uptick since 9/11, but in Indiana, concerns are growing after Dr. Amandeep Singh received threatening phone calls and text messages at the office of his medical practice.
Targeted attacks against Sikhs have been on the uptick since 9/11, but in Indiana, concerns are growing after Dr. Amandeep Singh received threatening phone calls and text messages at the office of his medical practice.
SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Sikhs in Indiana say they’re being intimidated and harassed at an alarming rate in recent months, but they don’t believe they are the intended target.
Many members of Indiana’s Sikh community believe that the “attacks” have been directed at them out of a misunderstanding of who they are and the misinterpretation that being a Sikh is the same as being a Muslim. These attitudes come from the heightened fear of Muslims across the U.S.
President Donald Trump’s early executive orders implementing travel bans from seven Muslim-majority nations is just one example of a political act that has affected public attitudes about Muslims in recent months, but it’s not the only one. Members of the Sikh community in Indianapolis are hoping they can set the record straight, before things go too far.
Dr. Amandeep Singh was one of the victims — he said someone was sending him threatening text messages in mid-December, while he was in his office seeing patients. Amandeep said he felt a range of emotions after the threats, including fear for his family and his patients.
“Fear, especially if you have family, kids, the safety of your family and kids, that comes to mind first,” he told Indianapolis news outlet rtv6. “Then you try to make sense of it.”
But he hasn’t been the only victim.
Gruinder Singh started the Sikh Political Action Committee to represent the 10,000 Sikhs who live in the state of Indiana. He said in recent weeks they have had multiple instances of vandalism against businesses and even a confrontation involving a handgun.
Dr. Singh has been living in the U.S. since he graduated from medical school in 2003 in India. He currently serves as the chief medical officer at Indiana’s Monroe Hospital.
