New Delhi: Sikhs in the US will be counted as a separate ethnic group for the first time in the 2020 census. The move comes after a delegation of the United Sikhs held several meetings with the US Census.
According to a report in the Times of India, the president of the Sikh Society of San Diego Baljeet Singh described the development as a milestone moment. “This has paved the way forward nationally not only for the Sikh community but also for other ethnicities in the United States,” he said.
The United Sikhs said that this would be the first time that the minority group would be counted and coded in the decennial US Census.
US Census Deputy Director Ron Jarmin said that it was necessary to recognise the unique identity of Sikhs and institute a separate code to ensure that an accurate count of Sikhs in the US.
“Working with United Sikhs, we understand how this change affects the national Sikh community, leading us to add this code for the 2020 Census,” Shagufta Ahmed from the Census Bureau and Office of Management Budget told TOI.
According to the United Sikhs, there are currently 10 lakh Sikhs living in the US.
With a distinct unified appearance, culture, language, food and history, Sikhs fulfilled the criteria for representation in the US Census as a distinct ethnic group.
Also read: Sikh Americans Fight for Civil Rights in Donald Trump’s America
For over two decades, the United Sikha has advocated for a separate coding for Sikhs and has filed commentary with the US Federal Register asking for Sikhs to be added as an ethnic group so that action can be taken to address major Sikh issues such as bullying, intimidation and hate crimes against the community.
“With the 2020 census approaching, many historically undercoded communities will be at-risk for being under-counted and under-served,” said Ruben Singh, United Sikhs Census Manager and added that the organisation would collaborate with its census partners to address unanticipated challenges of the 2020 Census. The Sikh Coalition has partnered with the Census Bureau for the 2020 census.
Satjeet Kaur, the Sikh Coalition executive director, said that Sikhs traditionally constituted a ‘hard to count’ population and that it was important that the community was appropriately counted and accurately resourced
Jasmit Singh, Advocacy Director of the United Sikhs, said “This historic announcement is the result of decades of advocacy by the United Sikhs group at the national level on behalf of the Sikh community. Being involved in this civic engagement will help ensure an accurate count of Sikhs in the United States.” Singh also added that census data would help track and measure hate crimes against the community and ensure that the Sikh community is accurately represented.
“This is useful in providing access to members of Congress and other essential government services for the needs of the community,” Singh added.
Also read: As India Protests CAA, a Reminder from Sikh History of Fight Against Oppression
Singh, who has been a prominent voice in the community and the founder of ‘Sikhs of America,’ also said, “A lot of hate crimes after 9/11 were attributed to the Sikh community, and there were no boxes to check. As Sikhs, we were lumped in as south Asian, Middle Eastern, so we could never get our voice heard. This would give a number and identity to the Sikh community.”
“A long-awaited demand of the Sikh community has been met. The main category in the census is the country of origin and for many of us, that will always be Asian Indian. But when it comes to religion or ethnicity the new Sikh identity will come in place,” he told ANI.
The development comes a day after a new gurdwara Guru Maneyo Granth Gurdwara Sahib in Orangevale, California was defaced with a swastika graffiti, in an alleged hate crime.
UK had rejected similar demand
In December last year, the high court in London has dismissed a judicial review application brought by a British Sikh group for a separate Sikh ethnicity tick box in the next UK census in 2021.
Justice Beverley Lang ruled that the application was dismissed on the ground that it is “premature”, and in breach of parliamentary privilege and the constitutional convention of the separation of powers.
Sikh Federation UK, represented by the law firm Leigh Day at the Royal Court’s of Justice, had claimed that it would be unlawful for the Cabinet Office to lay before Parliament a Census Order based on the proposals set out by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) in its December 2018 White Paper, which had rejected the need for a separate tick box.
In her judgment, Judge Lang noted that the case was not an exceptional one which justifies any departure from the general rule.
“In my judgment, the court should not determine the claimant’s claim as it is plainly premature. A ministerial decision has not yet been made; no draft Order in Council has been published or approved by Parliament; and the Queen in Council has not made an Order under the 1920 Act,” the ruling states.
(With PTI inputs)