Jasmit Singh

If we are to survive a long future, we must stay in contact with our long past. -- Freeman Dyson

Abstract

In this paper we attempt to trace the roots of Sikhs in North America. Coming from their homeland in Punjab in South Asia, Sikhs have distinguished themselves in all walks of life. The focus of the paper is on the accomplishments of some early pioneers, the challenges they faced and the contributions of Sikhs to life in North America. We will address some of the issues that Sikhs continue to face and what is and can be done to remedy the situation.

In 2002, Sikhs celebrate the 303^rd anniversary of the establishment of Khalsa and more than100 years since the first arrival to North America. It is also a time when the community, following the events of September 11^th, 2001, has had reasons for introspection.

A century of migration from Punjab in South Asia, the Sikhs continue to adapt to new challenges, prove to be resourceful, enterprising and industrious in foreign countries and yet have not let go of the umbilical cord that binds them to their spiritual or ancestral homeland. Despite their contributions and struggles in their host societies, Sikhs have been not been adept at informing the world about who they are.

A hundred years ago, the Sikhs were addressed as ‘Hindus with turbans’. Today some mistakenly identify them as ‘fundamentalists’ or ‘followers of Taliban’. One only needs to be reminded of the way the news media played the arrest of an innocent Sikh, Sher Singh, in the aftermath of the WTC attacks that contributed to reinforcing the stereotypical image of a Sikh. There have been countless other articles in the popular press in the last few months that have reinforced these sterotypes.

Why is it that some in the western world continue to label Sikhs as something that they are not. As Sikhs, we must ask three questions:

i. Where have we come from?
ii. Where are we at this instance?
iii. Where do we want to go from here?

The objective of this paper is to present answers to the first two questions and leave with enough food for thought as to where Sikhs want to go on their personal and collective journey. The focus will be to provide information on the migration of Sikhs to North America; the challenges they faced, and their contributions to the host society. Our emphasis will be on select events that have shaped the Sikh experience of life in the west, rather than a comprehensive treatment of history of Sikh Diaspora in North America. We will explore the lives of some early pioneers and some current day challenges that the community needs to address.

The Early Sikh Immigration (late 1800’s to 1920)

The years from 1875 to 1920s was a period of rediscovery and revitalization for Sikhs in Punjab. Having lost the Sikh empire to the British (Anglo-Sikh War of 1849), the Sikh community faced an uncertain future. They started re-examining their social and religious traditions with ideological discussions that were led by individuals and groups, such as the Singh Sabhas and later the Chief Khalsa Diwan (after 1902). The focus was on history and the fundamental tenets of the faith. They spoke against the caste practices, subjugation of women and Hindu influences on Sikh ceremonies and shrines (such as reintroduction of idols in Gurudwaras, lax attitude towards the five kakars). They expanded the base for reform and education.

A part of this urgency arose from the perceived threat from Arya Samaj that sought to represent Sikhs in the broader circle of Hinduism, denying them their distinct identity. Sikhs patronized schools, colleges, orphanages, hospitals, newspapers and publications. Because of the rise of Sikh journalism and effective communications networking, events that occurred at one place became known to all. Newspapers and journals were now a strong binding force between members of the community, despite the distance.

Most Sikhs went abroad as passenger migrants rather than indentured laborers. Young males sojourned outside Punjab looking for new economic opportunities. Sikhs became world travelers when they visited or immigrated to countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America. They served in the British Army or police and were relocated to South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asian countries (such as Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Fiji, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and China) and later in Africa and Europe, during the First World War.

Sikhs, who served in the armed forces abroad, informed their friends and family about job opportunities, immigration rules and traveling routes to far-flung lands. Back in the Punjab villages and towns people pooled their economic resources to finance immigration of someone in the family or the village. Others enrolled in western universities and colleges and used their skills to find new employment avenues as farmers or technicians. Typically the trip to North America would start on a steamship out of the Port of Calcutta. It would take twelve days to travel to Hong Kong and another eighteen or so days to North America.

The new immigrants to Asia and Africa comprised the “middle class”, reasonably affluent and politically connected, and provided the administrative layer between the British and the natives. In Europe and North America, the early immigrants were found in the farming and lumber industry with a few exceptions. We can also see an interesting trend where the destination changed as one country after another closed its doors to Sikh immigrants. (see Table 1).

