The twentieth-century Canadian history points out that several races of foreign-born people focused on settling in Canada’s new lands (Arora " Bava, 2018). The Sikhs had the intention to create business empires because of the significant opportunities they would derive from their operations. The race factor has for some time extended the migrants’ dominance within the Canadian borders. Currently, the effect of population difference has gained an unheard success since diversity creates a sense of cultural belonging. In the process, migrants acquire a sustained communal recognition.
Typically, segments of the first group of immigrants to settle in Canada were naturally unskilled when labor concerns and work experience had to get considered. Such influences effectuated irrational persecution and severe discrimination for the identified racial groups. A significant account exhibiting these situations became palpable in British Columbia. In 1941, a historical incident associated with the Komagata Maru a Japanese steamship targeted about 376 passengers traveling from Punjab, India (Johnston, 2014). In most circumstances, the India to Canada voyage on Komagata Maru would provoke the culmination of North America’s political agenda. For this reason, historians usually get the motivation to study the relationship among the East Indian Immigrants and their influence of the European Canadians.
Historical evidence reveals that Canada and India share socio-political similarities, differences, and backgrounds as well. Such features expose the financial speculation which the migrant Indians had for their work motivation (Knowles, 2016). Therefore, this critical historical analysis will reveal the differences prevailing between the European Canadians and the East Indian immigrants. Canada’s diverse area of interest shared some unique aspects which impacted the history of the Sikh immigration, not forgetting the socio-political developments subject to Canada. In specific and of theses, this paper’s scope considers the incidence associated with Komagata Maru, not forgetting the Sikh immigration. The Sikh immigration accounts capture the provocative racism practices among the British Colonialists.
The Sikhs migration History and why the mainly had to settle in Canada’s Vancouver
Vancouver allowed the settlement of all immigrants who had the intention of benefiting from new opportunities. In the 1800s, the Asian migrant happened alongside the Chinese. The history associated with the migrant Asians is old as the notable historical events which occurred in British Columbia (Johnston, 2014). Most immigrants provided labor input in industries like textiles, farming, and factories. The Asian population in Canada’s British Columbia appreciated steadily so did the aspects of racial segregation against them. A clear understanding of the Sikh immigration into Canada will help in understanding the socio-political development subject to this ethnic community. For the sake of acknowledging the Sikh immigration and their history, it is essential to scrutinize the various conditions which involved the immigrants.
The first group of Sikhs arrived in Canada in 1904 after receiving encouragement from the Hong Kong agents working at the Canadian Pacific Railway. These Sikhs, mostly comprised of men migrating from Punjab, India had the intention of replacing the lost steerage traffic after the Canadian government blocked the Chinese immigrants. Few Sikhs had the advantage to speak English, read, and write (Knowles, 2016). Some would get employed in the cement factories and the British milling factories which lacked the adequacy of unskilled labor. Other Sikhs would serve as woodcutters, land clearers, and road contractors, and after some few months, the Sikhs would begin posting postal orders of about fifteen to fifty dollars.
For years, the Sikhs had the will of rendering cheap labor, and in the process, they attracted the British Columbians’ attention. However, the Sikh population increased considerably. Approximately two thousand Sikhs would settle in Canada during the first quarter of the twentieth century. The British Columbians believed that the appreciating Sikh population had turned to become an invasion.
Still, the Sikh influence supported a significant proportion of the Canadian economy since the liners at the Canadian Pacific Railway would ferry hundreds of Indians yearly, especially during the August-December period. For instance, Canada’s railway companies, Okanogan fruit growers, and railway companies wanted the Sikhs. In Victoria and Vancouver, the operating lumber mills and yards allowed the new Indians to earn two dollars, or a dollar and fifty cents every day (George " Chaze, 2015). Apart from providing cheap labor, most Sikhs suffered from unemployment challenges, and they would move across Oregon and Washington to offer labor in California’s agricultural valleys as outdoor fruit pickers. By 1913, America and Canada had more Sikh immigrants; their population was now three more times compared to their original number.
