Just days ahead of the 14th anniversary of September 11 attacks, an elderly Sikh American was brutally assaulted and left bleeding on the road in New Jersey.
The victim was allegedly called a terrorist and Bin Laden by the assailant, who apparently saw similarity between the Sikh, and Talibanis, as both wear turban and have flowing beard, despite belonging to different race, religion and region.
Also Read: Elderly Sikh-American brutally assaulted in US
Unfortunately, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the number of hate crimes directed against Arab Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs escalated dramatically. In 2001, these three communities were victimized in nearly five percent of the total number of hate crimes reported that year (481 out of 9,730), a seventeen fold increase over the previous year ( 2000).
President Obama, in the year 2013, expressed concern over rising hate crimes against South Asian Americans- - particularly those from Hindu, Muslim and Sikh communities. This was after a year when 80 US lawmakers sought documentation of hate crimes against Sikhs.
In March 2015, concerned over the spike in racial attacks against Sikhs FBI, officially put a system in place to track hate crimes motivated by Anti-Sikh bias.
According to the FBI's data for 2013, most hate crime in US is motivated by race, accounting for as high as 48.5 percent of all such cases.
A study by Southern Poverty law centre, a non profit organization that combats crime, discrimination, has revealed that there are 784 active hate groups in the United States. These groups targets people on the basis of race, ethnicity, colour, language an so on.
In the recent past, the Indian-American community has been the target of a spate of robberies, particularly during the days following Diwali when the families have cash and gold jewellery at home.
Top racial hate crimes against Indian origin people in USA
July 2015: an elderly Indian-American man was attacked and left bleeding on the road in New Jersey. He sustained several stitches and broken teeth. His family believed he was targeted because he is Indian.
Feb 2015: A 58-year-old Indian man in Albama was violently assaulted by a police official without any provocation that left him partially paralysed.
Feb 2015: A Hindu temple and nearby middle school were both vandalized with messages of hate on the U.S. West Coast, the culprits scrawled, “Get Out” and a swastika on the walls of the temple, which is one of the largest Hindu places of worship in the entire North West region.
Oct 2014: Police Authorities in Virginia stated that 17 cases of of anti-Hindu graffiti and vandalism were reported since July in Ashburn- near the Dallas International Airport
Sep 2013: A Sikh professor at Columbia University was attacked and injured by a mob of up to 30 people who called him "Osama" and "terrorist" during a brutal assault in Harlem.
August 10, 2013: An 80-year-old Sikh man was assaulted by a teenaged British girl in broad daylight in Trinity Street. The elderly victim was punched in the face and shoved to the ground. His turban fell off and the attack left him with a bloodied nose and black eye.
July 2013: A Gurudwara in California was vandalised and the word "terrorist" was spray painted on its walls a few days ahead of first anniversary of Oak Creek Gurudwara attack.
June 23, 2013: A Hindu temple in Canada was vandalised by two men armed with baseball bats, outraging the country's minority community which termed it as a "hate crime".
December 2012: An Indian emmigrant , Sunando Sen was standing on a subway platform in Queens when he was shoved from behind. Sen was struck by the train and died of multiple blunt force traumas.
August 2012: A gunman walked into a Sikh house of worship and shot and killed six innocent Sikh victims in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
March 2011: Two Sikh men gunned down, one fatally, during a stroll in Sacramento, California.
June 2010: A Californian couple convicted of assaulting an Indian American.
Dec 2009: A Sikh student was "racially abused" and brutally assaulted after being thrown into a swimming pool in West Texas
From 1987 to 1993, Dotbusters, a hate group based in New Jersey, attacked and harassed numerous Indians, burglarized homes and businesses in New Jersey. There were 58 cases and a number of perpetrators were bought to justice and tougher anti-hate legislation was passed.
