Sikhs Lobby the Census

How many Sikhs live in New York City, or for that matter, in the entire country? No one really knows, not even Sikh community activists.

'It's really hard to say,' says Jaspreet Singh, a local staff attorney with United Sikhs, a group that formed in New York in the late 90s but now has offices around the world. 'Nationwide people estimate there are between 400,000 and 900,000 Sikhs. We contacted the Pew Survey and asked them some questions. Their estimate, based on some of their telephone analysis, was about 700,000. Half a million is a very common estimate – but that may be 200,000 off.'

Lots of communities want clearer figures, and are pushing people to send in their census forms. But Sikhs are also lobbying the Census Bureau to give the community a separate code on census forms, so that Sikhs aren't lumped in with other Asian Indians.

'Sikhs in other countries as well as many people here see themselves as an ethnic group, rather than simply as a religion,' says Singh. 'Sikhs have the Gurmukhi script and also many cultural and living traditions that separate them from others. And a sense of association or allegiance. Sikhs who grew up here or are converts in various parts of the world -– all of the ones I’ve spoken to are happy to write in 'Sikhs.' We do have this distinct identity.'

That identity has become more sharply defined since 9/11, when Sikhs suffered from hate crimes all across the country. The dastar, or turban -- one of those traditions Singh referred to -- is among the most important articles of faith for Sikh males, but in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks it drew attention from bigots who thought they were going after Muslims. Sikh groups had a challenge: to educate the American public about their faith without appearing to distance themselves from the Muslim community and in effect saying "It's them, not us."

Since those days, I've regularly gotten emails from a number of Sikh organizations and am consistently amazed at the level of political/community organizing, far more than in the broader Indian population. The Sikh community rallies around issues that don't gain much traction among other Indians, or simply aren't relevant: racial profiling at airports, harassment in schools, the right to wear a turban as a cop or soldier, or carry a kirpan, which is like a tiny dagger.

Some Sikh activists think census recognition would help advance work on those issues. From the petition:

It has been very difficult for the Sikh community to even engage political representatives, agencies, and law enforcement on these issues without being able to accurately state how many Sikhs there are. It is much more difficult to promote awareness of the Sikh community, or to address the problems of the community through assistance from government, without an official enumeration or recognition. Statistics speak for themselves and currently there is no correct enumeration of statistics for Sikhs in the United States.

Within New York City, Singh figures there are about 80,000 Sikhs -- "50 to 60,000 easily in Richmond Hill. Over 30,000 people can turn up for just [an important event at] a gurdwara," he says, referring to a Sikh house of worship. "If you don't have an accurate count and you have a district where there’s a lot of Sikhs, you can never walk up to your Congressman and say there are this many Sikhs."

The United Sikhs petition has caught some flak, including from this Sikh blogger, who sees himself as Indian:

This whole thing reeks of fanaticism. Of not being able to see beyond your religion. And you know what the fun part is? Their tag line: Recognize the Human Race as One.

Singh says he's also seeing Indian groups and newspaper articles "where people think, 'Why are you trying to divide us from India more?'" There's a subtext here: the separatist movement in India for a distinct Sikh homeland, that culminated in the assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi and violent retribution against innocent Sikhs.

But Singh thinks that is beside the point.

"This is really an American issue," he says. "We’re happy to work with other South Asian groups. It’s really so we can organize ourselves as a community, ask for more resources as a community."