Sikhs, Swamis, Students and Spies: The India Lobby in the United States, 1900-1946

Author: Harold A. Gould
Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd (2006)
Hardcover: 460 pages

Reviewed by G.B. Singh

The strange title of this book caught my attention, and I admit that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Sikhs, Swamis, Students and Spies: The India Lobby in the United States traces a fascinating history of the “India lobby” in America in the pre-1947 period at which time the British abdicated the subcontinent. I recommend this book to all readers, especially those Sikhs and non-Sikhs, who are interested in knowing why Sikhs fell under the spell of Hindu leaders like M.K. Gandhi.

Sikhs, Swamis, Students and Spies tells the story of early Indian migrants to North America and Canada (mainly the Sikhs) from early 20th century to the end of World War II. Event after event with a stream of different Indian actors in the forthcoming, Gould, a visiting professor at the University of Virginia, captures their prolonged struggle for securing civil rights, and promoting the cause of India’s freedom from the British. This journey that lasted roughly a half-century, covers many events that the reader will find engrossing and stimulating. Prof. Gould, who is married to an Indian lady, comes across as a man who loves things that are purely Indian and shows respect toward the multitude of Indian cultures while openly confessing the racist policies and attitudes of White officials of that era.

Sidestepping the need to define or even briefly narrate Hinduism for the readers, Prof. Gould describes Sikhism as follows: “The Sikh religion and the socio-cultural milieu in which it evolved was founded upon doctrinal divergences both from orthodox Hinduism and fundamentalist Islam. It rejected many of the formalisms of the caste system and embraced principles of social egalitarianism derived both from Islam and Bhakti, it rejected orthodox Hindu polytheism and adopted a form of denominational monotheism based upon the authority of a succession of gurus.” Why would Sikhism reject “many of the formalisms of the caste system” and not all of it?, and isn’t Bhakti a European construct introduced with a calculated purpose of it leading to Christian evangelism?

Among the actors in this book described so well, the main mix of odd characters that truly shaped the maturation of “India lobby” are: Lala Har Dayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Taraknath Das, Gobind Behari Lal, Sarangadhar Das, Sailendranath Ghose, Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Anup Singh, Syud Hossain, Haridas Mazumdar, Krishnalal Shridharani, and J.J. Singh.

The narrative that follows underneath while being critical is in no way casting any negative connotation on Prof. Gould’s scholarship. For years I have been researching the state of Sikh affairs in pre-1947 India following Mahatma Gandhi’s politics since 1919. One question that begs to be asked is what attracted Sikhs to Gandhi? What was their underlying trap? Before Gandhi came into picture, consider the example of the Ghadr movement: Why would Sikh peasantry, already burdened with so many problems and displaced thousands of miles away, would mount or even plan a violent revolution in India to free India from British rule? One would expect North American Sikhs to free Punjab, their homeland—a task relatively easy to accomplish than working toward the freedom of the Indian sub-continent. Sikhs in North America had hardly any meaningful link to other parts of the British-India and yet they embroiled themselves in an endeavor destined to doom the community. Historically the Sikhs had never lived under Hindu rule and thus had minimal experience with Hindu leadership. After the annexation of Punjab in 1849, Sikhs faced a new master, the British, and a new Hindu leadership that professed modern Hinduism.

What surprises me the most is how Sikhs living on the West Coasts of U.S. and Canada entangled themselves under the leadership of Lala Har Dayal. After reading Gould’s book I have come to realize that Lala Har Dayal was a Gandhi-figure. Why Sikhs fell for leaders who professed the doctrines of Hinduism and modern Hinduism continues to mystify me. I believe these vulnerable Sikhs set the stage for their fellow brethren in Punjab to follow suit. More intriguing is to know that there were no dissenting opinions among the Sikhs both in India and in the West. This fact should be researched further.

On reading the book under review, I couldn’t help but notice that a number of important actors in the making of “India lobby” were also involved in propagating Gandhi in America; not to exclude some outright promotion of modern Hinduism that Gould didn’t address. I have briefly mentioned it in my book, Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity. I had been aware of Taraknath Das and his role in propagating Gandhi but how and where he had learned about Gandhi had always remained a mystery to me until I read Prof. Gould’s book. The learned professor mentions on page 283, that both Das and “his wife attended the Unitarian Christian church in New York City whose minister is Doctor Holmes.” This “Doctor Holmes” is none other than Pastor John H. Holmes, the person singularly responsible for bringing Gandhi’s name to church-going Americans.

The love affair and possibly a secret marriage of Jawaharlal Nehru’s sister Vijayalakshmi, to Syud Hossein is captivating. Even more fascinating is to know that Gandhi intervened to break up this “marriage.” Why would Gandhi intrude into someone else’s private affairs especially at a time when he had barely gotten into Indian politics? Judging from the later activities of Syud Hossein in America who keenly promoted Gandhi makes one wonder if indeed there were other hidden reasons. This incident does underscore the important point of reassessing Gandhi and whether he harbored any prejudice against Muslims. Recent research on Gandhi’s life points in that direction.

Those familiar with Gandhi’s history knows the name of Henry Polak, a White associate of Gandhi from his early days in South Africa. Shockingly, in 1940s, while in America, Polak turned against Gandhi! Prof. Gould mentions this on page 335, but fails to shed more light on this important turnover.

While discussing the Drew Pearson affair, Prof. Gould unfolds the identity of a “deep throat” lodged in the State Department by the name of Robert I. Crane. Mr. Crane had leaked the contents of Ambassador William Phillips, US Special Envoy to New Delhi, which ended up on the pages of Washington Post (July 24, 1944) causing a crisis. Earlier, on May 14, 1943 Phillips had addressed his letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which was critical of the British authorities in India in the context of the ongoing World War II and their purported negative impacts on the American interests. I urge readers to read the details of this crisis put together excellently by Prof. Gould. My own opinion is that Ambassador Phillips was naïve in his understanding of the Hindu leaders and the Indian population at large. Take for example in that letter of Ambassador Phillips this paragraph that caught my attention:

I feel strongly, Mr. President, that in view of our military position in India we should have a voice in these matters. It is not right for the British to say, “this is none of our business” when we alone presumably will have the major part to play in the future struggle with Japan. If we do nothing and merely accept the British point of view that conditions in India are none of our business then we must be prepared for various serious consequences in the internal situation in India which may develop as a result of despair and misery and anti-white sentiments of hundreds of millions of people (italics are mine).

What is remarkable is that despite Phillip’s credulousness, he noticed in the early 1940s that Indians exuded an anti-White environment. This correct observation of his should have alerted him to probe deeper. Alas he did not! In Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity, I have addressed a separate section detailing the anti-White racism inspired and promoted by Mahatma Gandhi. Tragically Ambassador Phillips saw the racism phenomenon but blamed the wrong party, the British.

The cover photo on this book depicts President Truman signing into law (July 2, 1946) the bill granting citizenship rights for which “India lobby” worked hard enough--some of these actors are seen standing behind President Truman in the picture. Ironically, Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, on his first official visit to US met President Truman at the White House. Truman labeled Nehru as an anti-White racist!

Sikhs, Swamis, Students, and Spies is a great book spread out in twelve chapters. I congratulate Prof. Gould for undertaking this enterprise.


Copyright©2007 G.B. Singh. About the author