Amritsar: A surge in the hate crime and targeted attacks against Sikhs in the US has forced the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) to request US secretary of state Antony Blinken to address the issue.

NAPA executive director Satnam Singh Chahal claimed on Sunday that a section of US Sikhs had written to Blinken’s department that these attacks were a product the American lack of awareness about Sikh beliefs and appearance. Mixed with some other faith and ethnicity due to their turbans and beards, Sikhs become targets of violence and discrimination. Satnam claimed that hate crime against Sikhs continued to be reported from various parts of the US, which proved that the US Sikh community was vulnerable. NAPA suggested to secretary of state Blinken that:

“We should rise against ignorance and bigotry to save Sikh lives and afford respect, security, and equality to the community. No more lives should be sacrificed to the poison of hatred. All people in the country should be able to keep their lives, dignity, freedom, fundamental rights, beliefs, and appearance.”