Date: 1984-06-21
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Kartar Singh Ghag came to Canada in 1924. His father had come to Canada previously, in 1907. The family's financial situation forced them to come to Canada in search of work. Initially he worked in a saw mill as a cleaner. While he didn't initially want to do cleaning work, he was not physically strong enough to do heavy labour required in many other jobs, so he accepted the cleaning job. He was paid 20¢ per hour. Later, he went to Nanoose Bay where he worked selling fuel wood. He also worked…
Date: 1984-07-05
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Lakshman Singh Thandi came to Canada in 1930 at the age of 17. He came from a village where he studied up to the 7th Standard. Nobody else from the family attended school. His father came to Canada in 1906 and learned enough English to read a newspaper.
At that time there it was hard to get a passport in India. He came along with three other people during World War I. The medical examination for his entry to Canada was conducted in Hong Kong. One of the most common reasons for being rejected…
Date: 1984-07-10
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Dr. D.P. Pandia first came from a village in Tamil Nadu to Canada in 1939 for a six-month visit; he went on to visit the United States, Mexico and other countries. He arrived in Canada permanently in 1954. He had previously studied in India and England, where he took a degree in law.
His village in India was an agricultural town of 400-500 people. Their crops were rice, sugarcane and vegetables. Their way of life was similar to that in Punjab, which made it easier for him to understand the…
Date: 1984-07-11
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Jag Singh Uppal came to Canada as an infant, along with his mother and brother, in 1926. Because they were the wife and children of a landed immigrant they did not have a problem getting a visa. He went to school on 2nd Avenue, where white kids would bully Indian children by pulling their turbans and hair. Then one day a person from his village cut Uppal's hair.
His father died when he was in grade 10 and Uppal left school to go to work. His father had a small business selling loads of wood…
Date: 1984-07-19
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Imanat Ali Khan came to Canada at the age of 25 in 1912. Family members of his had come to Vancouver and San Francisco as early as 1907. In Punjab his family owned land and Khan had been a wrestler. He came via Manila on a Japanese ship. The trip took three months. When they arrived in Manila he learned that there was a requirement that immigrants stay six months in Manila before proceeding to Canada. Khan had a relative in Manila who gave him his papers so that he could go on right away. The…
Date: 1984-07-20
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Mrs. Bhani Kaur Johal came at the age of 17 in 1927. The region they came from in the Punjab is called Jandiala. Their families had land there. Her husband had a dream that after their children got married they would go back to their village. He had been a wrestler in the Punjab. Her in-laws were already settled in Canada. She never went to school and was married at the age of 13. Her husband came to Canada 2 ½ years before she did. Her children were all born in Canada. Her in-laws had…
Date: 1984-07-27
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Ranjit Singh Mattu came in 1925 with his mother at the age of 6. His father, a farmer, came to Canada in 1906 looking for a better life. They came via Hong Kong to Vancouver. When he came a second time he, could not get direct ship to Vancouver. He went to the United States but was not allowed to land and was sent back to Japan. From Japan he came to Vancouver. He did not face any immigration problems when he landed in Vancouver as he had all the necessary papers. Mattu was a mill worker living…
Date: 1984-08-13
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Ranjit Hall retired from the Department of Immigration and Manpower in 1981. His father, Gokul Singh, came from Ludhiana [in Punjab] to Canada in 1906. Hall came to Canada with his parents in 1924 at the age of 6. He did not know his father before that. They had land in the village. His father served in the police force in Hong Kong for 4-5 years and knew Cantonese. Indians traveling between India and North America would stay in the Gurdwara [temple] in Hong Kong while en route. They went from…
Date: 1984-09-12
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Pritam Kaur Johal came from Bara Pind, Punjab, to Canada in 1936. She was twenty when she arrived with her two daughters. Her husband had come before her and brought her over legally. Indian women were not allowed to wear their traditional clothing so she had to change into Canadian clothes at the port. About 300 Indian women were in Canada at that time. She had no relatives here but was able to get support from the Indian community.
The trip to Vancouver began with a train to Calcutta. From…
Date: 1984-09-12
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Gurbachan Singh Johal came to Canada in 1921 when immigrants started being allowed to bring wives and unmarried children under the age of 18. His father had come in 1907. The ship in which his father came was the last ship allowed to come. 700 people came in that ship and all were allowed to land but after that law was changed so Indian people were not allowed to come to Canada. His father went to India in 1920 and in 1921 he brought his wife and Johal. In their group there were 18 people…
Date: 1984-09-20
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Hari Singh Manhas came to Canada in 1927 at the age of 11 years. His grandfather and some other relatives came in 1906. In 1924 his father went to Mexico. Later on his grandfather and father lived in India. His mother never came in Canada. They bought property in India and farmed in their village.
In 1927 there was no passport system for entering Canada. Each immigrant had to have 600 rupees with them. Their journey was from Calcutta to Hong Kong and then to Vancouver. Their medical test for…
Date: 1984-12-23
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Dhan Kaur Johal came to Canada in 1923 from Jandiala, Punjab. She came via Calcutta, Singapore, and Hong Kong. She stayed three days in Hong Kong awaiting the boat to Canada. There were only four other Indian women in Canada when she arrived. The first woman came with her children in 1914. There was a woman who came earlier that was sent back to Hong Kong because men immigrants weren't allowed to bring their families. Her husband fought the case for three years from Hong Kong. Gradually more…
Date: 1984-10-11
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Tara Singh Kot came to Victoria in 1930 at the age of 16. His father came in 1906. They had land in Punjab. He had completed 8th grade and had little knowledge of English. He came with his father and many people joined them in Hong Kong, including some women. They stayed two week in Hong Kong in the Gurdwara [temple] while waiting to come to Canada.
People lived in mills in cookhouses [group living arrangements]. There were some cookhouses outside of the mills too. Sometimes people living in…
Date: 1984-10-15
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Sardara Singh Gill came to Canada in 1925 at the age of 18 years. He studied up to 7th grade in his village. His father and some others from his village came to Canada in 1906. At that time men immigrants were not allowed to bring their families. In 1921 Indian people fought to bring their wives and children unmarried children under 18. In 1906 all were uneducated but some who had lived in Shanghai or Hong Kong knew English. Slowly other people learned English. Most of the Indian people worked…
Date: 1984-10-30
Name(s): Sharma, Hari P.
Description: Kuldip Singh Bains came to Canada in 1936 at the age of 18 years. His uncle came to Canada in 1906, then his father came in 1922. People came to Canada because it had better economic conditions. He came alone from his village. At that time wives and unmarried children under the age of 18 were allowed to come. He came via Hong Kong. At Hong Kong he stayed for 2 months at the Gurdwara [temple]. He took the Empress of Canada ship to Victoria. He traveled 3rd class where they had open bunks. He was…
