San Jose, California—Sikhs across the world are circulating a petition asking NBC and Jay Leno to apologize for recent remarks claiming that Darbar Sahib is Republican Candidate Mitt Romney’s summer home. In the clip, available at the end of this article, Jay Leno shows a picture of Darbar Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, over audio showing the homes of various presidential candidates. Darbar Sahib is the opposite of an opulent mansion and is the home of the Guru and a place for Sikhs to worship.

This is a third strike for Jay Leno against Sikhs. In the petition, written by Bay Area based Harjot Singh Khalsa and available by clicking here, Sikhs complain that “This is not the first time that this show host has targeted Sikhs in his monologue. Previously, in 2007 he called Sikhs ‘diaper heads.’ In 2010, he remarked, falsely, in his monologue that President Obama could not visit Sri Darbar Sahib because of requirements of wearing a turban. Clearly, Jay Leno’s racist comments need to be stopped right here.”

The petition further states, “Keeping in view the sacred importance and the history of Sri Darbar Sahib, Sikh-Americans have protested en-masse by calling up the studios of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and voicing their concern. Calls have also been placed at the NBC offices in New York and San Jose, California.”

The times of India quotes Sandeep Singh Chahal as saying “When we call on NBC phones, their voice messages are full up. People are calling each other, posting messages, discussing how to protest against the show. In a little over 24 hours [since] the show, around 1,500 people posted their comments on the Facebook page.”

Jay Leno video clip about Darbar Sahib:

Petition URL: http://www.change.org/petitions/nbc-the-tonight-show-with-jay-leno-stop-defaming-sikhs-and-using-derogatory-remarks-against-the-sikh-shrines

Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/307596032609626/