Sikhs to launch campaign to create awareness about their community in US

In April, Sikhs launched 'We are Sikhs' campaign in the US to spread awareness and address the "collective misunderstanding" over the minority community amid a spike in hate crimes against them.

Washington, Dec 5: In a bid to increase awaress about Sikhs in the US, a group of Sikh-Americans has said that they would launch another countrywide campaign.

In April, Sikhs launched 'We are Sikhs' campaign in the US to spread awareness and address the "collective misunderstanding" over the minority community amid a spike in hate crimes against them. The campaign had received positive response. In the first of its kind national awareness campaign beginning April this year, the National Sikh Campaign (NSC) was able to generate more than 92 million impressions throughout the country, the group said in a statement.

This included 6.3 million impressions through national television advertising on CNN, Fox News and Fox Business Network; 28.8 million impressions through local television advertising in Fresno, California; 10.5 million impressions through social media channels; 6.4 million impressions through digital advertising and over 600,000 followers on twitter of the campaign. The NSC held fund-raising events in 14 cities to garner support from the community and the total cost of this campaign will be USD 1.3 million.

"With limited funding, we were able to help Americans in every corner of the country better understand who their Sikh neighbours are and what we stand for," said Dr Rajwant Singh, NSC co-founder and senior adviser.

"These impressive results are a testament to the hard work that went into the campaign and we are grateful to everyone who helped tell our story," he said.

Many have stopped Sikhs on the streets and have thanked them for their presence, said Nick Sahota from California.

"I have so many stories of people stopping to tell how they appreciate Sikhs. I had a 92-year-old women come and give me hug and shared how her Sikh husband had to leave in 1928 because of the discrimination he faced. She herself supported the campaign," said Amritpal Singh, another NSC member.

The NSC is now negotiating with a media firm connected to Hollywood to make creative videos and a reputable film company to create a documentary for the American TV stations.

PTI