The governor called hate crimes and vandalism activities “completely unacceptable”.
Amidst increasing hate crimes against the Sikh community in the United States, the State Assembly of Delaware has resolved to mark April as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month.’
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution in this regard and the State Governor John Carney welcomed the decision.
“We have fear mongering going on at the national level, and stereotyping… and all of that. It is an embarrassment on America as a country,” Carney told a delegation of Indian Americans led by local businessman and community leader Charanjeet Singh Minhas, PTI reported.
The governor called hate crimes and vandalism activities “completely unacceptable”.
The resolution, introduced by Senator Brown Townsend and Assembly man Paul Baumbach, assures the Sikh community and offers support in denouncing hate crimes directed towards any individual on account of their religious beliefs.
“Since September 11, 2001, the Sikhs are often mistaken for Taliban or followers of Al Qaida, wing the commonality of their beards and turbans, and subjected to a disproportionately high rate of hate crimes, and Sikh boys suffer bullying at least twice the national bullying rate for other boys,” the resolution said. It noted that the Sikh America community continues to peacefully overcome attacks on its identity and practices, whether in the form of school harassment, employment discrimination, or fatal shootings.
“The faithful service of the Sikh American community to Delaware and the United States merits appreciation as an integral thread in fabric of American plurality,” the resolution, which proclaimed April 2017 as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month’, added.
“It’s a land mark day for the Indian Americans and the Sikh community especially here in Delaware. It is also all over in the US, considering the kind of environment that is there in the country today. With so much of hatred that is prevailing in the in the nation what the Delaware Assembly has done is very significant,” community leader Charanjeet Singh Minhas said.