Racists can't hide the fact that Sikhs fight for Britain

On Wednesday in central London, I held my phone up to photograph a group of Sikh men in original First World War British military uniforms, muskets held high, mustard turbans and sashes as neat and proper as their beards.

- MINREET KAUR

The 1914 Sikhs are a ceremonial marching group comprising military and civilian volunteers set up to commemorate those soldiers who lost their lives fighting for Britain in the First World War.

Watching British Sikhs marching out, I felt a sense of pride and belonging that I haven't had for quite some time. I love this country, where I have lived my whole life. But the past has met the present in other, more awful ways recently.

Last month, two men raped a Sikh woman in Oldbury while racially abusing her. And earlier this week, a man was charged with raping another Sikh woman in Walsall in another "racially aggravated" assault. Gurdwaras, the place where Sikhs come together for congregational worship, are ramping up their security, installing iron gates and hiring security guards, because people are scared.