The early immigrants to North America were primarily on the west coast. In Canada, the primary source of occupation was in the saw mills or broadly, in the lumber industry of British Columbia. Only a handful settled in other provinces during the early period. In the United States, the preferred states were California, Oregon and Washington. The earliest reliable account of arrival of four Sikh men has been recorded in the San Francisco Chronicle for April 6, 1899. The immigration to United States peaked in 1907-1908 when Canada passed detrimental laws. From 2,623 immigrants allowed into Canada in 1907, only 6 were allowed in 1908.

In both Canada and the United States, Sikhs had to contend with racial, religious and ethnic prejudice. Formal legal restrictions included denial of right to vote, to serve on juries, school boards or military service and access to public work jobs.

Informally, they were denied access to public facilities, housing choice, education, professional jobs and other high-status employment. There was a distinct racial pattern followed by the administrations to halt the “turban” wave. In general, the sentiment was very anti-Asian, and Sikhs with their distinctive look were easy target to racial slurs and mistreatment.

Bhag Singh, a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, is not allowed to cross the Canadian border. From: India and Canada: A Journal of Interpretation and Information (Vancouver, British Columbia), v. 1, no. 2 (July 1929)

From the Sikh perspective, it helped develop community institutions quickly, which led to effective publicity and communication. The purpose of these institutions was to provide sound foundation for Sikhism, assisting new immigrants, developing financial resources and taking political action when necessary. These institutions served as secular political rallying points, attracting Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims from the sub-continent.

Financially, all sick and unemployed were cared for. Even though Sikhs were closely aligned to the Chief Khalsa Diwan in Punjab, their focus was on the immediate needs of the local community. Starting as Singh Sabhas, holding the weekly diwan (congregational meeting) in a room or a house, these grew into formal organizations that could muster the financial wherewithal to support a special building for the Gurudwara.

The first significant institution was the Khalsa Diwan Society of Vancouver that was founded in 1907. One of the first tasks at hand was the establishment of a Gurudwara, which opened on West 2nd Avenue in Vancouver on January 19^th, 1908.

Learning from the organization of the Chief Khalsa Diwan in Punjab, they helped organize the Gurudwaras, find good preachers and raised funds for different local and Indian projects. It stimulated the growth of a number of important papers such as The Aryan, Khalsa Herald, Free Hindustan, The Swadeshi Sewak and Sansar; and it also provided funding for schools and social service organizations. The other west coast institution was the Pacific Coast Khalsa Diwan, located in the San Francisco area, which was organized in approximately 1912. Again, the first Gurudwara in United States was established in the Stockton area in 1915, and it soon became the hotbed of religious, social and political life of the California Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims.

Both the Khalsa Diwans worked closely with their counterpart in Punjab for political, social and religious purposes. On many occasions these organizations tried to put pressure on the British Government to change its anti-racial policies. The Sikhs in North America saw the progress of Sikh community at large as a means to bolster their position in the host countries that they were adopting. Also, they felt the need to get better theological and historical education, and towards this end constantly requested the Chief Khalsa Diwan in Punjab to send religious literature and preachers of high caliber. Towards these two goals, the North American Sikhs were one of the biggest patrons of educational and social welfare institutions being run in Punjab. With the gradual erosion of the influence of the Chief Khalsa Diwan in 1920, the Sikh institutions abroad started going their separate ways.

In the first decade of the twentieth century, the anti-immigrant sentiment was on the rise in Canada. J.B. Harkin who was running the Interior ministery of the government devised a plan to move Sikhs from British Columbia to British Honduras. Two Sikhs were sent as the representatives by the community to access the viability of the living condition. Despite being offered large amount of money to lie, they came back and reported on the adverse living and employment conditions based on which the congregation rejected the original plan and decide to fight it tooth and nail.

Sikhs faced hostility numerous times from groups like the AEL (Asiatic Exclusionist League) that spread anti-Asiatic propaganda in their meetings and speeches. In September 1907, thousands of members of the AEL rioted through the streets of Vancouver, beating and looting immigrants. All this forced the Canadian government to halt immigration by creating effective barriers. This was followed by a riot in Bellingham, Washington when a mob of 400 to 500 people attacked a Sikh colony. The assault later spread to California.

Certificate of Honorable Discharge of Bhagat Singh Thind from U.S. Army, 1918.

