Sikh Human Rights Organizations

ICHRA (International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy)

UNITED SIKHS is the only Sikh international advocacy organization that operates globally to protect civil and human rights by helping victims of hate crime, bullying, discrimination and violations of religious freedom.
In 2008, UNITED SIKHS conducted the first Global Sikh Civil and Human Rights Conference and, on that occasion, the first Global Sikh Civil and Human Rights report was published in New York.
UNITED SIKHS has fought and won cases against the turban ban against France at the UN in 2012 and in the Belgium Supreme Court in 2014.
In 2016, Harteerath Singh, an Amritdhari student of Pathways school Gurgaon, was asked to remove his Kirpan as his school did not allow weapons in the school premises. He sought help from UNITED SIKHS, who wrote to the school who then apologized to Harteerath Singh and allowed him to wear his Kirpan. In Melbourne, Australia, five-year-old Sidhak Singh was not given admission in the Melton Christian College because he wore a patka. UNITED SIKHS engaged lawyers who won Sidhak Singh’s case at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) that ruled that the school had discriminated against Sidhak; following which the school changed its uniform rule to accommodate religious headwear.

In March 2018, UNITED SIKHS lawyers filed a PIL at the Indian Supreme Court, on behalf of Jagdeep Singh, to ensure that Sikh sportspersons may wear their turban whilst participating in any sport.

CEED (Community Empowerment and Education)

In 2004, UNITED SIKHS launched its STARAE scholarship project for needy students in Panjab and in 2010 it was extended to Siklighar students in Sultanpuri, New Delhi. In 2006, UNITED SIKHS set up the Sikh Educational Foundation to encourage Sikhs attending prestigious universities to serve the community. The first Sikh Education Foundation chapter was set up at Harvard University in 2006. The scholar of Sikh Education foundation at Harvard were called Sirdar Kapur Singh Scholars. The first Sirdar Kapur Singh scholar in 2006 was Sonu Kaur from Amritsar, Punjab, who was studying for her Master’s in Public policy degree at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She received $17,000 under the award. Since 2010 Since 2014, the annual Advocacy & Humanitarian Aid Academy (AHAA) has been held at Washington, D.C., to provide training to students and young professionals to get involved in social justice advocacy for the Sikh community, relief aid work, or education and healthcare initiatives promoted and pursued by UNITED SIKHS. In 2017 UNITED SIKHS started the Discover the Mai Bhago Within camps in Gurgaon and Ludhiana. In 2018 UNITED SIKHS launched a series of Family First workshops in UK and Canada, to empower families.

Sikh Aid

During the Asian Tsunami of 2004, UNITED SIKHS volunteers served victims in Acheh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nicobar & Andaman Islands and Chennai. Following that, UNITED SIKHS has responded to humanitarian crises, natural and man-made, in all parts of the world, from India to Indonesia, Syria to San Francisco; Peru to Pakistan and Mexico to Malaysia. In 2018, UNITED SIKHS provided relief and support to Sikhs in Shillong, India, who were attacked by a mob of tribals who wanted Sikhs to leave their homes, in an area first occupied by their forefathers more than 150 years ago. UNITED SIKHS also runs a farmer suicide widow pensions and a Daal Roti rations project in India.

The public may access UNITED SIKHS’ services by emailing the request or inquiry to contact@unitedsikhs.org and to volunteer or donate go to www.unitedsikhs.org

Below are the contact details of UNITED SIKHS chapters:

SALDEF

SALDEF is the abbreviated form of Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund. This organisation came into being in 1996 for participation and upholding social justice and religious freedom for all the Americans. Particularly the Sikh Americans. Its aim was to empower the American Sikhs by building dialogue, deepening understanding, promoting civic and political participation, and upholding social justice and religious freedom for all Americans. The Sikh values of optimism (chardi kla), humility (nimrata) and service (sewa) were to be adopted to achieve the Gurmat goal of welfare of all (Sarbat da Bhala). The organisation maintaines a full-time staff with offices in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, CA. In addition to the Board of Directors, SALDEF works with accomplished media experts who play a vital role in their work as well as a coalition of non-profit advocacy organizations. Its efforts are also supplemented by a national network of regional volunteer organizers who have gone through SALDEF training programs.

Sikh Lead

Sikh Lead is an initiative of SALDEF. This initiative involves a number of programmes undertaken by SALDEF for preparing future leaders by developing the requisite skills in public speaking, goal setting and peer education. The participants in such programmes get an opportunity to explore their unique leadership potential and set goal for their future. The selection of the participants is made on merit and once selected they have to stay and act according to the schedule. SALDEF meets their travelling cost and provides accommodation in the two cities Los Angeles, and Washington DC where these useful programme are conducted. Through a team of trainers, speakers, and supportive mentors, the program helps participants maximize their personal potential while making positive, community-based social change possible. Simultaneously, participants form a cooperative network of young leaders and forge meaningful bonds.

The Law Enforcement Partnership Programme –

This programme abbreviated LEPP was started in 1999 to increase awareness among the Lion Enforcement Agency about the American Sikhs and to open door to service for them. It is the first formalized cultural awareness training programme for the Law Enforcement Agency. The training in the programme is imparted by the experienced trainers who have taught at agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Transportation Security Administration, and the entire police forces in Washington, DC, and Boston, MA. Resources created by SALDEF in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies include On Common Ground, the cultural awareness roll call film produced with the Department of Justice; A Guide to Sikh American Head coverings produced with the Department of Justice; and a Guide to the Kirpan (an article of faith) the Department of Homeland Security. All these materials have been added to the curriculum of the states of California and Washington, the city of Las Vegas, NV and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In recognition of its more than decade long partnership, SALDEF was recognized with the TSAae first Community Partnership Award at their National Conference.
SALDEF has conducted in-person trainings for law enforcement in a number of American cities and the agencies include prominent ones like Heuston Police Department Academy, Washington State Criminal Justice Centre, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Police Department of various US states.
SALDEF has a Board of Director led by S. Manjit Singh, Founder and Chairman. The two other Directors are S. Navjeet Singh and S. Kavneet Singh. It has also a staff of efficient and able persons for different activities. They are the Directors for their respective fields. Contact details of this organization are address is SALDEF 1730 M Street, NW, Suite 909, Washington, D.C. 20036 and contact number is (202) 393-2700.

