Sanjh Savera

State Department Tells School Children Sikhs are Terrorists

July 23, 2003: Washington D.C.
TSS Staff Writer Jasbir Kaur contributed to this report.

Parents with children in middle and high schools should be aware of a video and curriculum that was distributed throughout the country by the US State Department Bureau of Public Affairs. The video refers to the 1984 Darbar Sahib (commonly referred to as the 'Golden Temple') Attack as a siege by "Sikh terrorists."

'Terrorism: A War Without Borders' is the name of the video. It is six and a half minutes long and is accompanied by curriculum materials with instruction guides for teachers and activities for students. The video may have been released as early as mid 2002, but was definitely in schools by the beginning of 2003. The State Department distributed 15,000 copies of the video and curriculum to schools throughout the country.

The video contains significant misrepresentations of Sikhs. It uses the term "Sikh terrorist" to broadly label all of the world's 24 million Sikhs - 500,000 of whom live in the United States - and wholly condemns all people of the Sikh faith.

The video highlights eleven terrorist attacks throughout the world, beginning with the 1972 Munich Olympics when 'Black September' took eleven Israeli athletes hostage in an attempt to release 200 Arab prisoners. Nine hostages were killed in the rescue attempt. Other terrorist events include the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis by Iranian students, the 1988 Pan Am Plane Crash by Libyan agents; the 1995 Tokyo Nerve Gas Attack by the group 'Aum Shinrikyo,' the Oklahoma City Bombing by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols; 1997 Suicide Bombing in Israel by the group 'Hamas,' and the 9/11 World Trade Center by Osama Bin Laden.

In all the terrorist attacks cited in the video, the perpetrators are labeled as either an individual(s) or a group of a certain nationality or a group with its own identity. But in the 1984 Attack on Darbar Sahib, the video refers to the terrorists as "Sikhs". The clip shows Sikhs, easily recognizable from their turbans and beards, with weapons in the Darbar Sahib complex along with some Indian soldiers.

The transcript from that segment states: "In an effort to establish an independent state, Sikh terrorists seized Darbar Sahib Shrine in Amritsar, India. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered a military campaign to drive out the terrorists. Hundreds were killed."

The video was discovered by a Sikh teacher at a professional teacher's training conference on teaching terrorism in a classroom led by a State Department official. The expectation was that teachers would introduce this curriculum material along with the video to the classroom. This teacher did not expect such a broad defamation of the entire Sikh community worldwide.

The greatest concern is that the video may come as a surprise to a Sikh middle or high school student. Sikh boys usually wear turbans by the time they are in middle or high school and may be ostracized, harassed or have to face hate crimes as a result of this video. Middle and high school years are the most volatile for students. Recent hate crimes against Sikh male students were documented in New Jersey and in California, one in middle school and one in high school.

The video was brought to the attention of Sikh advocacy groups - SMART, SCORE, USSA and The Sikh Coalition. Their representatives met with the Office of the Historian, US State Department, in March 2003 to request the immediate recall of all videos and curriculum in circulation. They organized a presentation and materials to provide information about the attack by the Indian State on the Darbar Sahib complex in June 1984.

The Sikh representatives pointed out that the video was incorrect in stating that Sikh political activists in Darbar Sahib were separatists. Jarnail Singh, the leader of the political activists that the Indian government was after, never claimed himself to be a separatist. Equating separatists to terrorists is inaccurate. For example, many citizens of Quebec, Canada, consider themselves separatists; no one considers them as terrorists.

The Sikh representatives showed that the video was incorrect in stating that the Sikh political activists in Darbar Sahib were terrorists. The State Department defines terrorists as those who "seek to attract publicity for their cause." But in the 1984 attack, the Indian government that cut off communication, media and public access to not only Darbar Sahib, but the entire state of Punjab. They did not want the world to know what they were about to do.

The State Department defines terrorism as "violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets." But, in fact, the Sikh political activists did not have any hostages. The Darbar Sahib was open to thousands of pilgrims coming and going freely from the complex. It was the Indian army that attacked and killed thousands of innocent citizens.