A rallying point for many Sikhs and other Indians was the case of Bhagat Singh Thind. A native of Punjab, Bhagat Singh had immigrated to America in 1913. He worked his way through an Oregon lumber mill to pay for his education at University of California, Berkeley. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1917 to fight in the First World War and was honorably discharged in 1918. After the war, he applied for citizenship in 1920, which was approved by the U.S. District Court. However, the Bureau of Naturalization appealed the case and it went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Another similar case was that of a Japanese, Takao Ozawa who was fighting for his citizenship and the Supreme Court denied it saying that only Caucasians were allowed citizenship rights. Since the North Indian Sikhs were considered Caucasians, Thind's attorneys got hopeful. However, Justice Sutherland of the Supreme Court further qualified Caucasian to mean “white” and so citizenship was denied to Bhagat Singh. Many Indians who were already naturalized had their citizenship rescinded. Since they were now aliens, the Alien Land Law also applied to them and they could no longer own or lease land.

The year 1914 was a defining year for the Sikhs of North America. In 1908, British Columbia had passed laws to restrict the “brown invasion”. To enter British Columbia now, Sikhs were expected to have atleast $200 each and must have travelled on a direct ship from India. Given that the average Indian earned only a few cents a day, it was easy to imagine how these were very unreasonable laws. The government also tried to dissuade steamers from selling tickets to Sikhs and other Indians.

News reporting arrival of Komagata Maru.

Bhai Gurdit Singh, an affluent businessman from Hong Kong decided to challenge this exclusionary law. He chartered a Japenese steamship, Komagata Maru and sold the tickets to other Sikhs and Indians. Despite harassment from the Hong Kong Police (which was part of the British Empire), Bhai Gurdit Singh along with 150 passengers set sail for British Columbia on April 4, 1914.

They were joined by more potential immigrants at Shanghai, Moji and Yokohama raising the number finally to 376 passengers (340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims and 12 Hindus). The press in British Columbia had a field day announcing the “Invasion of Canada by Hindus” and the government resolved to “Never allow the Hindus to set foot on Canadian soil”. The Sikhs in Canada rose to the occasion and started pooling their resources (financial and in kind) in order to support the cause of those on board the ship.

Komagata Maru passengers.

Komagata Maru docked in Vancouver on May 23, 1914 and there onwards ensued a legal battle with Sikhs on one side fighting for the rights of those on board and the Government stressing that the immigration law had been violated since the ship had neither come straight from Hong Kong, nor did all the passengers have the necessary $200 each.

Finally, on July 23, 1914 the ship was forced to leave the Canadian port allowing only 24 of those on board to enter Canada. Even on its return journey, the ship was not allowed to dock at Hong Kong or in Singapore. Coming close to the port of Calcutta, it was ordered into the bay by a gunship.

All passengers were arrested and told that they would be forced on trains bound for Punjab. To this the passengers resisted and decided to march to Calcutta to meet the Governor and to place the Guru Granth Sahib at the local Gurudwara. The police refused to allow them to go to Calcutta and instead routed them to Budge Budge where they were once again asked to board the ship. The passengers refused and in the ensuing melee, 20 Sikhs were killed by the police. This event and others like the Jallianwalla Bagh greatly affected the hearts and minds of the Sikhs living in North America who decide to join the struggle against British imperialism in India.

By 1920, the Sikh immigrants in the United States owned 2,099 acres and were leasing 86,340 acres of farmland. This land was almost exclusively in the Imperial and Sacramento Valleys. They grew large volume cash crops like cotton and rice, and also crops that required intensive farming like peaches, grapes, pears, apricots, almonds, beans, peas, corn, potatoes, celery, asparagus, and lettuce. Similarly in Canada, the Sikhs had become owners of lumber mills.

In United States, the prohibition on immigration and the miscegenation laws influenced the way young Sikh men found wives. Since the initial intent for most travelers was to return to Punjab after becoming financially strong, most of the early immigrants were young men who were not married. With the prohibition on Asian immigration these young men could not get spouses from Punjab.

The word “miscegenation” was coined by two democrats who wanted to embarrass the Republican President, Abraham Lincoln in 1864. It played on the white fears of amalgamation of black and white races by inter-racial sex or marriage. By 1867, most states including California had formed laws that disallowed inter-racial marriages. This law was finally overturned during the civil rights movement in 1967.

