Survivors and families of the 1984 Genocide in India pray together in The Gurdwara Sikh Cultural Society in Richmond Hills, Queens, New York to commemorate the lives lost 37 years ago in Amritsar, Punjab. 2021 also marked the 20th year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in NYC, which was followed by many hate crimes on Sikh Americans across the country. Just four days after the Twin Towers fell, Balbir
Singh Sodhi, the owner of the Chevron gas station in Mesa, Arizona, was the first victim of a hate crime. Within the first month of September 11th, 2001, over 300 cases were reported by Sikhs facing discrimination and violence to The Sikh Coalition. Since 2020 alone, the Department of Justice reported 7,759 hate crime incidents with Sikhs and Asian-Americans consisting of a high percentage of targeted groups. Often Sikh voices are left out of the narrative of the haunting plea for justice and national security.