Despite their dedication to providing cheap labor and their hardship as well, the Sikhs would get ignored by the Labour Council and the local politicians who would instead subject them to hostility. With stoicism, the Sikhs endured hardships, but most residents residing in British Columbia failed to understand their situation. Unfortunately, the Sikhs had their character and public image roughly introduced by the press influencers who focused on belittling them. Uninformed campaigns extended towards the Sikhs exemplified hate speech, and this led to the culmination of hostility (Arora " Bava, 2018). The mayor governing Vancouver ordered the police to monitor Canada’s immigration shed to counter the new Sikh arrivals from the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the process, new Indian immigrants would not move directly to new cities in Canada’s interior to search for employment opportunities.
The Sikh immigration created hostility which made the British Columbians brand their laborers the name “invaders.” Meanwhile, fears and hardships affected the local community. The Europeans took the hostility to another level by naming the oriental immigrants the name “Yellow Perils.” However, most of the Sikh men were naturally peaceful; they would again live in substantial housing units and they would at times collide with the health inspector and not the police (Johnston, 2014). In Canada’s mainstream society, the Sikh would always have their immigration concerns linked to labor rights and racism. Such adverse conditions affecting the Sikh mostly happened in Vancouver.
The Perception of the Canadian government over the Indians
When carrying out a possible examination of the incidents associated with Komagata Maru, the need to gain an understanding of the politics as well as the intrinsic thoughts among the Canadians has significance. All interested parties have to analyze the social welfare and the political interactions established between the Canadian society and the Indian migrants. This paper elucidates the rise of the Sikh’s immigration. The social changes happening in Canada increased the pressure to have the Sikhs kicked out of Canada. Moreover, the Sikh’s had an undying growth of their population (Knowles, 2016). The Canadian society resulted in discriminatory climates had influenced the legislation to outmaneuver the Sikhs.
The authority enforced by Sir Wilfred Laurier, Canada’s Prime Minister who governed his nation between 1896 and 1911 led to the imposition of a collection of legislative rules. During this time, the Canadian government and the Councils failed to question the body presiding over human rights on their intention to close this matter. Instead, the government and its subsidiary agencies encouraged to have these immigration concerns disguised ultimately. Laurier’s government pioneered the drafting two orders. The first order required all new Indians entering Canada to possess more than two hundred dollars and the second order forfeited the arrival of new immigrants. The first order barred all men who earned less than ten dollars a day in their country while the latter legislation became effective by compelling steamship companies not to sell tickets in all the Indian ports.
British Columbia labor leaders and politicians popularized campaigns which focused on barring oriental immigrants from accessing Canada since the 1970’s. However, their efforts would get paralyzed when the Dominion government failed to acknowledge that Canada suffered from considerable immigration concerns (George " Chaze, 2015). Meanwhile, Laurier would have few Canadian friends when in British Columbia upon suggesting that Canada had no intention of excluding the British, whether they were of mixed race or not. In 1907, Canada was affected by the appreciating cases of Asian immigration while its economy continued to deteriorate. The Labour Council and Vancouver Traders merged to create a league which intended to exclude the Asians out of Canada. Later, this league created a nationwide riot when provocateurs led marchers through the Japanese and Chinese quarters.
Laurier would again analyze the Indian and the Japanese immigration. The Japanese vowed to limit the level of immigrants entering Canada to approximately four hundred men a year. However, the Indian government failed to acknowledge the same migration limits as considered by the Japanese. British India believed that the Indian nationalists would device possible approaches of exploiting their rights. In North America, the Canadian government always thought that the Indian community would still create disquieting ideas. Despite, the Sikhs knew about the persecution subjected to their Indian associates (Arora " Bava, 2018). Immigration laws meant that the Sikhs would have their families and friends prevented from entering Canada. The Canadian government had instituted legislative measures which helped minimize the Sikh immigration through the use of racism and massive hostility.
During the early Sikh immigration period, Sikhs would vary whenever the concerns of political allegiance had to get considered. Most Sikhs became faithful to the British Crown, while some sections of the Sikh rose against the oppressive British rule to claim India’s independence (Johnston, 2014). In the process, the varying allegiance which the Sikhs had towards the British led to the eventual splitting of the Sikhs. An example of the Sikh’s division became palpable during a historical conflict where two British spies Mewa Singh and William Charles Hopskin rose against British rule in India and Hopskin would get murdered. Modern and traditional ethnic community would exhibit varying value standards and behavior patterns as well as social control means.
