Dear Newsdesk,

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

I read the news item in the STAR LEDGER of New Jersey about the "hat"
incident and felt very upset that such discriminatory policies can
exist. It may be that the management of the club was ignorant about
religious sensitivities.

It is my opinion that the management and staff of that club should be
made aware of the principles of the Sikh faith and I would like to
suggest that the family concerned get in touch with The SMART
(www.sikhmediawatch.org) .Their mission (taken from their web page) are
as follows:-

Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART) founded in 1996, is a
Washington, DC-based Sikh advocacy group having the following goals:
1) Monitor the media for misinformation and misrepresentation of the
Sikh faith and its adherents, and to correct such errors.
2)Serve as a source of accurate and verifiable information on all
aspects of the Sikh religion and its adherents: theology, culture,
history and politics.
3)Educate the American polity about the Sikhs, their culture and their
heritage.
4)Educate the Sikh American community about its civil, political,
economic, social, and cultural rights; other fundamental freedoms
enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; and work to protect and promote these rights.
5)Develop resources and provide services to empower the community to
fully realize and enjoy the aforementioned rights.
6)Research issues affecting the civil rights and religious freedoms of
the Sikh American community.
7)Perform the aforementioned objectives in a non-political manner and by
remaining unbiased in all respects.
Our aim is to build bridges of understanding, to help foster greater
social harmony and acquaintance of Sikhs as an integral, active part of
the wonderfully diverse American community. We believe the Sikh American
community has an important contribution to make to all aspects of
society, and that this will be promoted by accurate media coverage.

I only hope that the family will never again endure such incidents.

Regards,

Tejinder Singh
Switzerland