The Sikh Coalition starts circulating the Petition to Sikh organizations
October 16, 2002
Sikh Organizations around the globe are approached to join a petition to the company to recall the video game - Hitman 2 because of its racist content.

Eidos plc is contacted in US
October 17, 2002
Different Sikh organizations in United States and the United Kingdom discuss the options available to get the offensive content removed from the game. In the United States, Avtar Hari Singh of SikhNet starts a dialog with the company.

Eidos plc is contacted in UK
October 18, 2002
Ashminder Kaur, a coordinator for Working Group on Sikhs and Education (WORKSE) in the United Kingdom and a spokesperson for The Sikh Coalition involves the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association at the New Scotland Yard in London and contacts Eidos plc in London.

Eidos removes the offensive content from its website
October 19, 2002
Eidos plc removes the pages from their website that have the offensive content. However, they express their inability to remove the content from the video game - Hitman 2 or recall the game. They also indicate that they cannot remove it from any publicity material besides their website.

Press Release Launching the Petition
October 20, 2002
View Press Release

Sunday Mercury, "Sick Computer Game Asks Kids to Shoot Sikhs"
October 20, 2002
Sunday Mercury in Birmingham, UK carries a story entitled, "Sick Computer Game Asks Kids to Shoot Sikhs" by Amardeep Bassey.

Statement by Eidos
October 21, 2002

The following statement was issued by Eidos on October 21, 2002 in response to the growing public opinion against its videogame, Hitman 2, which incites violence against Sikhs and Dalits.

"Eidos Interactive is a leading publisher of video games. Eidos apologises that certain members of the Sikh community are concerned at images and references within the game. Hitman 2: Silent Assasin was developed -over a two year period - by IO Interactive in Denmark. The game has 20 missions in different locations. These include Sicily, Russia, Japan, Malaysia and India. Hitman 2 carries a 15+ Elspa (European leisure software publishers association) age rating. No offence was intended by the developers or the publishers and both parties have taken considered steps to help rectify the situation. Although the game is already on general release, all images and content depicting Sikhs in the game have been removed from the website. Eidos takes all consumer and public views seriously and will take them into account when moving forward and developing future games."

WORKSE contacts CRE and the Crown Prosecution Service in London
October 22, 2002
WORKSE sends a letter to Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in London. The CRE has power under the Race Relations Act to issue a statement of non-compliance and prosecute entities deemed to act in a discriminatory manner. A dialog is also initiated by WORKSE with the Crown Prosecution Service to file a case against Eidos, with The Sikh Coalition, Metropolitan Police Sikh Association and International Association of Sikh Lawyers as potential complainants.

Sikh Secretariat drafts a series of Parliamentary Questions
October 22, 2002
The Sikh Secretariat drafts a series of Parliamentary Questions to be raised in the UK House of Commons and House of Lords. One question given to politicians to raise with the UK Government deals with "Discrimination against Sikhs and Dalits" to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what actions the Commission for Racial Equality and police plan to take against the UK-based company, Eidos Interactive, who have recently released the video game, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin?

Sikhe.com, "Get Set Match"
October 22, 2002
http://www.sikhe.com/gsdno/articles/news/2002/oct/10222002_gamesetmatch.htm
Sikhe.com publishes Game Maker Eidos Interactive's Deadly Offering Hits a Storm with reporting by Anju Kaur.

BBC Asian Network: Coverage by Manjushri Mitra
October 22, 2002
Sukhvinder Singh of the British Sikh Federation is interviewed by BBC Asian Network.

Sikhe.com: Eidos Update
October 22, 2002
http://www.sikhe.com/gsdno/articles/news/2002/oct/10222002_eidosupdate.htm

Share price of Eidos plc falls 15 percent to 84 pence
October 24, 2002
Share price of Eidos plc falls 15 percent to 84 pence after it reports that it would delay the release of "Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness" until February. The company said it needed more time to test the game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/23/technology/23TBRF.html?ex=1036036800&en=72eec0b0cb06848c&ei=5062

Eastern Eye, "Game Over: Video game is ignorant and offensive."
October 25, 2002
Eastern Eye, a leading Asian Newspaper in the UK runs a piece entitled, "Game Over," which reports the racist nature of the videogame, Hitman 2. Editorial is headlined "Video game is ignorant and offensive."

Silkh Secretariat talks to BBC Asian Network
October 25, 2002
Dabinderjit Singh of the Sikh Secretariat provides a 10-minute interview for the BBC Asian Network (Punjabi Programme).

Metropolitan Police Sikh Association prepares list of offenses
October 25, 2002
Metropolitan Police Sikh Association prepares list of offenses and case notes and contacts relevant individuals and the police to perform preliminary work to file prosecution papers against Eidos. A preliminary position is prepared.

