The NCM has requested the MEA to take up with the US attacks on Sikhs

Taking cognizance of the attack on a Sikh person at New York, US, India’s National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has urged the Ministry of External Affairs to raise with the US the issue of attack on Sikhs there and ensure that appropriate steps are taken to prevent and combat hate in the country, said The Tribune in a report.

The Commission stated in a statement that it has taken cognizance of representation from Sikh organisations in Punjab regarding the April 3 attack on a Sikh in Richmond Hill, New York, USA.

According to the statement, a Sikh was attacked while walking in Richmond Hill, a neighbourhood known as Little Punjab due to its large population of Sikhs and Indian immigrants.

He had come to New York from Punjab and had since returned to his family.

With reports of such incidents increasing recently, NCM Chairperson Iqbal Singh Lalpura has expressed his concern, The Tribune said.

Accordingly, the Ministry of External Affairs has been asked in a letter dated April 21 to take up the matter with their counterparts in the United States so that these incidents do not occur again and appropriate steps are taken to prevent and combat hate and ensure the safety of Sikhs in the US.

Earlier this month, the Consulate General of India in New York condemned the assault on the elderly Sikh as ‘deeply disturbing,’ and stated that they were in contact with the police who are investigating this heinous hate crime.

Nirmal Singh, believed to be in his 70s, was reportedly punched in the unprovoked attack on Sunday morning in Richmond Hill, Queens.

In January of this year, a Sikh taxi driver was assaulted at JFK International Airport in New York, with the attacker allegedly calling him turbaned people and telling him to return to his country.

Meanwhile, the NCM has urged the Ministry of Minority Affairs to raise the reported attack on a few Sikhs in Pakistan with the MEA.