Rising Hate Crimes in California Deepens Divide Between Hindus and Sikhs
- While 23% of the religiously-motivated incidents of hate reported via the CA vs Hate program hotline were against Hindus, the Sikh community reported six hate crimes against them.
As hate crimes rise against Indian Americans in California, there’s a deepening divide between the Hindus and the Sikhs. In a recent report, nonprofit news site CalMatters noted that while “the vandalization of three Hindu temples” in the state “has escalated fears about hate crimes against the community, Sikhs are on edge from attacks against separatist leaders in North America.”
Last December, the Swaminarayan Mandir Vasna Sanstha Temple in Newark was vandalized allegedly by pro-Khalistan activists. The exterior wall of the temple was sprayed with anti-India graffiti. Temple co-founder Kiran Thakkar told CalMatters that he and the board “didn’t want to politicize” the event. “So we were clear from day one that, yes, it was a hate crime or fringe incident, and let’s just move on from there.”
According to data from the CA vs Hate program, released this May by the California Civil Rights Department, 23% of the religiously-motivated incidents of hate reported via the program hotline were against Hindus. This statistic trails anti-Jewish hate (37%) and surpasses anti-Muslim incidents (15%).
Meanwhile, the CalMatters report also revealed that the Sikh community in the state reported “six hate crimes against them” last year — “the highest number since the state justice department began displaying that data in 2014.”
Many Sikhs are “on edge” CalMatters said, “because of several recent high-profile attacks across the nation.” Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan movement activist was shot to death in June 2023 outside his gurdwara, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. This was followed by an alleged assassination attempt against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer and spokesman for Sikhs For Justice, another prominent Sikh separatist with dual citizenship in Canada and the U.S. Last month, Satinder Pal Singh Raju, a prominent Sikh organizer in California, and a close associate of Nijjar, was targeted in a drive-by shooting believed to be an assignation attempt near Sacramento.
Thakkar told CalMatters that these developments left him “feeling a responsibility to avoid stoking tensions.” While there were “a few devotees who expressed fear after the attack, by and large,” he said, his temple members were “ready to move on.” The Hindu American Foundation has urged the California State Legislature to “vehemently condemn the violent, targeted actions of pro-Khalistan extremists and ensure law enforcement takes decisive action against the perpetrators.”
Some Hindu Americans have also opposed two bills in the California Legislature over the past year for fearing discrimination against them. One was a bill — SB 403 =- introduced by State Senator Aisha Wahab to add caste as a protected category in the state’s anti-discrimination laws alongside gender, race and disability. California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill in October.
The other was Assembly Bill 3027, proposing to name India as a sponsor of international political repressio, authored by Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, a Democrat from Bakersfield, the Legislature’s only Sikh. The Hindu American Foundation and Coalition of Hindus of North America argued that the bill “implicitly targeted Indian Americans, lumped India in with Iran and Russia, and failed to mention violent pro-Khalistan extremism that has targeted the Hindu community of California, nationwide and across North America.”
Both the bills were supported by Sikh Americans who “hoped the legislature would stand with them, given Sikhs’ over-a-century long presence in California,” according to CalMatters. Additionally some felt that the Indian government had a role to play in the opposition, the website added. “They’re using these broad terms, like Hindu Americans, to justify killing a bill against transnational repression,” Karam Singh, advocacy director for the California Sikh Youth Alliance, told CalMatters.. “I think most Americans of all stripes would be clearly in favor of having protections for Californians to not be intimidated, harassed and targeted by a foreign government.”