San Jose State University is investigating the assault of a Sikh student on campus as a possible hate crime. The situation spiralled out of control earlier this week, as students of the US university demanded accountability amid rising fears tied to religious hate.
According to local US reports, including the NBC Bay Area, the unfortunate incident took place last Saturday morning, with campus police indicating that a Sikh student was attacked by a group of people.
Amid the ongoing investigation, Hasmeet Kaur, the president of the school’s Sikh Collegiate Federation, said that the cell phone video of the assault revealed that attackers even misidentified the victim as a person of Hindu faith.
‘Hinduphobic’ hate crime against Sikh student: San Jose State University
According to Kaur’s description of the footage, a Sikh student was physically assaulted by five individuals, who called him a “Hindu,” the NBC Bay Area reported. “They put him to the ground, and they took his turban off,” she said.
But that’s not all. Even the university ended up misidentifying the student in a campus communication notice. “We misidentified the student as Hindu instead of Sikh, the harm caused by that mistake is ours to own,” VP for Administration & Finance at SJSU Kathryn Kaoudis clarified.
Hindu American group condemns Hinduphobic assault
CYAN (CoHNA Youth Action Network), a Hindu student group in the US, condemned the attack in a strongly worded statement issued on February 13 (US time). The group stated that it was “deeply disturbed by the violent assault near MacQuarrie Hall at San Jose State University,” adding the assault was a “reprehensible act of hate and intimidation.”
The group further noted that the attackers reportedly using “‘Hindu’ as a slur” was a “classic case of Hinduphobia,” especially when the victim was an “observant Sikh student.”
“The usage of the word “Hindu” followed by violence points to the intended bigotry of the attackers,” CYAN stated. Calling for swift investigation and proper accountability, the student organisation argued that the Feb 7 assault should not be viewed in isolation.
“It fits a clear, escalating pattern of Hinduphobia,” the group added. “Over the past three years, hate targeting Hindus in California has risen in ways that are both visible and measurable, from slurs and intimidation to attacks on sacred spaces. Between December 2023 and March 2025 alone, four Hindu temples were vandalised, including the state’s largest Hindu temple and two right here in the Bay Area.”
While also extending solidarity with the Sikh student and the Sikh community at large on campus, CYAN refused to “accept the erasure of the Hinduphobic element.”
Laying down its 3-point demands for the university leadership, the group pushed them to explicitly acknowledge and condemn Hinduphobia, alongside the use of ‘Hindu’ as a slur. CYAN also urged the university to engage directly with Hindu student organisations and offer trauma-informed support services for affected students.
Moreover, it pressed the school to implement Hindu and Sikh awareness programming to address bias, while also increasing campus-wide protection for students of both religious communities.
Current status on the San Jose State University hate crime report
Although the video of the incident hasn’t been made public yet, Sikh student group planned to hold town hall on Thursday in the wake of the attack. At the event, students intended to compile their demands for change to present to the university, as per the NBC Bay Area.
The victim’s brother, Harshdeep Singh, even hailed the importance of the town hall. Calling what happened to his brother traumatic, he asserted that he didn’t want anyone else to be subjected to something like that.
“Bringing awareness to the student body and also keeping the police dept accountable, they could be doing a way better job than what they’re doing right now,” he said, according to the NBC Bay Area.
“To see someone that younger than I am, somebody I am supposed to protect, make sure they’re safe, that I couldn’t be there, help prevent this, the family feels down, but we’re making the best of it, we’re just happy he’s safe.”
Meanwhile, the leader of the San Jose Hindu temple said their own community had also been alerted about the incident.
On the other hand, as officials continue to investigate the case, SJSU police Chief Michael Carroll said, “We’re still looking at surveillance video, we’re talking to different students and people who may have witnessed it.”
The university also said it was working to expand its camera surveillance on campus.