The events of September 11 have become a permanent part of every American's experience. Life is no longer the same. Sikhs - mostly brown-skinned, wearing turbans and beards - look too much like Osama bin Laden to the average man on the street who is righteously angry. During the past one month, a Sikh was killed, others have been beaten up and their businesses vandalized.

Two weeks ago a cameraman followed two young Sikhs as they sauntered through a mall in Cleveland and quietly recorded as they were jeered, harassed, mocked and even threatened by otherwise law abiding Americans. In just one month over 200 documented cases of hate crimes against Sikhs have been recorded.

Even a United States Congressman - Cooksey from Louisiana - joined the chorus of targeting and baiting Sikhs by some strong and foolish words. Why he did so is not so hard to understand. Any politician is always ready to ride the wave of a popular issue; it is not courage but crass opportunism. Congressman Cooksey eyed the wave and surfed it. When the wave crashed on the coast of common sense, he protected himself by a poorly worded apology in the Congressional Record and days later tried to weasel back into the favor of Rednecks once again.

But politicians, wherever they may be from, transcend geographical bounds in remaining true to their calling, which is seeking and seizing opportunity by hiding behind a cloak of patriotism. Not without reason did Samuel Johnson dub patriotism the last refuge of a scoundrel; it often is. Even the Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee gamely came to the defense of the Sikhs and urged his American counterparts to protect Sikhs.

As a Sikh I am indeed gratified by Mr. Vajpayee's concern, which is most appropriate. It is good to remember that although many of the Sikhs living in the United States are American citizens, many of the recent arrivals - green card holders - still carry Indian passports. It is right that the Indian government should aggressively pursue all diplomatic avenues to ensure that its citizens are safe.

Notwithstanding Mr. Vajpayee, we all know the initiatives that the US government has taken to protect all of its citizens, including Sikhs and Muslims. High officials of the government of the state of Arizona attended the funeral of Balbir Singh Sodhi, the victim of misplaced terrorism. Political leaders have personally appeared at gurdwaras from California to New York. The Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani and the Director of the FBI have appealed to people that targeting of Sikhs is both illegal and contrary to the values of American society. President Bush personally appeared at a mosque and also met a delegation of Sikhs for over an hour. The Attorney General of the United States met with Sikhs to assure them of his commitment to justice. Congressmen and Senators have extended all courtesy and help to Sikh-Americans. The Senate passed a resolution denouncing hate crimes against Sikhs. The House of Representatives has its own resolution along similar lines. The killer of Balbir Singh Sodhi has been arrested; other crimes against Sikh Americans are being aggressively prosecuted by the Justice Department.

Even though there are almost half-a-million Sikhs in North America, it is still a small number, far smaller than their distribution in India in proportionate or absolute numbers. Why then are American political leaders so concerned about them? The American political leadership has ensured that damage is minimized.

It would be so easy for an unscrupulous politician to rile up angry mobs on a lynching spree. But with leadership come responsibility and accountability. The defining concerns here are not Muslims or Sikhs but American values and ethos. Politicians and statesmen are the guardians of those values. If they don't uphold these values now when will they? Profiling - racial, ethnic, religious or gender - is wrong and this country knows it. The devastation in New York and Washington also produced many heroes, some of them Sikh. And the media highlighted Sikh heroes just as prominently, such as Dr. Navinderdeep Singh (Nijher) with his turban and beard.

While I welcome Mr. Vajpayee's overtures and am gratified, I am also at the same time considerably mystified by them.

Six months after the Indian Army attacked the Golden Temple Amritsar in June 1984 and killed thousands of innocent Sikh men, women and children, the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Even now, seventeen years later, the events of the next three days remain the most baffling. Within hours of Indira Gandhi's death, truckloads of armed hooligans and thugs (non-Sikhs) with lists of Sikh houses and businesses appeared carrying cans of kerosene. They set about to systemically loot, burn, rape, pillage and kill Sikhs.

I remind my readers that in India you have to stand in line with ration cards to get kerosene, trucks are not easily available, hoodlums are mostly illiterate and don't make lists of their intended victims and their property and, finally, guns are controlled and not available without a license. Also, this happened not in one city but simultaneously in several cities across India, including its capital, New Delhi. What did the government do? For three days the government owned television carried images of Indira Gandhi's son who succeeded her to the office preaching hatred and vengeance. The Police stood by and watched but were not directed to stop the mayhem. Eyewitnesses charged that government officials and politicians of the ruling political bloc were involved. All requests for justice were denied.

Finally, five months later the Indian government admitted that about 3000 Sikhs had been killed in New Delhi and signed an agreement with the Sikhs promising an inquiry and justice. (Sikhs are sure the number is many times larger.) Inquiries were held, their reports promptly buried. In the meantime many a government has come and gone in India and now we have Prime Minister Vajpayee. Every government has promised us justice in India. Seventeen years later, we are still waiting. The only Sikh heroes that the Indian government honored were the likes of K.P.S. Gill, the Police Chief, who had the blood of innocent Sikhs on his hands.

I thought of the juxtaposition of the two societies - Indian and American - after the targeting and profiling of Sikh Americans. What triggered my reaction was also a telephone call that I received from an Indian newspaper. The correspondent wanted to know if Sikhs in America were rethinking the wisdom of wearing turbans and beards. I had to tell her that, despite some insecurity these days, I felt safer here than I would in the India of 1984.

This isn't just a tale of two cities a la Charles Dickens but of two very different worlds. Both are democracies where all citizens theoretically enjoy certain fundamental rights and protection even from their own governments. But that is where the resemblance ends.