Children of Moola and Susanna Singh at their confirmation. Courtesy: Karen Isaksen Leonard

Sikh (specially from southern California) were allowed to marry Mexican women since both were categorized as “brown” in terms of their race. There were a lot of things that Sikhs shared with their Mexican counterparts besides similar social status. Both worked on farms. The Sikhs (or “Hindu crews”) were very hard working and had similar family values. Mexican women looked very similar to the Punjabi women. Both communities were discriminated against by the white society, and this unique phenomenon gave rise to what were mistakenly labeled as “Mexican Hindus”.

The children born to such couples had Spanish names and the families, with the exception of the father, were Catholic in faith. These bi-ethnic families carved out a niche for themselves since they were neither accepted by the mainstream Mexican-Americans nor by the Sikh immigrants who did not marry.

In Canada also, the model followed was that of British Imperialism that considered Sikhs to be from a lesser civilization; thereby, legitimizing some of the racially motivated policies, which denied the Canadian Sikhs equality under the law. Like the Japanese and the Chinese before them, Sikhs too were perceived as an economic threat to the “white” working class. Besides the economic and political ramifications, they were also isolated socially.

Between 1904 and 1920, only nine Sikh women were allowed to immigrate to Canada in contrast to the thousand of Chinese and Japanese women who were allowed to come to the shores. A deputation of prominent Sikhs went to Ottawa to plead the case of family reunification with the government. The meeting with Robert Rogers, the Minister of the Interior, on December 11, 1911 resulted in personal assurances that the families of East Indians would be admitted into Canada. Another deputation traveled to England in 1913 to meet with the British government and only received hollow promises with little action on ground.

It is very interesting to compare and contrast other immigrant communities such as the Chinese and the Japanese from the same period who also had to suffer the brunt of racial hatred. The response from the Sikh community was quite distinct. Any external thread, such as the racial subordination in British Columbia, lead to solidarity among Sikhs and they directly confronted the challenge. In contrast these communities looked for more passive ways to deal with such situations.

The issues that brought Sikhs together were more related to how it affected their values, such as immigration ban on reunification of families, rather than racial inequalities such as denial of the right to vote. They also refused to take low wages and strongly protested when a manager of a lumber company tried to get all Sikh employees to cut their hair. However, they lacked an organized response to racial discrimination.

Reverse Immigration (1920- early 1950’s)

With legal barriers being created by most countries other destinations such as Malaysia and Fiji became the countries that attracted the immigrant. Some family reunification continued but there was also a reversal in trend where the western countries lost a portion of the Sikh population. There were many reasons for this. The primary reason was economic. Having had a modest economic success some returned to their villages to enjoy their wealth and greater social status. Others lost jobs because of the years of depression.

Another important factor was political. The British were subjective in applying laws based on race and color. Having been exposed to more democratic institutions and yet a different set of rules for them in their host countries, Sikhs questioned the British imperialism over their homeland – Punjab and the rest of India. Many recruited in the Akali agitations to wrest control of the Sikh historic Gurudwaras from mahants and also joined the Gadar Party – a group of revolutionaries fighting for the independence of India.

It is very interesting to note that the strong sense of community was the key to Sikh survival during the worst economic times, such as the Depression years in the early 1930's. Despites industries being closed and workers losing jobs, the Gurudwara helped provide the lifeline to many unemployed Sikhs. The community had decided to be self-sufficient during these hard times rather than depend on government handouts.

By the late 1940s, there were fewer than 2,000 Sikhs in Canada (mostly in British Columbia), 1,500 in United States (in Imperial valley, California), a few thousand in Britain (in port cities) and a very small numbers in Australia and New Zealand.

An interesting persona from this period is Dalip Singh Saund. Dalip came to study at the University of California, Berkeley in 1920 and after completing his M.A. in 1922 he worked towards his Ph.D, which he received in 1924. Despite his education he became aware of his inability to get a suitable job opportunity due to the color of his skin. He became a farmer in the Imperial Valley in California. Life as a farmer was a struggle but he worked hard and finally married Marian Kosa. After becoming a naturalized citizen in 1949, he became a judge in Westmorland. Later, he successfully ran for the office of the senator of the 29th district of California in 1956, and he retained it for three terms.

