Akal Takht condemns attack on U.S.-based Sikh professor

The Akal Takht, the apex temporal seat of the Sikh community, has condemned the recent attack on a Sikh professor in the United States.

Gyani Gurbachan Singh of the Akal Takht said their forum has appealed to President Barack Obama to be considerate towards the Sikh community.

Prabhjot Singh, a practicing doctor in East Harlem, as well as an assistant professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, was reportedly knocked down by a group people while walking along 110th Street near Lennox Avenue in upper Manhattan on September 21.

Singh was wearing a turban and a beard. His attackers were said to have called him 'Osama' (bin Laden), a militant, shouted anti-Muslim slogans and punched him numerous times on his face.

"There are a few people, mostly the young white people who do not recognise the difference between us and followers of Islam, and this is causing these racially motivated attacks. We have seen such attacks earlier also and here is this one, whereas, the U.S. President Barack Obama has always come forward to help out the Sikhs," said Gyani Gurbachan Singh in Amritsar.

He added there have been similar attacks on Sikhs before and called on the Indian government to take the necessary steps to prevent them in future.

"It is responsibility of Government of India, and they should take all necessary steps from their side as well. They should talk to the government of U.S., and make sure that such racially motivated attacks do not take place in future," said Gyani Gurbachan Singh.

Meanwhile, a group of Sikhs in Ludhiana region of Punjab took to the streets and raised slogans against the federal ruling Congress government for not initiating appropriate action with Washington to ensure safety of Sikhs in America.

They burnt sacks of trash material as mark of their protest against Indian government and also the U.S. administration.

It was reported that Prabhjot Singh has been discharged from the hospital on Sunday but would still require treatment for non-life-threatening injuries suffered during the attack.