Gurprit Kaur's hair was cut by a fellow student on June 9 in a school in Flushing in Queens suburb of New York City, five days after one Jagmohan Singh Premi was punched on the face in another school by a fellow student who was trying to remove his turban.

The Sikh Coalition, which spearheaded the protest and organised the march yesterday, says that its survey has found that more than 60 per cent Sikh students in 400 New York City Public Schools face harassment or are subjected to violence because of their faith.

A fellow student told Gurprit that a portion of her braided hair had been cut off. Gurprit did not notice while her hair was being cut from behind.

Given the deep spiritual significance of her hair, Gurprit was extremely upset, the Coalition said.

Gurprit's school, it added, conducted an investigation and within hours told her that one of her classmates had admitted to cutting her hair. The hair cutting violates Sikh religious beliefs. School officials say the accused student was immediately suspended.

The coalition alleged that Gurprit's brother had also been harassed with the perpetrator making fun of his turban.

In May, a student at another Queens school had his turban removed and his hair cut off.