1880 marks the time when W.C. Hopskin was born in India’s Delhi, and he would spend part of his time in northern India where he spoke local forms of languages. In 1903, Hopskin became Calcutta's inspector of police until 1907 when he shifted to Vancouver. As an immigrant, Hopskin served the Canadian government as an interpreter and inspector, but he never forfeited his allegiance of working for the Indian government as police (Knowles, 2016). Hopskin had access to India’s intelligence and criminal records which his Canadian superiors had no access permission. Hopskin’s networks were significant in the U.S. that America’s Commissioner working as a General immigration officer smoothed the inquiries which came along his path.
Hopskin received annual salary payments from India, America, and Canada for his different services. It was Hopskin’s work to monitor the Indians in Canada, to understand their activities, way of life, and movement, and the more contacts he acquired, his working process became easy. Other inspectors lacked special language skills that would enable them to intermingle with the diverse ethnic groups from India. Of course, it was Hopskin’s role to control Indians and not to help them at all.
The prejudice extended towards the Sikhs made them understand the provocative laws which banned emigration, and in the process, the Sikhs responded by creating a new community for themselves. The Sikhs rose up against the political bias which the Canadian government had enforced to stop their immigration. The sense of religiosity among the Sikhs bonds everyone within the temple, gurdwaras (Arora " Bava, 2018). Sikhs frequently socialize to create a home-based social network, and mostly, they emphasize the need to honor traditional values established within their real community. The Sikhs identify with the customs of Punjabi traditions, and it is significant that they retain a centralized place of orientation where the gurdwaras form a unique point of their entire life, even today. The gurdwaras have always provided the Sikhs a chance to pool together and participate in politics.
Historical Occurrences
East Indian immigrants focused to counter the British rule enforced over India. Their fight to minimize discrimination as exposed within the Canadian law would best get exhibited through the incident of Komagata Maru (Johnston, 2014). The incident occurred when a Japanese steamship ferrying Indian immigrants was denied access right to dock at Burrard, an Inlet in Vancouver, Canada on July 23, 1914. Komagata Maru had sailed from different destinations, and upon arriving in Vancouver, its 376 passengers had to make a possible return to India. The ship had ferried 40 Muslims, 340 Sikhs, and 12 Hindus, all who were immigrants. The deportation of the immigrants to Canada branded the passengers onboard as malicious political agitators. Meanwhile, the Sikh emigrants collaborated with men who countered the British rule through the creation of an inevitable revolution. The Canadian government would regulate its coasts found in British Columbia while the British imposed stringent laws over all Indians.
Conclusion
The East Indians, that is, the Sikhs, who acquired the precious opportunity to migrate to Canada, would suffer due to the effect of formalized legislations. Most Sikhs would experience informal restrictions when it came to concerns associated with labor rights, housing, public services and facilities, and education. Therefore, for the sake of benefiting from the available Canadian employment opportunities, most Sikhs had to shave their beards, cut their hair, and become westernized (George " Chaze, 2015). Most Sikhs would Anglicize their names to ensure that they immersed considerable benefits. In 1947, Canada amended its legislation on immigration when India gained independence from their colonial masters. In the process, Sikhs the opportunity to become Canadian citizens and they would benefit from the privilege to vote. Currently, the Sikhs alone form the most significant community segment in Vancouver, Canada.
References
Arora, K., " Bava, S. (2018). An Unknown, Unnamable Journey: Family Therapists in Complex Conversations as Muslim and Sikh Immigrants. In Engaging with Spirituality in Family Therapy (pp. 33-48). Springer, Cham.
George, U., " Chaze, F. (2015). Punjabis/Sikhs in Canada. Migration, Mobility and Multiple Affiliations, 94-104.
Johnston, H. J. (2014). The voyage of the Komagata Maru: The Sikh challenge to Canada's color bar. UBC Press.
Knowles, V. (2016). Strangers at Our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1540–2015. Dundurn.
