Nurse Jacintha Saldanha’s funeral held in India

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Hundreds of mourners gathered in a small town in India on Monday for the funeral of Jacintha Saldanha. Photo Courtesy of Huffington Post UK.

Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who committed suicide after becoming known for the “royal prank” was buried today in the Indian city of Mangalore in Karnataka. Her husband Ben Barboza, daughter Lisha and son Junal traveled from London to India where hundreds attended services at Our Lady of Health Church in Shirva.

Saldanha, 46, mistook the prank callers from the Australian radio show “2DayFM” to be the Queen and Prince of Wales. The DJs were inquiring information about the Duchess of Cambridge who was admitted to the hospital for morning sickness. Saldanha transferred the call to a colleague caring for the Duchess who had a conversation with the radio show hosts. After the prank call was aired, the Australian radio show hosts labeled it as one of the easiest pranks they had ever done.

On Dec. 7, Saldanha was discovered dead by a colleague and security guard. According to Westminster coroner Fiona Wilcox, Jacintha Saldanha was found hanging by a scarf in one of the hospital’s wards and reportedly left three suicide notes. The notes which were typed up and handed to Saldanha’s family revealed her difficulty coping with the prank phone call. Another note revealed funeral plans and one of the longer notes criticized the hospital staff.

On Saturday, a mass was held in London to honor the memory of Saldanha. Her daughter Lisha said, “We will miss your laughter, the loving memories and the good times we had together. The house is an empty dwelling without your presence. We are shattered and there’s an unfillable void in our lives.”

Saldanha had moved to the UK a decade ago and had been working at the hospital for four years. According to a news report by

Jacintha Saldanha, 46, worked in London’s King Edward VII Hospital. Photo Courtesy of New York Daily News.

CNN, a deeper look at Saldanha showed that she was a bold and religious woman. Rev. Sister Aileen Mathias, chief nursing officer at the Father Muller Medical College in the southern Indian city of Mangalore said Jacintha was the type of person who would pray for her patients and would share her bread, coffee and sweets with them. She donated money to her alma mater in India last year to benefit the needy patients receiving treatment at the hospital. “Jacintha was a generous person. She would help patients whenever she was here,” Mathias said.

In the days after her death, there was an outpouring of support for Saldanha and her family. People mourned for Saldanha in the UK, India and many Indian communities around the world. The radio show hosts of 2DayFM, Mel Greig and Michael Christian made tearful apologies on a television interview. British Prime Minister David Cameron described Saldanha’s death as an “absolute tragedy” and stated, “She clearly loved her job, loved her work, cared deeply about the health of her patients and what has happened is a complete tragedy. There will be many lessons that need to be learned.”

Thousands of people attended her funeral in Shirva, saddened by the loss of one of their own. As Saldanha’s coffin was lowered into the ground, the world bid her a final farewell.

Indian American doctor abducted by Taliban saved by U.S. and Afghan forces

Dr. Dilip Joseph was rescued Dec. 8 after being taken hostage by members of the Taliban.

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The same special ops unit that was deployed to kill Osama Bin Laden saved an Indian American doctor who was abducted last week by the Taliban. On Dec. 8, Morning Star Development stated that Dr. Dilip Joseph “was successfully rescued from his captors by members of the United States armed forces.”

According to a news article by the U.S. Department of Defense, Joseph and two others were abducted by the Taliban Dec. 5 near the Sarobi district of Afghanistan’s Kabul province.

Joseph is from Colorado Springs and is the Medical Director for Morning Star Development, a non-profit group that helps “the people of Afghanistan rebuild their country and their lives by offering practical hope and resources.”

He’s a frequent traveler to Afghanistan and has worked at Morning Star Development for three years. The other two members working with Joseph live in Afghanistan, therefore their names weren’t released for safety reasons. The three were driving back from a rural medical clinic and were stopped by a group of armed men who took them to a mountainous area 50 miles from the Pakistan border.

Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque, 28, died in the mission to save Joseph.

Morning Star Development’s crisis management team immediately began negotiations with the captors which led to the release of two hostages aside from Joseph. The rescue of Joseph was orderedby Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the NATO and U.S. commander in Afghanistan after intelligence indicated Joseph was in imminent danger of injury or death.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta issued the following statement praising the mission, “I want to commend the U.S Special Operations team who rescued an American citizen captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan.  I was deeply saddened to learn that a U.S. service member was killed in the operation, and I also want to extend my condolences to his family, teammates and friends.  The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy’s grip.  They put the safety of another American ahead of their own, as so many of our brave warriors do every day and every night.  In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld.  The torch of freedom burns brighter because of them.”

