Source: Long Island Voice

On December 22, 1999, the Long Island Voice published an article on the touchy topic of dating in the Sikh community of Long Island, New York. Currently, it is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 Sikhs live on Long Island, many of whom are teenagers who wish to date. Dr. Jovita Crasta, assistant director of psychiatry at South Nassau Communities Hospital, stated: "Dating is considered a fearful thing for the Indians, because they see dating as licensed sex...Premarital sex is very strongly frowned on, especially for girls." One 19-year-old Sikh girl, Simeran, has left her home because she can't tell her parents about her boyfriend, and her parents want her to marry another man: "Bring a girl to America, I'm going to act Americanized...You want to treat me like an Indian girl, leave me in India." Divya, a 21-year-old from Westbury, NY, says that she knows very few women of her age and religious background who aren't dating behind their parents' backs.