Roughly one out of three persons in Edison, New Jersey
is of Asian-Indian ancestry these days, according to an
article by the Associated Press writer Erin Texeira:
Not only is the Indian community burgeoning, it's maturing.
Increasingly, after decades of quietly establishing themselves,
Indians are becoming more vocal in the American conversation
— about politics, ethnicity and many other topics.....
After the Sept. 11 attacks, many Indian Sikhs, who wear
turbans as part of their faith, were mistaken for Muslims—
and terrorists. Hundreds were harassed or worse:
In Mesa, Ariz., a Sikh gas station owner was shot and killed
on Sept. 15, 2001, by a man who told police
"all Arabs had to be shot."
Few knew their rights because few had been engaged politically,
said Amardeep Singh, executive director of The Sikh Coalition
in New York. "We were caught with our pants down," he said.
"Sept. 11 created a confrontation. We realized we now need to
actively involve ourselves in the policy-making process.
Otherwise policies will be made that exclude us."
Link to the AP article via Yahoo
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