The Next Wave (1950 onward)

The end of World War II also brought an end to many legal impediments, which had been created to keep the Sikhs out of Western countries. The immigration quotas set for countries like India by United States (Luce-Celler Bill of 1946) and Canada ensured that immigration was a gradual process rather than a flooding of immigrants from South Asia.

In Canada, by the late 1940s the immigration controls were removed. In 1947, Sikhs won the right to vote in the local, provincial and federal elections. In the United States, the Hart-CellerAct of 1965 finally paved the way for immigrants to come based on criteria other than family ties. A similar immigration system in Canada established in the mid-1960s stressed education and occupational qualifications of the new arrivals.

The changing immigration criteria have often contributed to the kind immigrants who arrived to North American and where they took up their residence. In contrast to the earlier Sikh immigrants who provided labor in the farming, lumber and other industries, this movement also constituted highly educated Sikhs who wanted to find better opportunities in the Western world, along with a stream of immigrants who provided the unskilled labor.

In Canada, Sikhs with professional and business background, preferred to settle in the East and the oil-rich prairie while the less educated gravitated towards areas in British Columbia, which already had some Sikh population. Outside the cities of British Columbia, the preferred cities were Calgary, Ontario and Montreal. In United States, the concentration of Sikhs in agriculture continued to absorb additional rural immigrants while the professionals tended to cluster in urban areas all over the country.

The new wave of immigrants brought together a greater diversity of geographical dispersion, class, occupations and political beliefs. Also, their experience of the North American life was very distinct from that of the early pioneers. Before the 1960s, Sikhs had been only known to the Canadians of the province of British Columbia and the states of California, Washington and Oregon in United States. Hence the new immigrants did not find societies, which were highly polarized around racial issues. Even in these states, the attitudes were a lot different from half a century ago.

Discrimination had been de-legitimized by government and public machinery; inter-ethnic communication had increased and generally the society was a bit more accepting of the Asians. However, this did not mean that all barriers in public and private life had disappeared. Even though prejudice was not legally and socially sanctioned, it can and did lead to discrimination of Sikhs, who continued to face barriers that may not have been institutionalized, but were evident in employment, housing and other spheres of life.

There were negative stereotypes of Sikhs and other South Asians based on the lifestyle, food, dress, etiquette and religion. Many of these were perpetuated by the images in the media. Political conflicts involving Gurudwaras (as it continues to happen till today) were highly publicized to confirm the prejudice that Sikhs comprised a violent section of the society. A part of the reason for this negative reaction was that Sikhs, being a very visible South Asian group, quickly became economically strong through hard work and, as in the past, established very visible Gurudwaras in almost every city that they established themselves in as a viable community.

The “perceived” or “real” discrimination is also the primary cause for Sikhs to define themselves more through their own organizations, such as Gurudwara Management committees, rather than through broader North American institutions. The first generation Sikhs specially appear to be more socially insulated as an ethnic group than other South Asians. Among them only a few had non-Sikh acquaintances beyond their work environments.

The affect of the tumultuous period of the 1980s, on the Sikh diaspora in North America, was very pronounced. A short account will not do justice to such a complex issue and yet it is very important to note this chapter in our history. Sikhs, who had been marginalized in India after the partition of 1947, despite promises to the contrary, presented their grievances as the Anandpur Sahib resolution to the Government of India in New Delhi.

The resolution highlighted how the political masters in Delhi had usurped all powers, and it called for greater autonomy to the states in the Indian Union. However, it was presented as a separatist movement by the Union Government to justify mass scale torture and subjugation of the Sikhs in India.

Arrested Sikh pilgrims, Amritsar, 1984.

The Asian Games of 1982 became synonymous with how Sikhs could be deprived the pleasure of participating in the games by profiling them and subjecting them to acts of humiliation. Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale rose to the forefront of this struggle and presented a formidable challenge. The Indian government used the printed media to malign all Sikhs as terrorists, and ultimately stormed the Golden Temple at Amritsar in June, 1984 in what was called Operation Bluestar.

It was done at a time when pilgrims were attending the Gurpurab, remembering the martyrdom the Fifth Nanak, Guru Arjan Dev, and thus got targeted by the Indian Armed forces. Besides the tragic human life and loss of many historical and sacred buildings, the Sikh Reference Library that housed a unique collection of priceless manuscripts, letters written by the Gurus, copies of Adi Granth, historical records and invaluable memorabilia, all went up in flames.

