Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

http://www.sikhs.org/khalsa.htm

On April 3, 2002, The Atlanta Journal and Consitution featured an article on the local Sikh community. "With the September attacks lingering in people's minds, Sikhs in metro Atlanta say they still get strange looks from fellow Atlantans, who often confuse them with Muslims... It is the headgear that draws the attention of strangers, said Preetinder Singh, an Acworth businessman and wholesaler of women's clothing... 'People are curious... Most of the time people understand. I walked into the Waffle House the other day to have breakfast and the guy said, 'I know you are from India''... There are an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Sikhs in metro Atlanta. The area's first Sikhs came in the late 1960s... More arrived following Hindu-Sikh clashes in India in 1984... A Sikh gurdwara (house of God or temple) was built in 1991 in Stone Mountain [GA]. It has about 250 members... On April 13, Sikhs will celebrate their new year, called Baisakhi. It is also a day that commemorates the birth of Guru Nanak in 1469 and the creation of the Khalsa, the fighting Sikh brotherhood founded by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699."