A gory and hideous crime reeking of loathing, racialism and hatred, has once again struck the streets of USA. An elderly Sikh American, who was called Bin Laden in fury, was left bleeding in his car, after a brutal assault. It was his Sikh religious appearance that led to the attack and he was bashed unceremoniously in the face till he lost consciousness.
Elderly Inderjit Singh Mukker who was on his way for some grocery shopping, had no idea of the frightful fate that was going to befall him that day. He became a victim of racialism and was ruthlessly bashed about. He was yelled at with furious screams of racial abuses ringing out from the assailants mouth Terrorist, go back to your country, Bin Laden! as he walked.
This hate crime has happened a few days before the commemoration of the 9/11 attacks anniversary. According to Harsimran Kaur, The Sikh Coalition’s Legal Director, and the group, the innocent man was “targeted and assaulted because of his Sikh religious appearance, race or national origin.” Kaur has requested for an investigation and asked federal agencies to investigate this attack as a hate crime.
Mukker who is a citizen of the US was being constantly harassed by a car driver rattling off racial spurs. The driver had come closer to Mukkers vehicle and had pulled up, barricading its path. The assailant had aggressively walked up to Mukker and reached for his neck inside the car, and then bashed him up mercilessly on his face.
The elderly man had started to bleed profusely, his face was badly lacerated and his cheekbone got fractured in the bashing. This brutal attack caused Mukker to lose consciousness and he was taken to the hospital right away. He was given 6 stitches and treated for his wounds and the suspect was booked for mugging and taken into custody.
Mukker gave his statement on the horrifying experience saying No American should be afraid to practice their faith in our country. Im thankful for the authorities swift response to apprehend the individual but without this being fully investigated as a hate crime, we risk ignoring the horrific pattern of intolerance, abuse and violence that Sikhs and other minority communities in this country continue to face. This is not the first incident of racialism being observed in the country; earlier also Sikh people have been dragged around and bashed as they were called terrorist! Is this fair?
