It is not only illogical, but also inhuman when we label an entire community as violent and blood-thirsty war mongers. Despite that, such communal hatred is not at all uncommon. Inderjit Singh Mukker, an American Sikh, also became victim to one such hate crime.
Mukker was brutally assaulted and called a “terrorist” and referred to as “Bin Laden.”
Mukker, a resident of Chicago, and a father of 2 would never have imagined his fate when he had set off for a grocery store. On his way, a fellow pulled up to his car and kept taunting him with racial slurs like “Terrorist! Go back to your country, Bin Laden!”
The Sikh stopped the car on the side to let him pass but instead, the assailant parked right in front of him and aggressively approached Mukker’s car, reported the Sikh Coalition, a community-based organisation.
The man then reached inside the car and kept placing punches on Mukkers face repeatedly, which made him bleed profusely and lose consciousness. This led to a fractured cheekbone, and a laceration onto his cheek.
Mukker was taken to a nearby hospital where he received treatment for laceration, bruising and swelling. He has 6 stitches on his face.
The suspect is now in custody.
“No American should be afraid to practice their faith in our country,” said Mukker.
“I’m thankful for the authorities’ swift response to apprehend the individual but without this being fully investigated as a hate crime, we risk ignoring the horrific pattern of intolerance, abuse and violence that Sikhs and other minority communities in this country continue to face,” he further added.
According to the community, this kind of an attack in the eve of the 9/11 displays a similar pattern wherein the rate of hate crimes against minority communities increase.
This was definitely not the first of its kind. Last August, Sandeep Singh, a Sikh father in New York City, was run over and dragged 30 feet after being called a “terrorist.” Also, previously in 2012, a gunman walked into a Sikh house of worship and shot and killed 6 innocent Sikh victims in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.