Sikh Teen Pens Book On Bullying Of Community Children In US

New York: A Sikh-American teenager has penned a book about bullying of children from the community in the US based on his experiences and that of others to raise awareness on the issue.

Karanveer Singh Pannu, an 18-year-old high school student from New Jersey, has written the book 'Bullying of Sikh American Children: Through the Eyes of a Sikh American High School Student'.

"Sikh-American youth are largely unrepresented and do not seem to have a voice on the national stage or in the media, especially when it comes to bullying," Mr Pannu told NBC News. "I wanted to help in any way I could to alleviate this pain and suffering which children from my faith go through on a daily basis," he said.

In the book, Pannu introduces the Sikh faith and discusses the significance of the turban and the history of Sikhs in the United States.

He also details the results of a bullying survey he conducted of Sikh-American children in order to draw from their experiences as well as his own.

Mr Pannu also suggests practical solutions drawn from interviews with several child psychiatrists and psychologists. He said he hopes the book can help other Sikh-American children who have experienced bullying, as well as parents and school administrators trying to understand the students' experiences.

According to a study by The Sikh Coalition, 67 per cent of turbaned Sikh youth in Fresno, California, have experienced emotional and physical bullying in schools and also cyberbullying.

"A very emotional mother called me and thanked me profusely for writing this book,"Mr Pannu said.

"She wanted to help me in any way in order to get the book into the hands of the school authorities. Another non-Sikh reader after reading the book is gifting a book to the local school library," he said.

In December, a 12-year-old Sikh boy in the US had to spend three days in a juvenile detention centre after he jokingly told a classmate that he had a bomb in his school bag.