Sikh Coalition

When after the terrorist attack on 11th September 2001, the Sikhs in America had to face the racial attacks on them because of their mistaken identity, a group of 15 Sikhs decided to take a stand against the civil right abuses faced by the Sikh community. These volunteers formed the Sikh Coalition, an organisation for the protection of Sikh rights, as well as the human rights of other communities. This non profit and non partisan organization has been working for the last 17 years for the fulfilment of its mission defending the civil liberties of all the people, particularly the Sikhs who have been facing the bias and prejudice at all places. Whether it’s working to secure safer schools, prevent hate and discrimination, create equal employment opportunities or empower local Sikh communities, the Sikh Coalition’s goal is working towards a world where Sikhs, and other religious minorities in America, may freely practice their faith without bias and discrimination. They explained their mission and way of working in the following words.

“The Sikh Coalition’s work is carried out at the local, state and federal levels. We employ our Legal, Policy and Community Development programs, which are supported by our Media and Communications department. Our Legal Program primarily litigates matters that address bias and discrimination. These areas include school bullying, hate crimes, and high-impact cases of workplace discrimination. Our Policy Program works to ensure laws and administrative regulations embody fundamental human rights. And is then scaled to meet the needs of the Sikh community at the local, state and federal levels. Our Community Development Program works to foster civil engagement in order to promote local community empowerment. All of this work continues with the broader goal of educating Americans about the Sikh faith, community and traditions to combat bigotry and discrimination”.

In 2003, they hired their first staff member, a legal Director. The first law suit against the discrimination was filed against the New York Metro transit authority with the charge that a post-9/11 policy requiring Sikhs to brand their turbans with an MTA logo amounts to religious discrimination. This case was won by the Coalition. Over the past 15 years, the Sikh Coalition legal team has won numerous workplace discrimination cases against Fortune 500 employers and government agencies, while championing the rights of clients in cases of school bullying, racial profiling, discrimination and hate crimes. Their policy work has secured groundbreaking religious rights laws and dramatic policy improvements for how Sikh hate crimes are tracked by the FBI and how the TSA screens Sikh passengers at airports. Their community empowerment and education work has trained hundreds of Sikh advocates across the country who now stand on the frontlines for defending civil rights. This work has also transformed Sikh school bullying into a national policy issue, and ensured that Sikh history is taught accurately in the curricula of California, Texas, New York and New Jersey. The coalition then fought many cases against the hate crimes. Since then, the Sikh Coalition has transformed into the largest Sikh American advocacy and community development organization in the United States. It serves as a resource for all organizations and individuals as well as a point of contact for the Sikh people.

The coalition currently has sufficient staff and offices in New York City, California (Bay Area and Los Angeles), Washington D.C. and Chicago with over one hundred volunteer community advocates working to protect Sikh civil rights across the United States. Its different units work independently as well as jointly for several projects. For example in August 2017, the Los Angeles unit joined the Sangat by participating in National Day of Seva (selfless community service) to remember and honour the victims and survivors of the Oak Creek tragedy. In November 2017, The Sikh Coalition’s partnership with Sikh Lens and Chapman University organized an exhibition at Orange Country. This exhibition is a groundbreaking Sikh Project photography exhibition that previously reached nearly 20 million Americans. In December 2017 The Sikh Coalition organized Sikh Awareness Game for Sikh youth Basketball players in association with LA Clippers as a part of celebration of “Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month,”. The special features of this program were a national anthem performance by a Sikh accompanied by a Sikh colour guard, and Punjabi halftime entertainment. The Coalition also associated in December 2017 with Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in organising a talk by Pardeep Kaleka and Arno Michaelis, co-founders of Serve2Unite, an organization dedicated to creating student leaders who build inclusive, compassionate, nonviolent climates in their schools and surrounding communities. Pardeep’s father, Satwant Singh Kaleka, was among six Americans who lost their lives when a neo-Nazi gunman attacked a Gurdwara (Sikh house of worship) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on August 5, 2012. Arno is the author of My Life After Hate, which chronicles his involvement in the skinhead movement and his transformation into an advocate for a more welcoming society. Another awareness program about the Sikhs through a photo exhibition was organized by the Coalition in collaboration with the talented British photographers Amit and Naroop was organized at the Sandy Spring Museum from February 14-March 24, 2018. The exhibit, which launched to critical acclaim in 2016, includes 38 portraits of turbaned men and women that embody the diversity of the Sikh community and recognize the challenges and triumphs of what it means to be Sikh in the United States. The Sikh Coalition team consists of Board of Trustees, Advisory Board, Staff and Volunteers. The Board of Trustees is having S. Narinder Singh as the Chairperson and S. Prabhjot Singh, S. Harpreet Singh, S. Savneet Singh, Manpreet Kaur Singh, Manmeet Kaur and Suneet Kaur as the members. The contact details of the organization are National Office 50 Broad Street, Suite 504, New York, NY 10004 and contact number is 2126553095.

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