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Sikh Coalition chief urges community action after JD Vance comments
Harman Singh, the executive director of the Sikh Coalition, wrote to sangat members amid continued backlash over the U.K. Sikh murder incident.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Mon, 08, Jun 2026
- 01:29 EDT
- 26
Executive Director of The Sikh Coalition Harman Singh / Harman Singh via LinkedIn
The executive director of the Sikh Coalition, in a letter to the Sikh community, described the recent anti-Sikh rhetoric that surfaced after a U.K. Sikh murder incident as part of a familiar pattern of rhetoric that has been deployed against other religious and immigrant communities in the United States and now lands on the Sikh community.
In his letter, Harman Singh highlighted the prominent voices that have surfaced with anti-Sikh narratives after Henry Nowak, a first-year student at the University of Southampton, was fatally stabbed in Southampton in December 2025.
Twenty-three-year-old Vickrum Digwa was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years.
The issue kicked off a storm after right-wing political figures and parties in the U.K., such as Reform UK and Restore Britain, publicly demanded a complete ban on carrying kirpans in public spaces, arguing that all weapons should be treated equally regardless of religious exemptions.
Singh highlighted shows and messages by the likes of Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes who, in his opinion, "seized on the same U.K. tragedy as evidence that immigration is a threat to national identity."
Also Read: Sikh Coalition to host webinar amid UK kirpan controversy
However, what Singh noted as being more "chilling" was Vice President JD Vance's comments on the issue. Singh said, "Vice President JD Vance invoked the same case, situating it within his ideology of national conservatism and decrying a 'mass invasion of migrants.'"
He continued, "We expect right-wing influencers like Carlson and Fuentes, who shape online dialogue, to go down this road. It should chill every Sikh, however, that the Vice President and State Department are following suit. These are not the views of the fringe—they are in the mainstream."
Singh noted that the recent comments against Sikhs are not a case of mistaken identity, but the messages shared over the past week have been specific to Sikh immigration, to Sikhs in the trucking industry, and to Sikh articles of faith.
He said, "We are not collateral damage in the targeting of someone else—we are the target."
Singh also spotlighted the community condemnation that the U.K. murder incident attracted, with major Sikh bodies like the Akal Takht, alongside gurdwaras and Sikh organizations in the U.K., having condemned the murder of Henry Nowak. However, he noted, "The attacks against our sangat continue. This is because the attacks were never about a specific act: They are about us."
The statement urged Sikhs to respond to rising anti-immigrant and anti-Sikh rhetoric by strengthening their identity, protecting community institutions, and educating younger generations about Sikh history and values.
It also called for building alliances with other faith and immigrant communities, arguing that attacks on Sikh rights and freedoms threaten broader religious liberty and immigrant protections across the United States.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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