Please sign this petition to ensure that UCLA institutionalizes a recurring Sikh studies class, a necessary forum to foster discourse on a religion and people whose history and beliefs are often misunderstood and misrepresented. There is power in numbers and the more signatures we have, the more momentum we may build moving forward. 

Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world. Sikhs have been in the United States for over 120 years and there are over 700,000 Sikhs within the US. However, Sikh academic narratives are absent from most historical texts and societal discourse at large. A Sikh studies class at UCLA is not only in high demand from students at this university, but would significantly contribute to the academic discourse on the religion and its people.

 Mass numbers of hate crimes against Sikhs in the United States have left Sikhs as a vulnerable population. For example, the first hate crime after 9/11 being the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi, the brutal beating of Professor Prabjhot Singh just last year, and countless others who have been harassed and hurt serve as evidence that Sikhs in the United States are fighting for their survival. The Sikh community has a global history of  being resilient and resistant; we hope that progressive academic institutions such as UCLA will aid in understanding and supporting the importance of creating Sikh Studies courses.

 This is an exciting opportunity for UCLA students on this campus to learn more about the Sikh faith, history, nuances, people, and stories. 

 For further questions about this proposal for a Sikh Studies Class at UCLA, please contact Manjot Singh at manjotsingh@ucla.edu.

Please sign this petition to show your support for the creation of this class.

*Signing does not mean you have to attend such a course, it just means you would be interested in taking it/want to show support that those who want the opportunity to do so.

PC: http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/21523403541/that-mustache-is-so-sikh