* B-1 Shiv Basav Nagar, Shiv Mandir Road, Ambarnath-421501 Maharashtra; formerly resident in Texas, USA.

September 11, 2001 is ingrained on peoples’ minds all over the world especially in the United States. Whether people were at ‘ground zero’ or not, it has changed their lives. Many people lost their loved ones and friends on that day. I was at work and heard that a plane crashed into World Trade Center and, like everyone else, I was worried and curious about the details and was unable to log in to CNN due to high traffic volumes on that website. Finally, I was able to log into BBC and saw the horrifying pictures posted. Then, I heard about the second plane crash and then the third.

The next few days brought fear into my life. Law enforcement officials and most of the country suspected Bin Laden and released his pictures. Sikhs in United States were targeted and some were killed. Their only fault in this incident was that their appearance resembled that of the perpetrators, which was broadcasted every few minutes on all television channels.

Sikhism’s central theological belief is that there is one God for all creation, a loving Creator attainable through meditation upon and remembrance of God’s name. Sikh men commonly wear a peaked turban that serves partly to cover their long hair, which is never cut out of respect for God’s creation. Devout Sikhs also do not cut their beards, so many Sikh men comb out their facial hair and then roll and tuck it up into their turbans.

I was a social person, loved to meet new people and organize parties. But, knowingly or unknowingly, things changed for me. I withdrew from the social scene similar to a hermit crab, who goes back into his shell when faced with danger. I kept checking the Sikhnet website, which was a online community for Sikhs and encouraged Sikhs to report all atrocities committed against them. Reading this list of atrocities elevated my paranoia and I became reserved about meeting new people. Here are few examples of the incidents: "Two Sikhs were reported on Friday, October 26, 2001,to have been beaten to death in Seattle. Two more Indians were assaulted in a small town in Washington State. Twelve Sikhs were offloaded from a flight – they were given a choice between removing their turbans and flying or not flying at all."

Prior to the September 11th events, people used to stare at me because I looked different and people were curious about my appearance. To some, I was a genie and to others I looked like a young Santa Claus. Things haven’t changed much, people still stare at me but now with hate and anger or sometimes fear.

The funny things was that WTC was thousands of miles away from Texas, where I resided but I still felt the ripple effect of it. The stone this time was huge and the ripple effect was felt beyond the borders of United States. I was more afraid of the environment I was in because Texas is known as the Red-neck state, where the majority of the residents are Caucasian and are not exposed to different ethnic groups over their lifetimes. The only time I ventured outside my apartment was to go to work or to restock groceries.

In times of difficulty, a person wants to hold on to something, and wants to believe that there is some hope out there. In times like these, people turn to their loved ones, their community and God for support to ride these tough times out. My religious beliefs were strengthened by the WTC incident and I was more supportive of my community. I was ready to defend my fellow-Sikhs, if required. I was raging mad about the crimes committed against my community, which had nothing to do with the terrorist activities. A few hours later, a realization sets in that I was helpless in defending my community members and even myself. I didn’t have enough financial resources to donate to Gurdwaras or help families recover from hate crimes. This just led to further despair and frustration.

Since September, I spent all my weekends in the apartment, watching television or reading books. Once during such a weekend, I reflected on my prior visit in Summer of 2000 to Texas and the events I had organized with my friends. I had visited numerous places, met new people and made some friends. Although I was in the same town, circumstances were different. I didn’t know anyone outside my work and all the people from work had significant friends, with whom they spent their evenings. Nowadays, I am always looking over my shoulder and afraid of any person who doesn’t look "corporate". Similar to other victims, I had a question burning inside me, "What have I done to deserve this?" Recently, Gobind Sadan in Syracuse, NY was burned to ground and amazingly, Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs was untouched. Incidents like this, reminded me of Blue Star Operation in India and the aftermath that resulted in death of thousands of Sikhs.

"In 1984 Indian army simultaneously attacked 40 historical Gurdwaras all over Punjab. About 5000 soldiers of Sikh regiment of Indian army as well as other institutions rebelled against Government of India. It was obvious that, sooner, or later Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, who initiated Blue Star Operation, will have to suffer for this destruction. On October of same year, one of the Sikh guards in Delhi police who was posted at Indira Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi, killed her. Then riots against Sikhs followed in Delhi, Kanpur, and other cities all over India in which more then 15,000 Sikhs were murdered in broad daylight by the supporters of Indira Gandhi while the police watched, all this when India had a Sikh president but without any power."

No doubt, the media has the duty to broadcast the news, but during moments like the World Trade Center incident, they played with the public’s emotions by broadcasting the images of World Trade Center buildings and the planes crashing into them every few seconds. The media is partly to blame for the hate-crimes committed against Sikhs in United States and for the failure on it’s part to create awareness about the Sikh religion.

Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Guru of Sikhs, gave Sikhs their majestic appearance so that when the enemy saw them coming from far, enemy would run away scared from the battlefield. Times have changed though; this appearance is making Sikhs easier targets of hate, both at home and aboard. During Guru Gobind Singh’s era, Sikhs had fought for injustice being done toward other religions. Now, when injustice is being done to Sikhs, there is no visible support from other religions. Sikh leadership is fragmented, which prevents the Sikh community from standing together as one and speaking with one voice. The time has come again for Sikhs to stand against injustice. Victims must turn victors.