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Garma
Garam More
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Literature |
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Review
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Author:
Gurmukh Singh Gurmukh Singh, a journalist by profession, has spent over three years trotting the globe to write his stock-taking coffee-table travelogue about the rise to prominence of Sikh communities around the world. His book compresses the history of pioneering adventures and unceasing challenges of over a century, of overseas Sikhs, into a concise 287 pages. I had no idea of writing a book. I did not have a passport till 1999 and never thought of traveling abroad, says the author. But with a round-the-world air ticket from the New Delhi-based World Punjabi Organization, Gurmukh Singh traveled to Britain, Europe, Canada, America, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and East Africa to collect material, photographs, etc for his book, The Global Indian: The Rise of Sikhs Abroad. After three years of hard work and some additional trips abroad, he has produced a marvelous book that chronicles riveting account of how Sikhs emigrated from Punjab towards the end of the nineteenth century and today occupy a place of pride in their adopted lands. The book is not a simple catalog of few successful and prominent people. It talks of people who dared to pack their few possessions, pursued their dreams in distant lands and some turned them into realty. The pictures and words tell the social history of Sikh emigration from Punjab. For the sake of space, the review will be limited to the section on America in the book. The Sikh immigration into North America began towards the end of the nineteenth century when Hong Kong-based Sikh soldiers of the British Army who had participated in Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in London in 1897, passed through Canada on their return journey. These soldiers saw new opportunities that they could not resist. The vast land of Canada lured them back after their retirement. The author has packed stories and sketches of some of these hard working pioneers and those who followed them. America was a destination of choice. But it did not offer a friendly landscape to Sikh immigrants. Thus each individual faced unheard of challenge, discovered new possibilities, and realized his or her own human fulfillment and earthly paradise. The immigrants in the U.S. were not allowed to own land. They were barred from marrying white Americans. They married Mexican or black women and bought land in their name. They went through a long struggle for parity, painful groping toward equality and dignity till they gained the right of citizenship in 1946. Dalip Singh Saund, who faced bigotry and prejudice, and in spite of all odds, became the first Asian Congressman in 1956; in fact the first Indian elected to a major political office in the entire Western World. The book includes many Sikh achievers who have reached peaks in their respective fields. There are practicing physicians like Manjit Singh Bains of New York, Dr. Harvinder Sahota of Los Angeles, academiciansI. J. Singh, Bhai Harbans Lal, Gurinder Singh Mann, Dr. Mrigendra Singh, Dr. Jasbir Mann and Pashaura Singh; high-tech stars Narinder Singh Kapany, father of fibre optics, Kavelle Bajaj, Sanjeev Sidhu, Kanwal Rekhi, Jessie Singh and Surinder Chabra; social entrepreneurs Yogi Harbhajan Singh, Amarjit Singh Marwaha, Inder Singh and Rajen Anand, all of the Los Angeles area, Jaswant Singh Premi of New York and Dr.Rajwant Singh of Washington, D.C. Yogi Bhajan has made a huge difference to the profile of the Sikh community in the U.S. The two Sikh newspaper editors Mohinder Singh of India Journal of the Los Angeles area and Baldev Grewal of Sher-e-Punjab of New York find prominent mention in the book as do Joginder Sidhu who made the world’s smallest camera in 1982 and Spoony Singh, owner of Hollywood Wax Musuem. Didar Singh Bains of Yuba City who came to join his father in 1958, owns more than 16,000 acres of farm land and is known as the peach king of California. Much younger to him, Harbhajan Singh Samra, who came to the US in 1985, has carved out a niche for himself in Indian specialties okra, bitter melon, etc. In a short period of time, he has been crowned the king of okra by New York Times. Among the successful Sikh businessmen, Sant Singh Chatwal leads the pack. Chatwal owns Hampshire Hotels and Resorts and Bombay Palace restaurants in North America and Europe. He is probably the most well known turbaned face in America today, writes the author, Gurmukh Singh. Rattan Joea, a young man represents a potent symbol of the Sikh success story in America. Joea operates PrimeTime shuttle service for all Southern California airports and owns more than 200 vans that ply on Southern California roadways. The stories in the book are not of heads and hands only but of hearts too. It also describes various causes for which enormous amount has been contributed by some Sikh philanthropists Darshan Singh Dhaliwal of Milwaukee, Dr. Amrik Singh and Jaswinder Singh Chattha of West Virginia, Dr. Awtar Singh of Los Angeles, R.S. Ghura and Ishar Singh Bindra of New York. Dhaliwal stands out among the Sikh philanthropists. Gurmukh Singh deserves appreciation for this well produced book, The Rise of Sikhs Abroad. It is visually rich, with pictures on every other page. It marks the faces and personalities of important persons from a dynamic community. It should find a respectable place in every Sikh household. It is a must for young children to inspire them to reach for the stars. |
