A white supremacist gunman attacks the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek during Sunday preparations, killing six worshippers and wounding others, including the police officer who confronts him; the congregation's answer, chardi kala, ever-rising spirits, carries the diaspora's story of faith under attack into American memory.
Tagged: Persecution Sikh Sikh Diaspora
The Event
- Date
- 2012 (exact)
- Era
- Modern; Standard periodization of Sikh history
- Location
- Oak Creek; today Wisconsin, United States
- Traditions
- Sikhism
- Streams
- Sikh Diaspora
- Key figures
- Satwant Singh Kaleka (the temple president, killed)
Primary Sources
- The Oak Creek police and FBI reports
Secondary Sources
- Tatla, The Sikh Diaspora: The Search for Statehood (Washington, 1999)
- Nesbitt, Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2005)
Provenance: HIST-0535; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-27.
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