- By Ajeet Kumar
- Thu, 23 Jul 2026 03:26 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Sikh student Aangad Singh missed national civics contest win.
- Family alleges judging errors, potential bias over turban/pronunciation.
- Education Department refused scores, cites fair judging.
The family of a 15-year-old Indian-American Sikh boy has questioned the Trump administration after he narrowly missed a national civics contest. The Indian-origin student, Aangad Singh from Connecticut, narrowly missed finishing in the top three of the Presidential 1776 Award. This competition is organised by the US Department of Education to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.
Aangad ws one of 20 finalists who competed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on June 30. In the final round, students answered questions about the US Constitution in front of a panel of judges. However, Aangad's family believes mistakes in the judging cost him a winning spot.
Answers were unfairly marked as wrong, alleges family
The family claims that some of Aangad's answers were unfairly marked as wrong, even though they matched the Constitution's text. For example, during a fast-paced round, Aangad was asked which amendment ended slavery. He correctly answered "the 13th Amendment." The judges marked it incorrect, possibly because of how he pronounced it. However, the family points out that the TV broadcast's automatic subtitles clearly caught his correct answer.
After watching the broadcast, the family calculated their own scores. They found that if just one of these disputed answers had been counted as correct, Aangad would have placed in the top three. They also raised concerns because the event did not have a clear, live scoreboard for viewers to follow along.
Education Department refused to entertain Sikh's family plea
When the family asked to see the detailed scores, an Education Department official refused to share them. While Aangad and his father think this might just be a simple judging mistake, other family members wonder if his Sikh turban unfairly influenced the judges. However, there is no proof of intentional bias that could explicitly cement their position.
In response, the Education Department stated that the judges acted fairly and that their final decisions cannot be changed. The judging was handled by an independent foundation.
The contest is part of the Trump administration's focus on "patriotic education." Aangad's parents emphasise that they are not trying to change the final results. Instead, they want transparency and fairness to ensure that no other child faces the same problem in the future.
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