Sikh student mistaken for Muslim, abused and harassed at US store

November 20, 2016

Boston, Nov 20: A 22-year-old Sikh, studying at the prestigious Harvard Law School, was allegedly abused and harassed at a store near the campus by a man who mistook him for a Muslim. Harmann Singh, a first year law student at the university, said he was shopping in a store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while speaking on the phone with his mother, when a man walked in and said to the clerk behind the counter, "Oh look, there's a (expletive) Muslim."sikh

"Over the weekend, I was confronted by a man who called me a '(expletive) Muslim' and followed me around a store aggressively asking where I was from, and and no one in the store said a thing. I was on the phone with my mom the entire time, and we were both concerned for my safety as this man stood inches away from me," Singh wrote about his experience in The Boston Globe.

"While deeply painful, what happened to me pales in comparison to the hate and violence many of my brothers and sisters have faced across the country," he wrote. According to Singh, the man started following him around the store, harassing him and asking him where he was from. Singh, who is from Buffalo, New York, said he tried to ignore the man and continue his conversation with his mother, who was worried.

She could hear the man questioning Singh and told her son to leave the shop. Singh said the man followed him to the checkout counter. "I told him, 'Hey I'm actually from New York. I live here now down the street. Is there anything I can do to help you?'" Singh said.

The man did not respond and Singh left the store as quickly as possible. He said the most effective way to help people who feel marginalised is to "be there for each other in these moments". A bystander who checks in with the person being harassed in any situation can make all the difference, he said.

The owner of the store told Boston.com that he was going back and forth between the back and front of the shop at the time of the incident that took place on November 11 and saw the man who spoke to Singh come in. He said he had planned to ask the man to leave, but went to the back of the store when the incident occurred. Both Singh and the other man were gone when he returned.

He said he was shocked and sorry when his clerk told him what happened. "I don't know where that guy came from and I hope I don't see him again," said the owner, who did not want to be named. Over 200 incidents of hateful harassment and intimidation across the US have been reported since Donald Trump won the presidential election.

Comments

Wellwisher
 - 
Sunday, 20 Nov 2016

Dear All,
This not strange, if we go through the history ftom past 70yrs to till now
White skins are always with same mentlaity. Major part of their weslth are looted one.What Britishers done with India what america is doing now. We should depend on these kind of pepole or with their nation. We have to stick with give respect and take respect policy and nothing more than that.
Hope the Indian community will stand togther to fight against such incidents for the future without looking cast.
Jai Hind!

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 4,2020

New Delhi, Jun 4: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response from Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, on a plea challenging his election in 2019 from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency as a joint candidate of the Janata Dal Secular and the Congress.

A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and Hrishiksh Roy issued notice to the returned candidate from the high-profile constituency on an appeal challenging the Karnataka High Court's order by which an election petition against his win was dismissed.

In the proceedings held through video-conferencing, the top court issued notice and tagged the appeal filed by G Devarajegowda for hearing with other similar pending plea filed by the BJP candidate on the issue.

Mr Devarajegowda in the plea said that his election petition was dismissed by the High Court on "procedural irregularities". The plea said that Mr Prajwal had resorted to unfair and corrupt practices and his election should be set aside.

It said the High Court did not consider the fact that by dismissing the election petition, it was running a risk of having a representative in parliament who has not got the maximum number of valid votes.

The petitioner, an advocate by profession, sought a declaration of rival BJP candidate, A Manju, as the winner for having secured the maximum number of valid votes.

A separate appeal was earlier filed by Mr Manju against the High Court order and the top court had already issued notice to the retuned candidate on that.

Mr Manju had challenged the 2019 election of Mr Prajwal on the ground that there was allegedly non-disclosure of assets held by him in his election affidavit.

Mr Prajwal was declared winner with 6,76,606 votes. Mr Manju came first runner-up with 5,35,282 votes.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 26,2020

Bengaluru,  Mar 26: The nationwide lockdown in the view of coronavirus outbreak has driven some people to the edge. In Karnataka, within less than 24 hours, two cases of people creating trouble for police personnel have come to light.

On Wednesday, a middle-aged man was shot in his leg by the police after he tried to assault two police constables of Sanjaynagar police station. The police constables were identified as Manjunatha and Basavararaju.
The accused reportedly breached the check post at Bhoopasandra. He and his friends were over-speeding and performing stunts on bikes. When the policemen tried to secure them after giving them a chase, they attacked the cops.

When they were taken into custody, one of them again tried to escape and hurled stones and bricks on the cops. In order to prevent further assault, the police then fired two rounds – one in the air and the second one on his left leg.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 25,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 25: The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has extended vital assistance to hundreds of migrant workers, destitute and needy families during the COVID-19 crisis through its CSR fund.

The lockdown has left thousands of people including migrant workers and destitute in the district, in the lurch. MRPL, using its corporate social responsibility fund through the Dakshina Kannada district administration, has sponsored 50,000 kg rice for the benefit of these needy citizens, a company release here said.

MRPL also donated grocery kits comprising boiled rice, dal, rava, sugar and tea to the needy families in the district, it said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.