It’s time for election, do you know who you’re voting for?

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Photo Courtesy of http://www.portal.state.pa.us

Many of you voters have already decided about who you want as the next president of the United States of America, but there are still the scattered few who need some time to think about the candidates. Well, the time is now. And as the presidential candidates bring their ads and cross country rallies to a close, ask yourself, “Who is the best person to represent you?” Because that’s what voting is all about.

Voting isn’t just about picking “the right guy” for the job, it’s about your future. It can be easy to lose sight over what issues the 2012 presidential contenders support and oppose when meme-worthy quotes such as “binders full of women” and “horses and bayonets” go viral and the real issues don’t. But there is still a lot at stake here. So, think about the economy, health care, gay rights, jobs, small businesses and other issues that are relevant to you and your loved ones. And then, get out and vote.

If you don’t know where your polling place is visit Vote411.org and enter your address to find where you can cast your vote. Or simply type in “vote” in your Google search engine to locate your polling place.

In California, for those of you who are looking at the ballot for the very first time and are completely overwhelmed by what you see, then visit this informational website by KCET and LAist where you can get a complete breakdown of what props to vote on.

Remember, attaining the right to vote was a long and hard battle. Because of Susan B. Anthony, women are now instrumental in electing officials to office today. And because of the resilient fight by Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind, a Sikh man who was denied citizenship three times up until 1936 on grounds of not being a “white person,” he was able to become a naturalized citizen and earn his right to vote.

Today, we’re lucky to live in a country where we’re encouraged to vote. And in the end, remember that the fight’s been long and hard. So if we’ve come this far, don’t let the opportunity go to waste.

Oak Creek victim’s son asks Senate to track hate crimes against Sikhs

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Harpreet Singh Saini speaks before the Senate
Photo Courtesy of © The Sikh Coalition | Photo Credit: Russell Brammer

Wearing a blue shirt and black turban, 18-year-old Harpreet Singh Saini sat before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and said, “I came here today to ask the government to give my mother the dignity of being a statistic.”

Saini, who is Sikh, lost his mother Paramjit Kaur on Aug. 5 in the Oak Creek gurdwara shooting. Forty-five days after her death, he delivered a heart wrenching testimony to the Senate subcommittee asking that hate crimes against Sikhs be tracked. His brother, Kamaljit Singh Saini, who was also present at the hearing sat behind him, fighting back tears.

“The FBI does not track hate crimes against Sikhs,” Saini said. “My mother and those shot that day will not even count on a federal form. We cannot solve a problem we refuse to recognize.” Despite two years of requests by the Sikh community, the FBI hate crime incident report does not have an area for Sikhs to identify themselves, thereby preventing collection of statistical data specific to the Sikh community in the US.

The hearing which attracted more than 400 people was presided by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois, who is also chairman of the subcommittee. Sen. Durbin stated that with the rise of hate crimes against different races, a 2005 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that ”even those crimes reported are just a fraction of those that actually occur.”

Eleven years ago, Sen. Durbin was instrumental in helping pass a resolution that fought discrimination against Sikhs who were

Senator Richard Durbin with Harpreet Singh Saini after the hearing.
Photo Courtesy of © The Sikh Coalition | Photo Credit: Russell Brammer

targets of hate crimes after 9/11. Known as Senate Concurrent Resolution 74, it condemned violence and bigotry against Sikh Americans and decreased prejudice. Knowing the significance the resolution had to the Sikh community, it passed swiftly in October 2001.

But in 2011, despite two years of requests to add a category for Sikhs to the FBI hate crime incident report, Sen. Durbin questioned why such a request was taking so long to complete. And with the recent Oak Creek tragedy, Sen. Durbin added that the matter was in need of resolve “as expeditiously as possible.”

Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice (DOJ) responded that the DOJ have met with Sikh Americans regularly, but would also conduct a meeting in October and take action accordingly.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele submitted his testimony stating that the Justice Department tracks crimes against other religious groups, but not against Sikhs. Tracking these crimes would help law enforcement in understanding the scope of the problem and would “also encourage Sikhs to report when they are victims.” He added that these steps would be necessary to ensure a tragedy like the one in Oak Creek aren’t repeated.