It was followed by some other very significant events. Two Sikh bodyguards of Prime Minster Indira Gandhi avenged the death of the innocent Sikh men, women and children at Amritsar by shooting her on October 31, 1984. For the next three days, about ten to fifteen thousand Sikhs all over India were butchered in anti-Sikh pogroms, which were carried out by direct collusion of the state apparatus.

Instead of bringing the culprits to justice, everything was rationalized as avenging the death of a “great leader”. Seventeen years later no justice is still in sight, as not one single person of any significance has been held accountable for the events of those days. These and other events convinced Sikhs of Punjab, specially the youth, that they would always be treated as second class citizens in India and in their own homeland.

The Indian Government put down the militancy that followed by giving the police forces absolute powers. The judicial recourse for an ordinary Sikh was non-existent. Hundreds of youth and their families disappeared in what came to be known as “fake encounters”. Their bodies were disposed unceremoniously and they were never to be heard from again. This continued well into the 1990s.

What affect did this have on the Sikh Diaspora in North America?

The anguish, frustration and anger of Sikhs were channeled in a struggle to recognize an independent homeland - Khalistan. Once again, they came together and donated generously to help the victims and to support the cause. However, the Western media was largely influenced by the negative reports about Sikhs in the Indian media, and the position taken by the Indian government. Despite their desire to explain the current crisis and the events in Punjab, Sikhs were associated with the image of terrorism.

A number of highly publicized trials in central Canada only perpetuated the myth of Sikhs not being peaceful citizens and bringing their disputes to the North American soil. When Canadian Sikhs were associated with the bombing of the Air India passenger plane over Ireland and the bomb that exploded in the Nariata Airport in Japan – it only reinforced that image.

As years have passed, the collective memory of the events of the ‘80s and the early 1990’s has waned. Political views such as Khalistan have become dividing issues in the community. The wave of immigration during the 1980s and the 1990s comprised of many Sikhs who were escaping harassment in their homeland, and were more orthodox in their faith than those who had, over the decades of assimilation, accepted “economic” virtues of not confirming to the external symbols of the Sikh faith. These led to further struggles in the Gurudwaras and questions about the identity Sikh has come to dominate political discussion. Included in it is the role of Sehajdhari and the Amritdhari Sikhs in the management of Gurudwaras.

In spite of the many political discussions, the community has failed to setup an all-encompassing North American organization. This has not been for lack of effort as many such organizations have been proposed from time to time, such as the World Sikh Council and more recently the AGPC. The inability to bring the Sikh organizations in different cities under one umbrella has been an impediment to any long-term vision.

With the Sikh organizations in Punjab such as the SGPC and the Akali Dal becoming less relevant to their local contexts, there is definitely a lack of structure and direction on how to deal with the current issues that confront the community.

Even in the 1990s, Sikhs faced challenges to their identities. Five elderly Sikh war veterans (from the World Wars) were invited to the Remembrance Day Celebration in 1993 by the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Newton B.C. They were to march alongside other legion members in their annual parade. But as these gentlemen approached the legion's canteen to listen to speeches from dignitaries, they were denied entry because they wore turbans.

Wearing any "headgear" or hat was considered disrespectful to the memory of the war dead. This incident spoke of the ignorance of the people about Sikhs, for to a Sikh there can be no greater disrespect than to be asked to remove his turban. These are mandated by the faith and are not fashion or social statements.

The new millennium has brought additional challenges in its wake. September 11th, 2001 is one of those days that will likely define the world in years to come. With a barrage of media images of Osama Bin laden and other al-Qaeda leaders wearing a headgear, most Americans mistook Sikhs as their followers or “fundamentalist who were out to destroy American democracy”.

Hours after the attacks in the U.S. came reports of Sikhs being targeted with racial slurs, violence and vandalism. An elderly Sikh in Richmond Hill, NY was beaten up by baseball bats. On September 15th, 2001 came the chilling reminder of racial prejudice when Balbir Singh Sodhi was shot in Mesa, Arizona. In a tragic postscript, his younger brother Sukhpal Singh Sodhi was shot in San Fransisco nine moths later. In the first three months after September 11th, 2001, the Sikh Coalition received reports of more than 250 hate, discimination and bias related incidents from all over North America. These included harassment, property damage, vandalism, name-calling and other such incidents.