By their own definition, the State Department was shown why it was incorrect in its classification of the Sikh political activists as terrorists and the attack as terrorism. The 1984 attack on Darbar Sahib did not fit the State Department's profile of terrorists or terrorism, and it did not qualify to be in the same league as the other acts of terrorism discussed in the video.

The 1984 Attack on Darbar Sahib has an important place in history. The State Department was presented with substantial evidence that it should more appropriately be defined as 'State Terrorism.'

Following the presentation, in the discussion session with State Department officials involved in the production of the video, it quickly became apparent that they were not willing to make any corrections. Sikh representatives tried to convey that if the State Department were willing to call Sikhs terrorists, then they should modify the video to call Timothy McVeigh a Christian terrorist and to call Hamas a Muslim terrorist group and so on. They also tried to convey the emotional devastation that a Sikh student would face if he or she had to watch this in a classroom. Sikh students, they said, may become more vulnerable to hate crimes by their peers who had seen the video. A memorandum distributed at the meeting stated that "such a portrayal promotes stereotypes that have led to hundreds of hate crimes against Sikhs in the United States."

Recently, the video has also come to the attention of Tarlochan Singh, chief of the National Commision for Minorities in New Delhi, India. In an interview with the Indian newspaper deepikaglobal.com, he said, '' [the video] shows armed Sikhs fighting the Army at the Golden Temple at a time when the community is struggling to portray its culture and traditions in real ways, free of negative stereotypes and biases in post 9/11 America.'' The film, he added, was untimely and uncalled for. Singh has requested Foreign Secretary Kapil Sibal to seek editing of the State Department video. To show the Sikhs as terrorists will create permanent hostility among Americans against the community,'' Singh told Sibal in a letter. The article goes on to say, "In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, a crazy mix of terrorists, turbans and images of Osama bin Laden caused widespread confusion in America, which resulted in physical and verbal hate attacks on Sikhs."

After months of attempted negotiations, the State Department has made no official statement about any of the requests to modify or recall the video and curriculum.

Sources at the State Department stated that they were in the process of preparing a response which should be released soon, possibly next month. It will only be released to the Sikh representatives of the Sikh advocacy groups - SMART, SCORE, USSA and The Sikh Coalition - that previously met with the State Department.

In an interview with a State Department official, it was revealed that the bulk of the 15,000 copies, perhaps all, were distributed at the professional teacher's training conference. The official, who declined to be named, also said that at the time of distribution, no records were made as to the school names or the contact information of persons who picked up the videos and curriculums. Therefore, a recall is not possible. When asked if the State Department could send an official letter to schools stating the misrepresentations in the video and curriculum, they again said that without a mailing list, they had nowhere to send it to. The State Department could send a letter to the conference officials where the videos and curriculums were distributed, but they seem to unable or unwilling to do that either.

The Sate Department official did acknowledge that mistakes were made in the video and curriculum, but attributed it to a part of the learning process in creating a new program. She said, "this was the first time we created a video and curriculum for schools."

But the damage is done. Sikh students may have to face hate crimes and increased social and academic problem because of this video released by their own government.

The official letter that the State Department is preparing for Sikh organization is not expected to contain anything significant to correct the situation. The only remedy they have to offer is that the next release of the curriculum material will contain something on tolerance and will "put the situation in a different light with the reference to Sikhs as terrorists taken out of the print material only," said the official. "We have no plans to redo the video."

SMART, in consultation with the other Sikh organizations, is taking the lead in sending the State Department a follow-up letter. Further action will be decided after they receive an official response.

Meanwhile, there is only one month left before the beginning of the next school year.

Sikh parents can take matters into their own hands and inform their children's schools of the wrongful and inflammatory nature of this video and curriculum. They can request that the video not be shown in their schools. As taxpayers with children in public middle and high schools, they have every right to do so.

note: click here to see video Terrorism: A War Without Borders

WHAT NEXT?

Parents can certaily write, and should write to the Principal of the school of their children, as suggested above.