Saini is aspiring to be a law enforcement officer like Lt. Brian Murphy, the heroic officer who put his life on the line when the shootings at Oak Creek first occurred. But Saini fears an American tragedy like this may occur again. “Senators, I know what happened at Oak Creek was not an isolated incident. I fear it may happen again if we don’t stand up and do something,” Saini said.

Wade Michael Page, the gunman who killed six people at the gurdwara was a well-known white supremacist and was being tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League. Sen. Durbin questioned the panel at the hearing on whether Page was being tracked by the FBI or if there was a breakdown in intelligence.

Michael Clancy, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division responded that Page “was not a predictable subject.” Although Page engaged in hate speech, was covered in tattoos and involved in the white supremacist music scene, nothing he was doing was anything against the law, Clancy said.

Sen. Durbin stated that “we cannot ignore the threat of homegrown non-Islamic terrorism.”

Saini requested the senators to “pursue domestic terrorists with the same vigor as attackers from abroad” and feels that Page could have been tracked long before the tragedy.

“Finally, Senators, I ask that you stand up for us,” Saini said. “As lawmakers and leaders, you have the power to shape public opinion. Your words carry weight. When others scapegoat or demean people because of who they are, use your power to say that is wrong.”

Brothers Kamaljit and Harpreet Singh Saini.
Photo Courtesy of © The Sikh Coalition | Photo Credit: Russell Brammer

In his closing statement, Saini added, “Because you see, despite everything, I still believe in the American dream. In my mother’s memory, I ask that you stand up for it with me. Today. And in the days to come.”

After he finished his testimony, Sen. Durbin paused for a moment and said, “So many things that you said, need to be heard. Not just in this hearing room, but across the country.”

When Sen. Durbin asked what type of impact the tragedy had on the gurdwara and Sikh community of Oak Creek, Saini replied that the outpouring of support for the community has been more than ever and everybody has come together to be as one. “Just for that to happen, this was not a loss,” he said. “This was a gain.”

Laws passed in California decrease workplace bias and add Sikh history to school books

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AB1964 Passes Senate Committee (Photo Credit: Karaminder Ghuman)

On the weekend of September 8, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed two bills that fight prejudice and discrimination against observers of the Sikh, Muslim and Jewish faiths.

Assembly Bill 1964, known as the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, addresses the loophole that allows segregation from public view of employees who don religious attire. The second bill, known as Senate Bill 1540, adds Sikhs to California history and recognizes their achievements in school history books.

Both California bills, sponsored by the Sikh Coalition, are a huge step against the racism and discrimination that have been faced by people of different faiths in the post-9/11 world. Other supporters of the bills include the Council of American Islamic Relations, Church State Council, American Jewish Committee, California Council for the Social Studies, California Federation of Teachers, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and many others.

Backed by Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, AB 1964 addresses the Fair Employment and Housing Act and concludes that any type of accommodation that that would segregate an individual from public view on the basis of their “religious dress practice or religious grooming practice” is not a reasonable accommodation and none would be required if it violates the employee’s civil rights.

A prime example is the case of Birdi vs. United Airlines Corp. in which Mr. Birdi, a customer service worker, was told his turban was not in compliance with the company dress code. He was told that he would be offered an alternative position that would remove him from public view. Birdi insisted that the turban was part of his Sikh faith and the alternative positions provided to him were inadequate. However, the court ruled in favor of the employer and concluded that the employer was not required to provide accommodation according to the employee’s desires and “any reasonable accommodation is sufficient.”

Trilochan Singh Oberoi

Another case is that of Trilochan Singh Oberoi, a Sikh-American from the San Francisco Bay Area who applied for a position with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as an officer. Despite passing all of his tests with flying colors, he was not offered the position due to the fact that he was unable to pass the respirator fit-test which required him to shave his beard. Oberoi stated that his beard was religiously mandated and asked for accommodation with another respirator, but his request was denied. As a result, Oberoi was not hired. However, six years after that interview, he not only won a $295,000 lawsuit against the CDCR, but he started his job as a correctional officer in November 2011.

In the wake of post-9/11 hate crimes, the Oak Creek tragedy and the fire at the Joplin mosque, there has been a rise in bullying, spying, and harassment against the Sikh and Muslim communities.