CRE to pursue the legal option
October 25, 2002
Beverley Bernard, the Acting Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in London responds to WORKSE that it has passed the matter onto its Legal Enforcement Division and it will take the matter seriously.

Sikh organizations finalize talking points
October 26, 2002
Representatives of Sikh Coalition, Sikh Communications Council, SikhNet, SCORE and SMART develop talking points to effectively address the media.

California State Senator Richard Monteith supports petition
October 26, 2002
Bhajan Singh Bhinder, a Sikh activist in the Bay Area, contacts California State Senator Richard Monteith, a Republican from California's Central Valley. The Senator commits his to publicly support The Sikh Coalition's petition seeking a recall of the videogame by Eidos.

Sikh Communications Council plans a retailer strategy
October 26, 2002
Ed Vasquez of the Sikh Communications Council proposes a strategy to Sikh organizations to request retailers to take Hitman 2 off their shelves. As a part of the approach, officials from Buy.com and eBay are also now notified everytime a user signs the online petition.

BBC Radio 4 Sunday Programme provides coverage
October 27, 2002
BBC Radio 4 Sunday Programme interviews Dabinderjit Singh of the Sikh Secretariat concerning the global outrage against Hitman 2. The interview is available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/sunday/s20021027g.ram.

Games Domain (UK), "Sikhs group to ban Hitman 2"
October 29, 2002
Read the article by Corey Brotherson

Sikh Communications Council leads a retail strategy
October 30, 2002
A letter from the Sikh community asking retailers worldwide to stop selling the videogame was faxed to 20 of the major retailers. Included in that group is WalMart, Amazon.com and K-Mart. The CEO and President of these companies were also sent a list of supporting organizations and a link to the 7500 plus signatures. Sikh Communications Council, working with SMART, SikhNet, Sikh Coalition and SCORE, will be following up and asking retailers to meet with the Sikh community in order to get the product pulled off the shelf.

California Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamonte endorses Hitman 2 Recall Campaign
November 1, 2002
California Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante became the first elected official to publicly step forward and ask Eidos Interactive to alter the content of its game. In a letter sent to Michael McGarvey, CEO of Eidos, the Lt. Governor sent a letter expressed his concern over the potential damage that the video game could cause to the Sikh community. He asked the company to "redraw the characters to remove insulting, inaccurate and discriminatory images." The letter is available at http://www.sikhcoalition.org/petition_caltgovletter.asp.

Buy.com and EBay remove Hitman 2 from their website
November 2, 2002
Buy.com and EBay agreed to pull Hitman 2 video game from their website, in response to request and concerns from the international community about the game's objectionable content.

India West, "Residents March Against Racial Violence"
November 4, 2002
Sixty-five Sikh organizations in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom have mounted a protest against "Hitman 2: Silent Assassin," a new video game that the groups charge is racist and "shows a deliberate lack of decency and sensitivity to Sikhs," reports India-West. [Read the article]

The Sikh Coalition Spokesperson in London submits a proposal to Eidos to amend Hitman 2
November 4, 2002
Ashminder Kaur, the President of the International Association of Sikh Lawyers UK, submits a list of proposed changed to Eidos’ senior management.

New Mexico Lt. Governor Walter Bradley Endorses Hitman 2 Recall Campaign
November 6, 2002
Lt. Governor Walter Bradley has become the second elected official to publicly support the recall campaign of the video game, Hitman 2. "The Sikh community is a strong contributing member of both New Mexico's and our nation's rich cultural diverse community and we cannot tolerate the exploitation of violence against anyone for profit," stated Lt. Governor Walter Bradley of New Mexico. We commend SikhNet for pursuing the path to educate others about the game and for getting the support of the Lt. Governor.

BBC interviews Sikh Secretariat in two separate radio shows
November 7, 2002
Sikh Secretariat is interviewed by BBC Radio 5 Live - Breakfast show (6:50am) and BBC Asian Network - Breakfast show (7:10am).

Eidos Agrees to all proposed changes
November 7, 2002
Eidos’ senior management notifies Ashminder Kaur that it will change the existing versions of the game on all platforms currently in general circulation and adapt the next edition of the game, to be published for the GameCube platform, in recognition of Sikh sensitivities. The Sikh Coalition informs Eidos that it would end the petition on its website within the next 24-hours.

The Sikh Coalition brings the petition to a close
November 8, 2002
The Sikh Coalition brings the petition to a close, stopping all emails to Eidos. All signatories of the petition that requested updates are notified that a suitable settlement has been reached with Eidos.