Further,

1. Do you think, a deputation of Sikhs should try to meet the Superintendent of Education (Jack O'Connell) and request him to stop showing the video in middle and high schools under his jurisdiction?

2. Would you, representing your (Sikh) organization like to sign a petition we could submit to him?

3. Will you be willing to join the deputation?

4. I will appreciate e-mail addresses of Sikh community leaders in California whom I should pose the above questions.

Please respond by e-mail or telephone. Thanks.

Onkar Singh Bindra, 916.858.2650

How did the Washington school system let one Sikh American boy be bullied for seven years?

By Meeta Kaur

At the age of eight, Parteek Singh found his life as a young Sikh boy in India exchanged for one in Seattle. After a number of moves, the Singh family found themselves settled in Auburn, a town of about 44,000 located between Seattle and Tacoma. Auburn, founded in 1891 as the town of Slaughter, promotes its �pioneer spirit� in public relations material. But this town, with a minority population of less than 15 percent, turned its back on Parteek, whose silence in the face of bullying ended in violence.

Now, after Parteek Singh has endured time in juvenile hall and as he deals with a felony charge on his permanent record, community members are asking what went wrong and how they let this happen.

The Singh family immigrated to America due to unrest for Sikhs in India. Beginning in the early 1980s, violence against Sikhs began escalating in the northern Indian state of Punjab. Pogroms against Sikhs became commonplace. In June of 1984, the Indian government sent the Indian army to seize the Golden Temple, one of the holiest places of Sikh worship, back from what they considered to be a dangerous Sikh independence movement. At the same time, Indian forces attacked 38 other gurdwaras (Sikh temples) throughout Punjab. More than 20,000 Sikhs were killed in these attacks. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards in November of the same year, angry mobs killed over 2,000 Sikh men, women and children. They also burned and looted hundreds of Sikh homes, businesses and places of worship. The largest number of innocent deaths occurred in the capital of New Delhi. Nationally, the government declared Sikhs terrorists. This terrorist policy left Sikhs with a waning desire to pledge their national allegiance to India.

�We were doing business in India. Then, too many problems came. I had always heard that America was like heaven. Many opportunities, it was good for the kids to grow up in America,� said Parteek�s father, Satwinder Singh.

Parteek�s parents decided the chances for a secure life in India for Parteek and his younger brother, Shami, were slim. They looked to America as the �land of dreams,� and so they arrived in 1996.

A cursory review of Parteek Singh�s life in America does fit the dream sequence laid out in his parents� minds. A love for basketball, reading books, performing well in school and tight family ties made up Parteek�s seemingly happy life. The family went to community and religious events in the town of Renton, Wash., where there is a gurdwara to which Sikh Americans come from all over the state.

Parteek�s internal life revealed another reality altogether. He kept a different world � one where he was forced to tolerate name-calling, teasing, pushing and punching by school peers � a secret from outsiders. When his family found out, they would try and move to a new area and hope the teasing would stop. It never did.

The cause of this hostility towards Parteek? He wore a topknot of hair covered with a headwrap, keeping his hair neat and in place. This is known as kesh, and represents one of the five sacred articles of the Sikh faith. Parteek�s kesh represented a connection to Sikhism, a spiritual heritage he is very proud of. Sikhism is a monotheistic faith that believes in living a life of equality, remembering God, honest labor, charity and service to the community. Sikhs subscribe to five articles of faith and one of the five tenets says that Sikh men are not to cut any of their body hair. Taken together, all five articles of faith represent a commitment towards a value system that closely parallels the democratic values celebrated by Americans.

Unfortunately, teasing and harassment have become an academic ritual for a majority of Sikh American men. One Sikh American man describes the experiences as �schizophrenic.� Another describes it as �an experience that tests your will.� Parteek�s commitment to this Sikh article of faith translated into a rallying point for playground aggression.