Senate Bill 1540 seeks to educate children in schools by adding Sikhs to the history of California and highlighting their contributions in many areas, including agriculture, business and politics.

Community members attend the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in support of the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (AB1964). (Photo Credit: Karaminder Ghuman)

A report in the introduction of the bill showed that the History and Social Science curricula in California had not been changed since 2003 and were based upon the standards of 1998. And considering the number of historical events happening around the world, including the Iraq and Afghanistan war, the time had come for those curricula be updated.

In light of the Oak Creek tragedy it only made sense that educating the community and its children could pave a way for a society that is able to understand the meaning of being a Sikh. In the bill, SALDEF wrote, “Based on our extensive experience in the area of educating others about Sikhs, we believe that SB 1540 will positively strengthen the relationship not only between Sikh American students and their peers, but between all California residents and the Sikh American community of California.”

Eleven years after 9/11 and one month after the Oak Creek tragedy, California has made history by passing these two bills. It is to be hoped that other states will follow California’s groundbreaking example.

What 9/11 and the Oak Creek tragedy have taught me

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It’s been a little over a month since the tragic shootings befell the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. August 5, 2012 will be remembered as the day Sikh people were attacked in the most peaceful of places, a house of worship. That dark day will forever be a reminder to the Sikh community and people across the world that terrorism does not present itself as brown or Muslim, it presents itself as hate.

While the walls of the Milwaukee gurdwara have been washed and the bullet holes filled and repainted, the healing process for Sikhs in the US is another journey of its own. It’s full of pain, sorrow, forgiveness and inspiration.

I still remember that day quite vividly. I brewed myself a cup of coffee and sat down to watch some television with my sister. A moment later, my father yelled out in Punjabi, “There’s been a shooting in a Sikh temple in Milwaukee.”

I heard what he said, but honestly, it just didn’t sink in.

I waited a few minutes and continued to watch TV. Anxious, I began googling for news stories. “Shooting in Sikh Temple. Police on scene.”

Not satisfied with what I read, I flipped through channels and began watching the news. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was true. The tragedy that I hoped would never happen, did. That confused and anxious feeling that swept over me was all too familiar. The last time I felt that way was when I was watching 9/11 unfold on my TV.

The news camera in Wisconsin panned across the parking lot of the temple and showed women and children walking, confused, looking for loved ones. Journalists tried hard to get a quotes from men trying to reach their loved ones inside. I, and many others at home were watching terror unfold right before us again.

I immediately thought of Balbir Singh Sodhi, the first victim of a hate crime after 9/11. As Mr. Sodhi planted flowers outside his gas station, he was shot by a man angered by the 9/11 tragedy. His killer held onto a sense of blind patriotism to a country that he believed could only exist in his mind, just as Wade Michael Page, the gunman at Oak Creek did.

The day of the Oak Creek tragedy left me full of questions. I thought we here in America were a different society. Why was something like this happening in 2012? Why were Sikhs the target? Why were Sikhs singled out? Moreover, would this dark day instill a deeper fear against Sikhs who wore turbans?

Frustrated, angry and confused, I told my mother we needed to go to the local temple the next day. I didn’t know what to think of it, but I knew that I needed to be around other Sikhs. There were questions lurking in the air and I needed answers.

I remember 9/11. Nobody I knew was talking about it. When it happened, we didn’t go to the temple, we didn’t reach out to the community, we didn’t discuss how we felt about it. We just tried to move on and “never forget.” But, we couldn’t. The questions were still there, unanswered. And now, it only felt right that we not stay home in fear. Because as much as we needed the support of others, they needed ours.

The next evening, as my mother, brother and I reached the parking lot of our neighborhood gurdwara and we couldn’t believe our eyes. In times when you think people are afraid and should stay home, they didn’t. The gurdwara parking lot was more than full. In fact we had to be creative with our parking skills to get a spot.

As we went inside and paid our respects, we looked around and realized people from every faith, ethnicity attended our gurdwara. Congressman Brad Sherman was there, local police officers, a rabbi, priest, everyone came out to support the Sikh community and stand alongside us.

It was one of those moments where you’re so overwhelmed with emotion, you feel like the lump in your throat just might burst.

As the speakers gave beautiful and inspiring speeches, Bhupinder Kaur from Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund reminded all of us, that the Oak creek massacre was not just an attack on Sikhs, it was an attack on humanity.

