Randeep S. Arora: Include us Sikhs in Minnesota social studies standards. A broader view really matters.

June 17, 2021

Just two months ago, on April 15, eight people were murdered and others were injured at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis. In the wake of the attack, the country joined the families of the victims in mourning the tragic loss of life that occurred that night. For Sikh Americans, it was an all-too-familiar and still extraordinary pain to learn that four of the eight victims murdered were members of our faith.

Whether the shooter targeted this attack toward the Sikh FedEx employees is still being investigated by Indianapolis authorities. Yet the collective trauma felt by Sikhs across the country after the shooting heightened as it has in the wake of every attack on Sikhs; questions like “did they hurt me because of who I am and how I look?” run through our minds each time. While these questions may never be answered, it is the Sikh spirit of chardi kala (relentless optimism) that keeps us going, and it is the support of our interfaith neighbors that ensures we are not alone in this fight.

Source: Randeep S. Arora: Include us Sikhs in Minnesota social studies standards. A broader view really matters. - Twin Cities Pioneer Press