Every time Parteek confronted a hostile situation, he respected his mother�s wishes and resisted the urge to fight back. Prior to the Sept. 11 attacks, some of Parteek�s classmates hurled racial slurs like �raghead� and �diaperhead.� Parteek endured this emotional taunting along with pushing and punching every school year, beginning at age eight. �I would watch him get quieter and quieter. He would just lay on his bed in his room,� Parteek�s mother, Gurmeet Kaur recalled.

The aggression and hostility against Parteek heightened after Sept. 11. The media portrayals of the �enemy� depicted South Asian and Middle Eastern men donning turbans. Television images of the turban associated this Sikh article of faith with terrorism. In Arizona, this ignorance turned deadly when Balbir Singh Sodi, a Sikh American man, was shot to death outside of his gas station by 42-year-old Frank Roque, who claimed that he was doing his job �as an American.�

At Rainier Middle School and Auburn High School, school peers repeatedly shouted �Osama bin Laden,� �terrorist� and �diaperhead� at Parteek. He endured harassment in the halls, classrooms and in gym class. The Singhs notion of dreams coming true in America curdled into a reality of daily harassment for their son.

Surprisingly, Parteek and his family were the only ones who knew about this young boy�s suffering. Teachers, a vice principal and community organizers unanimously describe Parteek as a personable young man who is very respectful and an amazing student.

In February 2002, Parteek�s tolerance for repeated terrorist references and physical attacks by his school peers waned. One of Parteek�s classmates was throwing pencils at him while calling him a �raghead� and �diaperhead.� Parteek asked the boy to stop. The boy ignored Parteek�s request and continued the taunting. Parteek got out of his seat, walked over to the boy who was calling him names and slapped him on the side of his head, near his temple � one of the most fragile parts of the head. As a result, the boy suffered a fracture to his skull.

Parteek�s legal advocate, Amelia Derr, recalls Parteek�s reaction, �I remember Parteek describing how he felt when he slapped the kid on the side of his face. He said, �All the people who have ever teased or hit me just flashed through my head. I don�t know what happened. I did not mean to do it.� �

The injured boy�s family charged Parteek with second degree assault and he faced up to nine months in a juvenile detention center, plus restitution and six months of probation.

To avoid further harassment and damage to their permanent records, Parteek�s father cut Parteek and Shami�s hair, removing the most visible Sikh article of faith from their physical identities. Distraught, Parteek�s mother preserved both of her sons� hair by taking it home with her after the kesh was cut.

Derr, the education director for local community advocacy group Hate Free Zone, advocated Parteek�s case in the school system and during his court proceedings on Sept. 17, 2002. While Derr realized that school administrators refused to acknowledge Parteek�s history of being bullied, he insisted that that history continued to affect him at the age of 14. Derr acknowledged the heightened harassment Sikh and Muslim children were experiencing after Sept. 11.

�It breaks my heart that the people in the school system, like teachers, who are protectors of children, do not have it in them to provide a safe environment for children. One kid�s teacher told him because he was a Muslim, he was going to hell,� Derr recounted.

Derr acknowledged that some teachers have the same destructive perceptions of ethnic groups that students have, contributing to the hostile climate in schools. She also recognized that the school system overwhelms teachers. �Some teachers may not have racism or xenophobia in their hearts. They may just be ignorant. They do not have time or energy to educate themselves,� she said.

In Parteek�s case, Derr assessed that the system had failed this young man seven times, �Because Parteek was being harassed in school, the family had to move seven times. In my mind, this is an incredible failure of the system.�

Derr organized Sikh community members and teachers for Parteek�s court case on Sept. 17. In addition, Derr partnered with the Safe Schools Coalition to build up Parteek�s defense through supporting letters. These letters asked the court to recognize Parteek�s history and to take mercy on him.

Mike Walsh, a Seattle public defender, passionately supported Parteek in his court case as well. �Parteek is an incredibly sensitive kid. He is very fortunate to be a member of a caring and tightly knit community who gave him tremendous support,� Walsh said.

Walsh meticulously explained how Parteek faced an extreme amount of pressure and a very difficult choice in the juvenile court system. According to Walsh, Parteek pleaded guilty to third degree assault, a less serious count than second degree assault but still assault nonetheless. With this guilty plea, Judge Rammerman gave Parteek three days in the detention center, 27 days of home monitoring, six months of probation, restitution and a permanent record listing felony charges.

