Sikh NGO launches library project

The project has been launched to reduce racial attacks against Sikhs.

In a hope to reduce racial attacks and remove misconceptions about the Sikh religion, an NGO has launched a library project in the United States.

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The Sikh Coalition launched the project to combat racial bias with education and provide balanced and accurate information about their religion.

The group aims to ensure that the 20,000 libraries in the US and over 3,000 libraries in Canada each get a package of 10 books and two DVDs on Sikhism.

"I think if people know more about our culture, then they will not attack us," said Rajinder Singh Khalsa, whose nose was broken and eye socket fractured in a racially motivated attack three years ago.

"Because of the turban, they think you're a Taliban or you're Bin Laden. They think we're Iranian, but we come from northern India... This is the fifth largest religion in the world," Khalsa said.

The NGO has received orders from libraries in New York, Boston, Wisconsin, Ohio, Georgia, Rhode Island, Ontario and beyond for their books, said Manbeena Kaur, the Sikh Coalition's operations' manager.