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who wears a patka. School officials sadly returned the cut portion of Gurprit's hair --- three to four inches in all --- in a napkin that Gurprit took home with her.
Sadly, the perpetrator specifically
harassed Gurprit because of her and her brother, Talwinder's, Sikh articles of faith. The perpetrator made fun of Talwinder's joorha and patka, saying "Your brother has a ball on his head. I am going to rip it
off and throw it at him."
The attack on Gurprit has come off only five days after Jagmohan Singh Premi, a Sikh student, was punched in the face when a student intentionally attempted to remove his patka
(smaller turban) at Richmond Hill High School, in Richmond Hill, Queens.
Sikh children continue to suffer in New York City. This past April, the Sikh Coalition released a civil rights report that found that
more than 60% of the over 400 New York City Sikh public school students the Coalition surveyed suffered bias-based harassment or violence in city schools.
The shocked and disgusted Sikh community has said
"Enough is Enough". The community has decided to take out a "March for Our Children" on June 30th
The march is being organized by The Sikh Coalition along with Gurprit Kaur and Jagmohan Singh
Premi's parents on Monday, June 30th assembling at 11:00AM at both the Sikh Cultural Society on 118th Street and 95th Avenue and Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Labana at 114th Street and 101st Avenue. The march
will end with a rally at Richmond Hill High School, the school where Jagmohan Singh Premi suffered a bias-based assault this month.
The purpose of the march is to push the New York Department of Education
to end bias-based harassment of Sikh children in city schools. It is about time that the Department recognizes that Sikh children in particular are vulnerable to bias-based harassment and violence in
school. The Sikh Coalition has called on all Sikhs to participate in the march on Monday, June 30th and make the Sikh voice heard.
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