The Sikh Coalition’s 2026 Mid-Year Impact Report highlights how the organization has advanced civil rights for Sikhs nationwide since the start of the year. From fighting for the rights of Sikh truck drivers to expanding our immigration work to ensuring Sikhi is taught accurately in public schools, we continue all of our work so that Sikhs can practice their faith fearlessly. This report showcases critical areas in which we have made substantial progress this year, and previews more to come over the next five months.

The Sikh Coalition’s work is not possible without the support of donors like you: Your dasvandh enables us to provide free legal aid, stand with impacted families, and push policymakers to do better. Please consider donating to support the Sikh Coalition to help us continue our efforts through the end of 2026 and beyond.

The Sikh Coalition’s Back to School Toolkit has many resources to engage your child’s teacher this upcoming school year, including a Sikh Celebrations toolkit, K-12 lesson plans, a Sikh Educator’s Guide, and more! Our hope is that these tools make it easier to engage your local schools and support Sikh students throughout the academic school year and beyond. Thank you for helping to create school environments where Sikh students feel seen, respected, and included! 

Last December, the Sikh Coalition was excited to announce Takht: The Sikh Political Leadership Training Program. After a rigorous application cycle this year, we were equally pleased to unveil our first cohort of four participants earlier this month: Balwinder Singh of Lodi, California; Harshdeep Singh of Cupertino, California; Harveen Kaur of Bakersfield, California; and Komal Kaur of Indianapolis, Indiana.

As a reminder, Takht is a rigorous non-partisan program designed for Sikhs interested in running for office for the first time. Over the next year, our inaugural participants will meet virtually, working through a curriculum on campaign management, fundraising, electoral strategy, power mapping, the legislative process, public communications, and community organizing. Then, later this fall, the cohort will come together in person alongside Sikh elected officials from across the country for a historic first convening. We look forward to sharing more about their work together in the months ahead! 

On July 7, the Sikh Coalition reacted to the coordinated arrests of 24 individuals across multiple countries who appear to be connected to transnational repression (TNR) against the Sikh community in North America and other criminal activity. Details in the indictments for these individuals continue to emphasize the need for a full accounting of the Indian government’s role in known TNR incidents, and we continue to believe that street-level actors cannot be the only individuals held accountable for such conduct: While stopping individual arms traffickers and sprawling criminal syndicates are both clearly important to protecting the Sikh diaspora, we must also see meaningful consequences for any government officials, no matter how senior they may be, who are involved. The Sikh Coalition remains in communication with government officials about this issue, including via recent correspondence with the U.S. Department of State.

Additionally, on July 14, Manager of Diasporic Affairs Harjot Singh spoke at a congressional briefing on India’s transnational repression and its implications for U.S. national security. He was joined by representatives from numerous organizations, including Equitas Forum USA (which convened the gathering), as well as Daniel Stanton, former Senior Intelligence Officer at CSIS, and Stephen Schneck, former Chair of USCIRF. 

This month saw the resolution of a years-long bias-based harassment case in the greater Seattle, Washington, area, where a multigenerational Sikh family was plagued by verbal harassment, property damage, and other destructive and disruptive behavior from area youth. The Sikh Coalition’s legal team interfaced with local and federal law enforcement and sought protective orders for the family from various perpetrators. Additionally, our attorneys are working to file an additional Habeas petition in Louisiana and have conducted additional intakes for sangat members detained in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Indiana. In addition to exploring additional legal protections for these individuals, we also work to provide them accommodations and/or access to their articles of faith.

  • This summer, the Sikh Coalition is holding workshops for Sikh youth at camps around the country! Throughout the month of July, multiple members of our team visited camps in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Maryland. Our workshops help kids recognize and respond to bullying, embrace their Sikh identity, and discover positive role models; if you are interested in learning more about our workshop offerings for youth empowerment, get in touch via email at community@sikhcoalition.org. 
  • On July 16, Executive Director Harman Singh spoke at a breakfast organized by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) focused on the topic of protecting voting rights.
  • On July 19, Executive Director Harman Singh helped to facilitate a conversation between the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office Hate Crimes Division and the Sikh Society of Michigan in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
  • On July 23, Manager of Diasporic Affairs Harjot Singh attended a candlelight vigil in Washington, DC, organized as part of the “Good Trouble Lives On” mobilization, to honor the late Congressman John Lewis. 
  • On July 24, Executive Director Harman Singh spoke at the opening plenary for the annual conference of OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates. Harman was joined for the panel conversation, “25 Years Later: Post 9/11 America,” by Rima Meroueh, Dr. Seydi Sarr, and Deepa Iyer.
  • On July 27 and July 28, Managing Director of Education and Community Development Rucha Kaur attended The Pennsylvania Faithful Training of Trainers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The “ToT” focuses on equipping attendees with the tools to lead trainings on strategic noncooperation in their communities and building a network of aligned faith leaders.