‘Here for Uber pickup?’: How Sikhs are responding to stereotypes

Sikhism is a rapidly growing religion in Australia, but it's still poorly understood. How are community leaders responding to misinformation and discrimination?

Sikhism is a fast-growing religion in Australia, but remains poorly understood. Credit: Avani Rai

Sikhism has been the fastest-growing religion in Australia since 2011, primarily due to migration.

But it is still considered a minority faith, according to the latest Census in 2021, which found Sikhs accounted for 0.8% of the population.

There is a discrimination where sometimes they see a turban or they see a brown skin, a bearded person. There's a lot of unreturned, unspoken discrimination.

Jasbir Singh Suropada, Chairperson of the Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria

Jasibir Singh Suropada, chairperson of the Sikh Interfaith Council of Victoria, said Sikhs can face both overt and subtle forms of discrimination.

He is working to increase the public’s understanding of Sikhism, along with other community leaders.

“So the misconception is these people are a problem, whereas we are actually a benefit. Anybody who sees a person with a turban tell yourself, this person with somebody you can approach to for help,” he said.

“We have three basic principles, meditation on the divine, honest earning, and then sharing our earning with the needy.”

This episode of Understanding Hate looks at the impact of discrimination on the Sikh community in Australia, and how community leaders are challenging misconceptions.