Sikhs call for probe after North Carolina Gurdwara vandalised
Darpan News Desk IANS, 30 Jan, 2023 12:49 PM
New York, Jan 30 (IANS) A recent string of attacks by vandals on a Sikh temple in the US has left the community worried with leaders asking for a thorough investigation into the incidents.
In various incidents over the last two months, the windows, lights and security cameras of Gurdwara Sahib Khalsa Darbar on East Arrowood Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, were shattered and damaged, local media reported.
"It's shocking for us to experience things like this. We're a small community in Charlotte..." Ajay Singh, a Sikh community member told the Charlotte Observer.
According to the 2021 American Community Survey, there are roughly 6,900 Sikhs out of 10.5 million people across North Carolina.
Singh said acts of vandalism at the Gurdwara started last fall with trash being thrown around the area.
"On January 3, a window near the worship room was destroyed. Two days later, a window was broken near a room for children," he said.
According to the Observer, Gurdwara members had filed a police report but Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police denied there were any between December 1 and January 13. Police did not respond to a Charlotte Observer inquiry on whether there was an active investigation there.
"We really need law enforcement to step up," Pawanjit Singh, a member of the Gurdwara, told Charlotte Observer. "They need to find who is doing this and why they are doing this."
Pawanjit Singh further said that no one was present at the gurdwara when the acts occurred, and the motive of attack remains unknown.
"Ninety per cent of police officers probably do not know who Sikhs are," he said. "When they don't know they can't relate to what an act of vandalism at a Sikh temple means."
The community leaders have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the damages and install a safety fence and a gate. Apart from being a place of worship, the gurdwara runs a school attended by more than 40 children, and provides community meals, Punjabi language, leadership, and music classes.
The Taliban has announced that they will resume the hiring process of Afghan government employees, excluding female staffers, the media reported on Tuesday.
Fresh from his Jan. 6 vow to defend democracy, President Joe Biden is in Georgia Tuesday to make his case for protecting voting rights in the United States. Democrats have been insisting for months that defending the right to vote from state-level limitations is a critical step in preserving America's democratic values.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has shot down speculation that the UK will ease immigration rules for India as part of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Negotiations on an Indo-British FTA are scheduled to begin this month.
While Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorised as 'mild' as just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising people and it is killing people, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
The president of the United States called out predecessor Donald Trump not by name but by reputation Thursday, marking one year since the Capitol Hill riots with a remarkably simple exhortation to his fellow Americans: to tell and spread and embrace the truth about the 2020 election.
Thursday marks one year since frenzied supporters of Donald Trump, spurred on by the outgoing president's bogus claims of a stolen election, laid siege to the U.S. Capitol in what's now widely seen as an organized effort to prevent Joe Biden from taking over as commander-in-chief.
