Washington, D.C.: UNITED SIKHS will be submitting a petition on behalf of Sikh Americans to ask the US Census Bureau to disaggregate Sikhs correctly in the 2010 Census and on future Census products this Thursday. Supporters of the petition include Minority Rights Group International and a large number of Sikh organizations including the Sikh Coalition and SALDEF. When an individual writes in “Sikh,” they are automatically coded as Asian Indian. Sign the petition to have Sikhs assigned a code to be counted correctly!
On Thursday of this week, the petition will be submitted to Robert Groves, Director of Census Bureau; Peter Orszag, Director of Office of Management and Budget; Wm. Lacy Clay, Chairman of the House Sub Committee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives; and Sen. Thomas R. Carper, Chairman of the Senate Sub Committee on Federal Financial Management. Copies of the petition will also be sent to other members of the legislature, the Department of Justice, the White House, and civil rights organizations.
The Petition will be accompanied by a memorandum that was jointly prepared by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) and UNITED SIKHS legal team. MRG is an international NGO working primarily on minority rights issues and is in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The memorandum discusses in detail the recognition of Sikhs as a distinct ethnicity and legal justifications for the concept of self-identification.
We have received overwhelming support on the issue from the Sikh community around the United States, clearly establishing the solidarity of the community in its desire to be counted correctly by the Census Bureau.
If you would like to volunteer in assisting in this and other advocacy efforts, please visit www.unitedsikhs.org/join. If you would like to request more information regarding this or other projects, please contact law-usa@unitedsikhs.org.
For a previous press release on UNITED SIKHS efforts for Sikhs to be counted correctly, please visit https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-20-01-2010-00.html .