Sikhs once again came together as one community and used the media to address the public at large. But, a lot of work needs to be done since the event has taken away the naivety of most North Americans, and once again the racial undertone, profiling and discrimination has shown its presence.

The second generation Sikh Youth

The youth are always an important segment of a community that provides the impetuous for change. Typically, Sikh parents have viewed education as a means to class growth and opportunity. Like many other Asian communities, there is a higher concentration of Sikhs in medicine, science and engineering. With an increasing pressure to conform to Sikh way of life, the younger generation has found itself grappling for answers that they do not know where to find.

The Gurudwaras and Sikh religious leaders continue to stress the need to follow the Rehat (Sikh Code of Conduct), take Amrit (initiation into the Khalsa fold) and to get more involved in Gurudwara affairs, in order to preserve Sikh traditions. However, a good number of Sikh youth are disenchanted with what is being communicated. This should not be misconstrued to say that they are no longer interested in Sikhism. Their perception of what they can expect from Sikhism is vastly different from that of their parents and other elders.

The foremost problem is that of language. Sikh Youth has cursory understanding of the Punjabi language. The kind of analogies that are presented to them in the daily discourse by preachers is very contextual to Punjab and India leaving them with little that they can apply to their lives. Their understanding of Sikh history and theology remains limited, even though they may have made a sincere effort to follow it.

Most parents are unfamiliar with critical thinking that the youth has been exposed to. Also, they do not realize the youth having been removed from Punjab, do not necessary relate to it geographically or politically. Hence, moral discussions within a Punjabi framework, has very little merit for them. To increase the chasm, the youth disassociates itself from Gurudwara politics, which invariably comes to the fore on all social and religious occasions.

It has led the youth to define its identity and pride as Sikhs, not through their elder’s eyes, but by walking a path of discovery. While there may be some who are drifting away, the large majority are reasserting their “ethnic” distinctiveness. This process of reinvention and reinterpretation has led to organizing retreats, seminars and conferences where they comfortably question what has been accepted at face value. These forums also discuss Sikh history and the Scripture. It has provided a means of interaction with others who walk the same path and deal with similar social and religious pressures.

Another source for the youth has been the growing number of Sikh related web sites that have provided remarkable content and online forums (or discussion groups), which allow for interaction on a regular basis, and it helps develop a sense of community even beyond geographical restrictions.

Having advanced educational and professional qualifications and good organizational skills, many young Sikh men and women, have taken upon themselves the function of emissaries. Typically, these were performed by the elders, who are either incapable or unwilling. Having grown in the West and knowing the system well, Sikh youth is better equipped to take the message forward.

Numerous examples come to the authors mind, such as F.A.T.E.H., United Sikhs in Service of America, Sikh Professionals of DC and Bay Area Sikhs Group, Southern California Sikhs Association, Columbia Students Association, San Jose State University Sikhs, besides many others. Other groups like the Sikh Coalition, Sikh Communications, SikhNet, SMART and SCORE continue to reach the general North American audience by educating them. It was this very dynamic group that came to the forefront after September 11th, 2001 to bring about better understanding of Sikhs and their religious and social practices.

Conclusion

Can Sikhs come together as one single community – closely knit and organized with their resources pooled?

Despite the need and the desire it is unlikely. In contrast, Jews who came to appreciate the strength of collective struggle against anti-semitism, and towards this end created strong organizational base with support from all segments of the Jewish community, in spite of their personal differences. Sikhs will continue to come together when they perceive an external threat. This has happened all through the history of the diaspora and continues to happen today.

However, once that external threat abates, mutual differences grow in scale and significance, on issues related to sects, political views, class, caste, personal rivalry, occupations, power and wealth. Perhaps, this disunity is also their strength. It challenges them to work harder and pushes them to strive for better things in life.

These issues may not have any significance to the youth, and it is likely to wane as they discover the true meaning of the Gurus’ message and think of working more effectively as a coalition of disjointed working groups. The youth can perhaps set its eyes on long term community planning, development of viable leadership and create broad based support within the community.

No matter what the size of the community in a particular location, the Gurudwara has played a vital role in the lives of the Sikhs. Controversies on who controls the resources, the perceived misuse and the fights for recognition of the “legitimate” leader have been a part of this institution and continue to be so today. The insecurity about identity and the threat of absorption by the majority through active or passive assimilation have historical roots and will continue to help in building a firm base for Sikhism. Gurudwaras will need to be institutionally linked to non-ethnic voluntary organizations for general charitable causes, education, social welfare and exert influence in placing Sikh individuals in very public appointments in high profile roles so that the stereotypical images can be dispelled.

