The Sikh community of Britain and worldwide has condemned the racial attack on a man in the UK last week, where his turban was ripped outside Parliament. The community leaders and politicians have therefore urged for stricter laws and better awareness about the community, which is often mistaken to be Muslim. They have also demanded for a more attentive, vigilant and religious hate crime monitor and register, as the number of such incidents recorded in the UK increase following the EU referendum and the Westminster Bridge terrorist attack on 22 March 2017.
Ravneet Singh from India was visiting the UK and waiting outside Portcullis House to meet Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi when he was targeted by a racist screaming: 'Muslim go back.'
The 37-year-old prominent Sikh environmentalist from Punjab, in north India, who is a Sikh and not a Muslim, said his attacker then attempted to pull his turban from his head. Mr Singh told the Independent, a man ran up to him before launching the unprovoked attack.
He said: “He was pulling at my turban strongly. It half moved and I grabbed it. Before he could do anything else I shouted at him and he ran. He made a racist comment in another language that I didn't recognise. He was a white man, but he didn't sound English. He said something like 'Muslim go back'.'
Mr Singh added, “He held my turban with both hands and kept shaking it. My turban was almost down to my face. Then he also tried to injure my neck. I kept shouting what's this, stop it. He did not budge. Soon security guards were there and he ran away."
An image of the assault was posted on Twitter by Dr Rajwant Singh, the founder and President of EcoSikh, an organisation which helps to promote better awareness of environmental issues around the world. Ravneet was in the UK on a three-week trip to discuss his work for an environmental group, which included a meeting with the Labour MP for Slough, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi.
Mr Desi, the Labour MP for Slough, told MailOnline: “I am disgusted that someone filled with hatred tried to pull off the turban of one of my guests.
“While consoling Ravneet, I felt embarrassed that he would be left with a personal scar from his visit, while also giving him a negative perception of our country.
“It has been pointed out previously on several occasions to the Government that their hate crime action plan totally ignores Sikhs. Given such incidents, the Government needs to address this genuine community demand to properly monitor and record hate crime against Sikhs.
“I had experienced a similar attack when at school, but thought at the time that maybe that was due to the perpetrator 'being a kid' and not realising the importance of a turban for the Sikh identity.
“Sikhs regard the turban as a crown on their head. I was distressed when I had to deal with such racist behaviour, but coped thanks to family and friends. Unfortunately, many children and adults have to experience this all too often.
“These types of incidents harm the victim's confidence and self-respect, and not only cause distress to the individual but also show our country in a bad light. We need to work together to remove this evil and discrimination from our society.”
MP Tan Dhesi also during a debate in Parliament, raised questions about why hate crime action plan completely ignores to properly record and monitor hate crimes against Sikhs.
Network of Sikh organisations in a twitter post wrote, “Unless forces like the Met Police UK make public the breakdown of non Muslims (or those of no faith) recorded under the 'Islamophobic hate crime' marker, the victim's faith here remains invisible in official statistics. Religious hate figures are now dissagregated and must be published.
Founding Chair of City Sikhs, Jasvir Singh OBE told Asian Voice, “It was shocking to hear about the brazen attack on Ravneet Singh on the doorstep of Parliament. Turban wearing Sikhs find themselves the targets of Islamophobic or anti-Muslim attacks frequently, and I myself have been the victim of such attacks in the past. Hate crimes are a scourge on British society and more must be done by everyone to tackle them. Victims need to be prepared to report attacks to the Police, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to them, and the Police and authorities must work harder to find perpetrators. We also need better data about how many Sikhs have been victims of attacks in recent years so that there can be proper funding allocated by the authorities to deal with such abuse. Ultimately hate is hate, no matter who is attacked, and we must work together to challenge the hatred that we unfortunately are seeing much more of in Brexit Britain.”
Dr Rami Ranger CBE, a community stalwart and a successful entrepreneur told us, “The recent incident in front of British Parliament when a racist man ripped off the turban of a Sikh gentleman has appalled everyone.
"The gentleman was waiting in a queue to meet Mr Tanmanjeet Dhesi MP when he suffered this unprovoked racist attack in broad daylight and in front of many bystanders.
"There can be no place for racism of any kind in a civil society. Clearly, the perpetrator was not only intolerant but also ignorant about the Sikh faith . He did not know the difference between Sikhs and Muslims. During the attack he shouted, 'Muslim go home'. Ignorant, he did not even know about British history and if he did, he would have known how Sikhs wearing their turbans defended British freedom in both the great wars. They distinguished themselves wearing these very turbans and won more Victoria Crosses per capita than anyone else.
"More importantly, Muslims like followers of other faiths are now an integral part of Britain and to single them out due to the actions of a few cannot represent the vast majority of them who go about their daily lives making Britain richer and stronger."
Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) reportedly said, “Sikhs are the most visible ethnic minority, especially those who wear turbans and been subject to unacceptable levels of hate since 9/11.
“However, the hate crime action plan published by the government in July 2016 after the Brexit vote woefully failed the Sikh community by neglecting to acknowledge hate crimes against Sikhs.
“The Sikh community were 'invisible' and not consulted in drawing up the plan that focused primarily on the more vocal Muslim and Jewish communities.
“We have been waiting for nearly two years for answers and a response from government.
“The Home Secretary and Communities Secretary will be aware of this incident outside Parliament, but we fear they will continue to turn a blind eye on attacks on Sikhs.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said it was being treated as a hate crime. They said no arrests have been made and their enquiries are ongoing.
