Sikh Hate Crimes up 169%, says British-Sikh MP.

The 169 per cent increase is compared to a 38 per cent increase in reported religious hate crimes overall

~ British-Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill.

Birmingham-based Member of Parliament, Preet Kaur Gill, recently highlighted the alarming increase in hate crimes against the Sikh community in the UK in a letter addressed to the British Home Secretary Suella Braveman and the secretary of the Department for levelling up, housing and communities, Simon Clarke. Citing the statistics of hate crimes against Sikhs in the UK, Kaur expressed an astute concern in the letter.

“I am deeply concerned by these new statistics. 301 hate crimes against Sikhs were reported in 2021-22, up from 112 in 2020-21. The 169% increase is compared to a 38% increase in reported religious hate crimes overall,” stated Kaur, who made strides by becoming the first female British-Sikh MP in the British Parliament.

MP Kaur also called out the Home Secretary as well as the DLUHC for their failure to act prior to the letter despite them having the statistics already.

Two years since its publication, the Government still hasn’t acted on the recommendations in @APPGBritSikhs’ report on anti-Sikh hate.

With new stats showing a startling 169% rise in attacks on Sikhs since last year, I have asked @SuellaBraverman + @SimonClarkeMP to act. 📄✍️🏽👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/f0WFVPP0Gc

— Preet Kaur Gill MP (@PreetKGillMP) October 10, 2022

“You may be aware that in November 2020, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Sikhs published ‘A Report into Anti-Sikh Hate Crimes’… However, despite multiple promises of substantive response and offers of a meeting, the home office, and DLUHC, between them, have failed to respond, ” said Kaur in the letter.

She added, “I am deeply concerned by these new statistics. 301 hate crimes against Sikhs were reported in 2021-22, up from 112 in 2020-21. The 169 per cent increase is compared to a 38 per cent increase in reported religious hate crimes overall.”

The letter also highlighted several recent attacks on the members of the Sikh Diaspora citing the recent violent attack on a 62-year-old Avtar Singh by a certain Claudio Capos in Manchester as a result of which he suffered a traumatic brain injury, a stroke, and multiple Cheek, Jaw, and Eye fractures.

The letter emphasized a lack of an official term to legally define hate crimes against the Sikh Population in the UK and speculated that the lack of such terminology may be contributing to the increase of hate crimes in the country.

“I am writing therefore to ask you to take urgent action to reverse this alarming trend and protect the Sikh community by implementing the recommendations of the APPG report,” Concluded MP Preet Kaur in the letter she posted to Twitter.