Kids Corner

Above: An early 20th-century Sikh-Canadian pioneer. Below, first from bottom - Sikh lumber workers (former soldiers), 1907. Second from bottom - A poster advertising a play based on The Komagata Maru Incident. Third from bottom - Women pioneers, 1908

History

How We Painted Canada Bright

by KUNDAN MEHAR SANGHA

 

My father, Sardar Mehar Singh Sangha, first came to Canada in 1906.

He earned his living working on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through the Rocky Mountains. He made a return trip to India in 1918, during which he married my mother, Sardarni Naranjan Kaur, and fathered two daughters.

In 1924, he returned to Canada and worked as a bookkeeper in the forest industry. Two years later, he began farming. Once he had saved enough money, he purchased land and established an apple orchard in Belgo on the outskirts of Rutland, a few miles outside the city of Kelowna (British Columbia).

Once settled, he sent for his family. In 1928, Mother and their youngest daughter, Jito, aged five, arrived in Canada; their eldest daughter, Sukhbir, stayed behind with relatives.

The family managed to survive on the income and food provided by the orchard, the garden and farm animals. With the addition of another daughter and four sons, life was challenging, especially in 1934, when a kitchen fire destroyed everything, leaving them to rebuild without insurance.

In 1942, when I, the youngest, was four years old, Father passed away. Within weeks, Mother received a telegram from India stating that Sukhbir had died giving birth to her first child. Despite the tragedy and unable to go to her daughter's funeral, Mother, with the help of the older children, continued to work the farm and raise her family alone.

It was a difficult time. We had no electricity and no indoor plumbing. Water was drawn from a well, heat from a wood stove and light from coal oil lamps. Mother would wash the printing out of old flour sacks and, with needle and thread, sew shirts for us by hand. Our clothes, albeit modest, were always clean.

Moreover, we children were never hungry, although Mother often went without eating to ensure we had enough food.

In August 1946, Mother decided to sell the orchard and move, since the farm work was getting increasingly difficult. A travelling salesman was selling his house in a nice area of Kelowna. We negotiated a fair price and put down a deposit. We were to take possession on November 1, 1946.

When word spread that an East Indian family was planning to move in, a group of people organized to ban what they referred to as "undesirables" from the area.

One individual was particularly adamant about keeping what he, in ignorance of the fact that we were Sikhs, called "Hindus" out of his neighbourhood. This former alderman attempted to convince a substantial number of people to sign a petition to take to Kelowna City Hall.

However, he fell short. He and his supporters then decided to take their case before the mayor and city council on August 19, 1946.

But, opposition was not the only reaction our proposed move attracted; the attention also generated some support for us. Our farm was adjacent to one owned by Capt. Cecil R. Bull, a retired army officer, who had been the provincial MLA for Okanagan South in the late 1930s, until he was ousted by W.A.C. Bennett in 1941.

The Captain had ties in India and a familiarity with Sikhs and people from the subcontinent.

He and his family took us under their wing and gave us moral and practical support whenever needed.

Since Father's death, my oldest sister, Jito, had assumed a leadership role in the family. She had left school early to be by Mother's side, helping out at home and in the orchard. Since Mother did not speak English, Jito, then 25 years old, with a Grade 6 education, went to City Hall to represent our family.

Accompanied by Captain Bull, Jito sat with unyielding dignity, while prospective neighbours and other members of the community presented their arguments why we should not be allowed to live in residential areas of Kelowna. I can still feel the sting of ignorance and insult my sister must have felt, as the delegation incorrectly and repeatedly referred to my family as "Hindus", when in fact we are proud Sikhs.

Bull, although neither a resident nor a property owner in the city, received permission to address council. He spoke on a personal level, describing our family as clean, hard-working and well-respected. He also spoke on a social level, commending Sikhs in general for their honesty, bravery and loyalty in the war effort. He warned of the consequences of civic or institutional prejudice.

Bull's influence made a significant impression on the council and my family and the community appreciated that his assistance was vital to our success.

The council concluded that the matter should be dealt with by a committee and established a five-day "cooling-off" period. People on both sides of the debate recognized that this incident would set an important precedent. Leaders of the Sikh-Canadian community met at the Vancouver Gurdwara, where they decided to help my family by providing financial support should the case go to court or to the provincial level.

Kelowna's city council quickly realized that there was nothing it could legally do to prevent the purchase and occupancy of a home on the basis of race.

The media coverage was surprisingly fair. The reporting in the Kelowna Courier about the council meeting and subsequent events was objective, informative and complete.

Despite the publicity and an unfortunate attempt to "Keep Kelowna White", we moved into our new home as planned. We became ideal neighbours and developed good relationships in the community.

For nine years, we enjoyed a good life in Kelowna before moving to Vancouver to seek higher education and better employment opportunities.

Over the years, our family has grown with many children and grandchildren, all productive citizens involved in many professions such as accounting, education, law and medicine. British Columbia has provided us with the opportunity to reach our full potential and we are grateful.

I am very proud of the courage of my mother and my sister, who, with the support of a caring neighbour, were able to achieve a positive outcome from an unfortunate situation and enable our family to alter the entrenched beliefs of a community.

I am also proud of how far Canadian society has come in regards to race relations.

More importantly, however, the resemblance of this incident to similar situations in Canada today should make all of us realize how far we still have to go.

 

[Courtesy: Vancouver Sun]

October 7, 2008

Conversation about this article

1: Pritam Singh Grewal (Canada), October 08, 2008, 11:30 PM.

A poignant story depicting the hardships faced by Sikh-Canadian pioneers, natural and man-made, as they settled down in their new homeland.

2: Harinder (Banglore, India), October 13, 2008, 6:50 AM.

It is also so different from other great journeys mankind has made in that no one was hurt in the process of immigration and the migrants quickly became productive members of their new country. It is certianly a saga of tenacity and resilence in the face of immnese hardships.

3: Guri Dhanoa (Geelong, Australia), October 16, 2008, 11:07 PM.

This story has shown the courage and patience of this family's suffering in their long journey to become full-fledged citizens of their new homeland. They lived in the Sikh spirit. Really moving for me.

Comment on "How We Painted Canada Bright"









To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following.

Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.