CHANDIGARH: Sikhs and Hindus in the United States (US) are facing increased hate crime incidents by 24.6 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.
While there was an overall decrease of 7 per cent in hate crimes, as per the data with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has been analysed and tabulated by civil rights organisation Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) and Sikh advocacy group Sikh Coalition, the groups also note “anti-immigrant rhetoric and attempts being made to portray Sikh and Punjabi truck drivers as public safety threats.”
The anti-Sikh hate crime incidents increased by 24.6 per cent from 142 in 2024 to 177 in 2025, while the anti-Hindu hate crime incidents also increased by 12 per cent from 25 in 2024 to 28 in 2025, and so did the anti-Buddhist hate crime incidents, which increased by 7.7 per cent from 26 in 2024 to 28 in 2025.
The total number of hate crimes published by the FBI for 2025 on August 14 shows a 7 per cent decrease from 11,404 incidents reported in 2024 to 10,606 incidents in 2025.
Similarly, while the FBI’s statistics show a decline in anti-Asian hate crime incidents compared to 2024, the data makes clear that these crimes remain substantially elevated compared to pre-pandemic level averages, as per the study by AAJC.
It further stated that while this data continues to document serious threats facing Asian American communities, the statistics likely represent only a fraction of the bias incidents, harassment, intimidation, and violence experienced across the country (US).
“Hate crime data has long suffered from significant underreporting by both victims and law enforcement agencies. The risk of statistical underreporting is heightened by the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies that increasingly rely on and reinforce anti-Asian, anti-South Asian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Sikh narratives,” it read.
The study noted that increased surveillance and information-sharing practices, and highly publicised extrajudicial enforcement operations have created fear and uncertainty in many communities, regardless of citizenship status.
Sim J. Singh Attariwala, Director of the Anti-Hate Program at Asian Americans Advancing Justice, said that the real risk is not that hate goes unaddressed, but that it becomes invisible when the federal government dismantles hate-crime prevention initiatives, cuts grants, weakens civil rights enforcement, and erodes trust among immigrant communities.
It noted that one of the most concerning trends of 2025 was the convergence of anti-immigrant, anti-South Asian, anti-Muslim, anti-Sikh, and anti-Indian rhetoric, evident from attempts to scapegoat immigrant communities for broader social and economic concerns, including attempts to portray Sikh and Punjabi truck drivers as public safety threats.
While Sikh advocacy group Sikh Coalition stated that in its analysis of the data, anti-Sikh hate crimes peaked in September 2025 with 26 incidents, nearly one per day on average, which was the month following the high-profile roadway accident involving truck driver Harjinder Singh in Florida.
Mannirmal Kaur, Sikh Coalition Senior Federal Policy Manager, says, “Any increase in hate crimes is, of course, discouraging. But minority and immigrant populations have faced an even more openly hostile political and social climate since this data was collected.
Sikhs specifically have been one of many groups in the spotlight, from discrimination against and targeting of Sikh truck drivers to fear-mongering around Sikh articles of faith from the highest levels of our government.”