And I thought about that.

This was an attack on folks who serve their community by feeding hundreds of people every day. This was an attack on the parents who were part of the Parent Teacher Association. This was an attack on the men and women who are doctors, engineers and business owners.  This was an attack on the children who play football and baseball in their schools.

This was not just a Sikh tragedy, this was an American tragedy.

And as I looked around the room and took in all the people who were there, I realized she was right.

9/11 is an American tragedy. The Aurora shooting is an American tragedy. The shooting of Trayvon Martin is an American tragedy. And the Oak Creek massacre is an American tragedy.

I realized we were not alone in this fight against hate, racism and injustice. The amount of support that has been received from people all over the US has been overwhelmingly wonderful. Indiegogo raised more than $165,000 to aid the victims of the massacre, Michelle Obama visited the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and spoke on a very personal level with each one of the families that lost a loved one. And moreover, Lt. Brian Murphy almost lost his life in the line of duty defending the people of the temple.

At my temple, as we all stood outside the gurdwara with candles in our hands and chanted “Waheguru” along with prayers for the victims, their families and Lt. Murphy, there was a sense of belonging that could be felt not just among Sikhs, but humans. And I truly felt that’s what we needed to begin our path toward healing from this tragedy.

It ended up a great night, we met a lot of young children who wore the turban proudly and we had some great food in the langar hall. When it was time to go home, we are all smiles. What began as a day of sadness, ended as a day full of inspiration, understanding and unity. I was ready to heal.

As we collected our shoes, my brother found his chappals that went missing 2 weeks prior. I guess they just magically presented themselves that day. WIN.

McDonald’s to Open Vegetarian Restaurants in India in 2013

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Photo courtesy of http://www.inhabitat.com

In an effort to appeal to the palates of local customers in India, popular fast-food joint McDonald’s will be opening a chain of vegetarian restaurants beginning in 2013. Since opening their first restaurant in India in 1996, they have added more than 270 stores in the region.

According to an article by Amy Kazmin in the Financial Times, the company has eyed locations such as, Amritsar, which is home to the Golden Temple and Katra. In addition, a future McDonald’s locations may include a small town in Jammu & Kashmir that houses the shrine of Hindu goddess Vaishno Devi. Both sites are popular tourist destinations and attract a large number of people everyday.

Rajesh Kumar Maini, spokesman of McDonald’s India tells the Financial Times, “A vegetarian store makes absolute sense in the places which are famous as pilgrimage sites.”

Photo courtesy of http://www.inhabitat.com

In a country where cows are sacred and beef consumers are non-existent, opening a McDonald’s restaurant required quite a revision of the menu. Known abroad for the beefy Big Mac, the Indian menu instead serves the Maharaja Burger which is prepared with chicken instead of beef. Other popular eats on their menu are vegetarian items such as the McVeggie, McAloo Tikki, and the McSpicy Paneer burgers which are prepared with potatoes, cheese, and cooked vegetables.

According to the Economic Times, Subway and Domino’s have also been tapping into the vegetarian market in India because of the growing demand from customers. Pizza Hut and KFC are also looking to add more vegetarian options to their menus.

While McDonald’s has been the center of a number of issues in the US, such as their usage of pink slime in their food products, being a target of a number of frivolous lawsuits, and the topic of discussion in the ever-popular documentary “Super Size Me,” the chain looks to be taking a conscious step toward making itself be seen in a different light.

Photo courtesy of http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com

However, back in 2010, San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar introduced legislation to prevent the selling of toys with Happy Meals that were not nutritional. While this was met with some objection by fellow supervisors and residents in San Francisco, as well as parodied in a sketch on “The Daily Show,” the ordinance nonetheless passed. The issue that was really the heart of the matter was if children should be rewarded with a toy for eating a cup of fruit or a cheeseburger. While the Healthy Food Incentive Ordinance is still in effect in San Francisco, McDonald’s has found its loophole and still offers toys separate from the Happy Meal for an additional 10 cents.

It’s no question that despite the changes that are being introduced by the company abroad, McDonald’s must still address the issues here in the US where the epidemic of childhood obesity continues to rise. On the other hand, whether the opening of an all-vegetarian McDonald’s in the most spiritual of areas will be welcomed with open arms or anger, is still a matter that remains to be seen.