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"Get Osama!" Sikh Columbia Professor Attacked In Harlem
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 23, 2013
Modified Sep 23, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 23, 2013
Modified Sep 23, 2013
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A Sikh man who is a professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, was attacked on Saturday night around 110th Street and Lenox Avenue in Manhattan. Dr. Prabhjot Singh said that "he was confronted by more than a dozen teens on bicycles who shouted slurs before attacking him," according to NBC New York.
Dr. Singh has a Sikh beard and was wearing a turban. He described the attack: "I heard 'Get Osama' and then 'terrorists,' and then the next thing I felt was someone moving past me, ripping at my beard and then hitting me in the chin."
Dr. Singh added that he tried to run away but was punched in the face and other parts of his body. Even when he was on the ground, he was punched and kicked. His jaw was fractured, but Dr. Singh credits a passerby for helping him. He said, "There's no doubt in my mind it was a bias-related event." The police are investigating the crime.
Further, Dr. Singh is worried that his attackers will "disappear into the neighborhood." Last year, he and Simran Jeet Singh wrote an op-ed in the NY Times after the Milwaukee Sikh temple shooting, noting, "The legacy of anti-Sikh violence and its contemporary prevalence make it painfully obvious that anti-Sikh violence is often purposeful and targeted."
Besides his work at Columbia, his SIPA bio says, "Domestically, he focuses on developing community-based health care delivery systems, where he is a practicing doctor in East Harlem."
Tagged
columbia
harlem
hate crime
muslim
prabhjot singh
sikh
sipa
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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