What had initially appeared as a legal victory was just the opposite. Walsh outlined the preferred route of action, a deferred disposition, saving Parteek from a permanent record with felony charges. Walsh could not emphasize how potentially problematic this sentencing was to Parteek�s future.

�He has a permanent record with felony charges. Poor kid,� the attorney said.

Walsh went on to comment on the social and cultural climate of Seattle, �Everyone likes to think they are tolerant and diverse in Seattle. I really do not think this is true.�

Terri Herrin, the vice principal of Auburn High School and gym teacher for 20 years, stated, �I have to apologize to Parteek for not understanding. Is there any way he can get back on a path with his hair?�

Herrin also stated, �There is a different clientele coming in that we are gradually building towards. We are lily-white hicks out here. When I ask teachers and administrators to think about black history month, they question me and say �What about white history month?��

When Herrin reached for Parteek�s middle school file, she noticed that his prior record with ethnically motivated harassment was not documented in his file. It became apparent that Herrin, though very sympathetic to Parteek, had little understanding of his court sentencing. Teary-eyed, Herrin expressed her concern as a mother of a son. She asked how she could support Parteek in growing his hair back.

A bill mandating anti-bullying policies in Washington schools passed into law in 2002, and will be put into effect this year. The bill contains a reference to the state�s malicious harassment law, which bans harassment based on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or mental, physical or sensory handicap. It also bans bullying based on any distinguishing characteristics, such as size or hair color.

Locke and Attorney General Christine Gregoire, who pushed actively for the law, were firmly behind the bill.

�Passage of this bill sends a clear message that bullying is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our schools,� the two said in a joint statement. �We must make sure that every student has a safe place to learn.�

Derr hopes people like Herrin take the policy seriously, �It�s just a piece of paper. It cannot do much unless people are behind the policy [and] actively advocating on behalf of kids.�

Since Parteek and Shami do not wear their kesh anymore, Gurmeet Kaur has stopped taking her sons to community events and to the temple in fear of people saying hurtful things to them. Facing contradictory expectations from the broader American community as well as the Sikh community, the Singh family is painfully aware of opposing societal expectations.

�Parteek�s father let me know that he cut his [sons�] hair. That is disappointing to me in some respect,� Walsh admitted. �I know it happened because he was experiencing harassment � to blend in with American society.�

At a Seattle public hearing sponsored by the Hate Free Zone and other civil liberties groups, Parteek gave the following testimony on a videotape.

�I wanted to tell you that I have take a lot of abuse in my life in America. Ever since I have come to America, I haven�t fought back to anybody. Sometimes, even though I was one of the best basketball players in school, I have been picked last and I haven�t been able to play �cause kids wouldn�t let me play. Here in Auburn I tried to fit in. Then Sept. 11 happened and people started being mean to me again. Calling me Habib, towelhead, pepperhead. People call me Osama and Osama�s son. And a lot of people did drugs so I was afraid that if I told anybody I might even get hurt bad.

�It made me feel very bad when they called me diaperhead because I love my hair, it is part of my religion and I never want to cut my hair. I don�t know why they just don�t like different people. It hasn�t gone away since Sept. 11 and people still call me those names. I wish kids who bully would just quit. Can�t they see it hurts people? Even if they don�t show it? I know teachers know it goes on in school and they just ignore it. Please don�t ignore it.�

Some view Satwinder Singh�s decision to cut his sons� hair as a move that cut his sons off from Sikh character. Other members feel as if they have lost Parteek and Shami to Western society. Gurmeet feels her sons have Sikhism in their heart and will not be so quick to abandon it even if their physical identity is temporarily removed for now. Both Parteek and Shami plan to grow back their hair once they move to college.

�I love my hair and I love being a Sikh. The Gurus were amazing people. They sacrificed their lives and that is why I am here today,� 11-year-old Shami expressed.