We can look at the pioneers, their sacrifices and achievements, and their resolve to succeed despite all odds. They were not welcomed with open arms; nor did they have the best of opportunities available to them. Yet they persevered and believed in the chardi kala (optimism) of the Panth (Sikh nation). They absorbed the good values of the west and yet did not forgo the religion and its traditions or get assimilated due to economic reasons. Instead they persisted and succeeded in the social, cultural, economic, scientific and political fields in which they ventured, allowing us, today, to enjoy the fruits of their success.

We can look upon the accomplishments of such people as Bhagat Singh Thind, who struggled to keep his American citizenship despite having served in the US Army in World War I or Gurbax Singh Mahli, the first turbaned member of the Canadian Parliament. We can be proud of Satjiv Singh Chahal from Palm Computing whose acumen as a marketing executive has been covered by many business publications; of Dr. Narinder Singh Kapani who is widely regarded as the “Father of Fiber Optics”; Sarabjit Singh Marwah, the Executive Vice-president of Bank of Nova Scotia; Dr. Inder Singh – CEO of Lynx; Dr. Nijher who was among the first doctors to arrive at ground zero to help those in need of medical attention and countless others who have and continue to distinguished themselves in their chosen professions.

We can be inspired by the struggles of Sikh men such as Baltej Singh Dhillon the first turbaned R.C.M.P. officer or Amric Singh who today is asking that his rights to maintain his faith be upheld while serving with the New York’s finest. Our faith is strengthened by Palbinder Kaur Shergill, politician and prominent Human Rights lawyer or by 12-year-old Gurbaj Singh who wishes to wear his kirpan in school, despite opposition from members of the host community.

There are countless other unsung heroes.

To be proud of who we are, we need to know where have we come from. As we march proudly into this millennium we will face new challenges. The knowledge of our roots and the lessons that we can learn from the past can help nurture our future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

¹ Brar, Sandeep Singh, Century of Struggle and Success The Sikh Canadian Experience, http://www.sikhs.org/100th/

² Dusenbery, Verne A., Introduction: A Century of Sikhs beyond Punjab. In The Sikh Diaspora: Migration and the Experience Beyond Punjab. Edited by N. Gerald Barrier & Verne A. Dusenbery. South Asia Books. Columbia, Missouri: 1989.

³ Gibson, Margaret A., Accommodation Without Assimilation: Sikh Immigrants in an American High School, Ithaca: Cornell University press, 1988.

⁴ Johnston, Hugh J.M., The Voyage of the Komagata Maru: the Sikh Challenge to Canada’s Colour Bar, Delhi: Oxford Universtiy Press. 1979.

⁵ Leonard, Karen, Ethnicity Confounded: Punjabi Pioneers in California. In Sikh History and Religion in the Twentieth Century. South Asian Studies Papers, no. 3. Edited by Joseph T. O’Connell, Milton Israel and Willard G. Oxtoby. University of Toronto, Center for South Asian Studies. 1988.

⁶ Leonard, Karen, Pioneer Voices from California: Reflections on Race, Religion, & Ethnicity. In The Sikh Diaspora: Migration and the Experience Beyond Punjab. Edited by N. Gerald Barrier and Verne A. Dusenbery. South Asia Books. Columbia, Missouri. 1989: 120-140. Library, University of California, Berkeley, Echoes of Freedom: South Asian Pioneers in California 1899-1965. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/SSEAL/echoes.html

⁷ Sandu, Ranbir S., Sikhs in America: Stress and Survival in Recent Researches in Sikhism,. Edited by Jasbir S. Mann and Kharak S. Mann. Patiala: Punjabi University, 1992. Chapter 19.

⁸ Sibia, T.S., Pioneer Asian Indian Immigration to the Pacific Coast. http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/punjab/index.html

Photo Credit:

¹All photos (including one on the mainpage): Echoes of Freedom, South Asian Pioneers in California (1899 - 1965). Library, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

² Jasmit Singh listens during symposium about teachings of Guru Nanak, whose image is in background. Christy Kinskey / Special to the Spartan Daily, November 19, 2001.

Copyright ©2002 Jasmit Singh. About The Author