(Image source from: Eenadu India)

With about 70 percent of Americans, nescient about Sikhism, New York schools will now comprise teaching on the minority community in their course of study to educate students regarding Sikh religion and its custom, according to a media report.

According to report, the United Sikhs, a non-profit Sikh organization in coaction with New York City’s Department of Education, have taken an initiatory to teach American students about Sikhism.

People in Jamaica, Queens, came together to observe a new course of study for fifth and sixth graders in all five administrative districts, the report said.

Pritpal Singh, the United Sikhs senior policy adviser said that 70 percent of Americans do not recognize Sikhs. American students are unaware about their Sikh schoolmates, who are subject to persecuting and incomprehension which breeds hostility, the report said.

"They have no idea who we are, what our origins are, where we come from or what country we come from," Singh was quoted as saying by the report. "The fact that we come from India is not understood," he added.

The program was officially proclaimed on Friday, yet in reality, it initially started in few city classrooms in September 2016.

The department of education will proceed to roll out the curriculum to the leftover schools over the succeeding several years, the report said.

Earlier this year in April, National Sikh Campaign launched a million-dollar awareness campaign to make Americans know about their religion amid a rise in hate crimes against the community.

According to a survey conducted by the Sikh Coalition, a community-based organization that defends Sikh civil rights, it was found that up to 67 percent of Sikh children have said they experienced bullying at school because of their religion. Some reported instances of physical violence, including removal of their turbans by force.

In the United States, nearly five lakh Sikhs survive.

By Sowmya Sangam