Vishavjit Singh, creator of Sikhtoons, has created a cartoon expression of our collective outrage with regard to the recent apparently hate-motivated assaults of Sikh and Indian American men. The cartoon above references the September 8th, 2015 attack on 53-year-old Inderjit Singh Mukker by a teenager who allegedly called Mukker “terrorist” and “bin Laden” before repeatedly punching the older man in the face; Mukker was hospitalized with a fractured cheek, and multiple lacerations and contusions. Police originally investigated the assault as a hate crime. On Friday, the DuPage County state’s attorney announced that the incident was mere road rage, and that they were declining to prosecute the teenaged suspect for a hate crime.
Singh also produced a second cartoon this week, referencing the recent mistrial declared in the federal civil rights case against Alabama police officer Eric Parker.
Parker was in federal court facing a charge that he violated the civil rights of 58-year-old Sureshbhai Patel in February when he allegedly used unreasonable force in detaining the elderly man. Patel had been out for a morning stroll when a neighbour called the police, reporting him as a “thin Black man” who was acting “suspiciously”; Patel is an Indian citizen in the United States to care for his infant grandson. Cellphone video show Parker confronting Patel, and then slamming him to the ground leaving the elderly man partially paralyzed.
Last week, a US Circuit Court judge was forced to declare a mistrial in Parker’s trial after the jury tried and failed three times to reach a consensus on the verdict. It is no guarantee that Parker will be retried.
Cartoonist Vishavjit Singh is the founder of Sikhtoons who is perhaps best known as Sikh Captain America. He also appeared in a video responding to hateful Facebook comments posted after he was featured on Facebook. You can follow his work at Sikhtoons.com or on Twitter at @sikhtoons.
