Sikhs For Justice

Jagjit Singh had been in the U.S. under political asylum for less than two weeks when he got word in October 1993 that his family had been tortured and his wife killed by Indian police.

Singh, 55, now lives in Fresno. He and other Sikhs in the central San Joaquin Valley are reeling over recent violence against followers of their religion in India. The situation evokes memories of the Indian government-led campaign that started in 1984 and resulted in the deaths of thousands of Sikh civilians.

“Nothing has changed since 1984,” Singh said through an interpreter. He now fears for the lives of family members who remain in his homeland.

Protests have wracked the Punjab state of India since June after torn-up copies of Guru Granth Sahib – Sikhism’s holy book – started showing up in different parts of the state. Police opened fire during a protest last month in a northern Punjab village, killing two protesters and wounding dozens of others.