Stanislaus County Sikhs grab headlines with Bay Area protest
On Dec. 5, more than 10,000 individuals from California’s Sikh community, including Stanislaus County, participated in car rallies from Los Angeles to Oakland. From Oakland, all the cars drove over to the Indian embassy in San Francisco. This resulted in attention from media and others outside of the Sikh community because the Bay Bridge was clogged for almost four hours by cars covered with orange flags and anti-Modi signs in an attempt to strengthen the push to have the Indian government repeal three farm bills.
The Bay Area protest occurred in symbolic solidarity, disputing not only India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempt to corporatize farming, but also against India’s recurring oppression of minority groups such as Sikhs. Manpreet Kaur of Jakara Movement attributed the magnitude of the protest to a sentiment shared across the community: “Sometimes enough is enough for people — this was it. This was the moment to mobilize millions around the globe against a fascist regime.”
Led by India’s farmers from states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab, one of the world’s largest non-violent protests is currently occurring in India. With 250 million demonstrators and counting, the protest in India has now sparked an international movement with events all over the world such as the one in the Bay Area, which was organized by Jakara Movement and other nonprofit Sikh American community organizations.
Kaur said in addition to protesting the farm bills, the protests were also a way for the diaspora “to communicate to the Indian government that our eyes are on them, and the world will forever judge this historic moment according to how the prime minister chooses to treat the protesters.”
Media such as Sandeep Singh (Twitter handle @PunYaab) on site in India prove the violent treatment of farmers exercising their democratic right to nonviolently protest. In India, the protesters, along with nonprofit groups such as Khalsa Aid, have organized a kitchen-for-all in the Sikh spirit of langar.
So while the protests in India are a direct interaction between a country and its citizens, protests abroad also recognize ongoing oppression by the Indian government of the Sikh community. Seeing the diaspora attached and still involved in current events of their homeland indicates a potential shift in the attitude of diaspora communities in America. Perhaps this can be attributed to the amalgamation of the spirits and principles of two cultures — Sikh and American.
Kaur identified the unexpected boost of the youth diaspora’s engagement in California protests: “Like any diaspora belonging to any ethnic group or tradition, the youth use their voice to amplify the feelings of their households and local communities while our parents are still having to work at Foster Farms or Grimmway Farms.
“Much like our Armenian brothers and sisters who recently led historic protests across their own diaspora to highlight the crimes against humanity happening against their own, it is also their diasporic youth we see time and time again,” she continued. “This cannot be overlooked because it is the youth who understand the price our elders paid in leaving their homelands — they too would have been subjected to the same atrocities.”
Mirroring the relentless spirit of protesters in India, community organizations such as Jakara Movement are continuing protests throughout California and encourage others to join. In addition, they are attempting to reach out to American officials while hosting informative webinars and using social media to raise awareness.