a clean, manly, honest race. My more recent experience as surgeon in mining camps among thousands of white men, where immorality is rife, has increased my respect for the Sikhs. I have not seen . . . . one good reason why they should not be permitted to bring their families in as freely as the European immi- grants, Justice, humanity, and morality all cry for the removal of the restrictions which prevent the Sikh's enjoyment of home life." The above-mentioned letters are enough proof to show even to those afflicted with that peculiar malady known as IIinduphobia that the Sikhs in Canada have made good. Mr. W. W. Baer, editor of the Victoria Times, in summing up his observation in a lengthy article said: "I could print a hundred letters telling me of the faithfulness of the Hindu in his service to his employer; the reliance that may be safely placed upon him at his work, and his unshrinking application of his strength to his varied tasks. Altogether my opinion is, that of the several racial types who have crossed the Pacific Ocean to par ticipate in our great toil of reducing this Western province to its final productive power, the Hindu is the most desirable.”'
Or
And now a few words about the Siklis will be useful. What are they? The Sikhs come from the Punjab in North India. As there was a Reformation in Europe, so there was one in India and about the same time, viz, in the 15th century. A great teacher Guru by the name of Baba Nanak was born in a village near Lahore. He taught the unity of all religions, the brotherhood of man, raising the outcasts and abolition of the caste system, equality of sexes in divine worship, and doing away with idol worship. Nanak wanted all races and sects to unite in the spirit of ser vice. The Sikh worship is very democratic and the spirit of self-sacrifice is the domi- nant characteristic. He taught belief in One God, the Father of all.
This pure teaching could not but reform the whole Hindu social system. All his followers were known as Sikhs or disciples. There were nine more teachers, the last of whom was Guru Govind Singh who in order to protect the religious brotherhood from bigotry within the Hindu system and persecution from with- out from the authorities of the day, organized the Sikhs into a strong militant body known as the Khalsa or the Elect Fellowship. He instituted the Khanda di puhul or baptism of the sword whereby a Sikh became a member of the great Khalsa brotherhood for help of the weak, the fallen and the oppressed. He knit them
so closely that soon after his death the Sikhs gained the ascendancy in North India where Ranjit Singh, the lion
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of the Punjab ruled over considerable ter- ritory. But after his death the spirit of the faith seemed to have left the Khalsa and the ' Sikhs although valiant foemen, gave way to the British.
The Sikhs' pure religion and social customs gave them strong faith in God and man, and martial vigor is a direct result of these qualities.
How they helped the British
in 1857 very soon after the Sikh wars in the Punjab and since then not only in India, but in Abyssinia, Egypt, East Africa, China and other parts of Asia is a matter known to all. They have been forward in all movements for uplift in India. Female education is far advanced amongst them. Of late they have started a big institution at Amritsar known as the Khalsa College for the education of their youth. They have also been holding Educational Conferences in India for the furtherance of education amongst the Sikhs. The Sikh is the husband of one wife and is not, as many suppose, polygamous. Accord- ing to Mr. M. A. McAuliffe who has made a life-long study of the Sikh religion, "The home life of the Sikh approaches the home life of the Christian more than that of any To give another other religion in the East."" Western case, the Sikhs approach the Puritans of Cromwell's day and the Sikh history and movement abroad affords a close parallel to the Puritans.
It was this spirit of adventure which makes them try their fortunes in countries overseas. Their soldierly qualities and manly habits have been spoken of by all who have come in touch with them. In India the majority of them are peasant proprietors. Each one has his plot of land of from five to ten acres except in the case of zemindars or landowners. They practise intensive farming and are born farmers. In villages all over the Punjab the Sikhs' farming abilities are well recognized.
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The Queen's Proclamation of 1858 says: "We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian territories by the same obligations of duty which bind us to all our other sub- jects.
This is truly called the Magna Carta of the Indian people. On the fiftieth anniversary of the great Proclamation, it was confirmed and ratified by another message from King Edward VII to the princes and people of India. To them and to their Sover- eign it has not been a mere "scrap of
paper. In spite of this the Sikhs in Canada have not even fared as well as the alien Chinese and Japanese. Whilst from 1908 to 1914, during 6 years, 28,525 Chinese, and during the same interval 3,548 Japanese entered Canada, only 117 Hindus were allowed to enter the Dominion. Each Chinaman
On
sons
admission has to pay a tax of $500.00. Who pays this tax is quite a different story. Per- competent to judge regarding these matters say this sum comes out of the pockets of those who employ the Chinese. A China- man nowadays demands double the wages which he did before. As regards the Japanese they have an arrangement with the Govern- ment at Ottawa whereby 400 per year are admitted and whilst here let me point out another discrimination practised against the Sikh. A Japanese has only to show $50.00 in his possession when landing in Canada, a Sikh must have $200.00. All this is not in the spirit of the Queen's Proclamation.
The people of India think this "No Hindu need apply" sign which has been placed over Canada's door is un-British and when a man wrote to the Montreal Star, "We do not want these people, the Hindus, not even if the British Government and King George himself wanted it," the Sikhs believe he was speaking from ignorant prejudice. But it is surprising when a member of parliament gives out a challenge that Hindu civiliza- tion has done nothing to uplift the other races of the world and has produced nothing. That is a libel upon a whole nation and leaving aside what India has stood for in the past, we point to the most recent example, Rabindranath Tagore, the Hindu poet, whom the King has honored with knighthood, and who in 1913 won the Nobel Prize in literature open to all the world. Competent judges have pronounced his poems as a spiritual revela- tion."'
This one man alone is refutation for this babbling politician.
When the Sikhs approach the British Colum bia Government, it says this matter is directly under Ottawa. When we approach Ottawa
our friends tell us London, having quite a say in Imperial affairs, is the final court of appeal in such maters. The Sikh delegation went there and were told it is a Dominion concern. In thus being flung from pillar to post even the Sikhs' patience has been taxed to the limit. They have approached the Viceroy who in the fall of 1914 spoke on the policy of Reciprocity with Canada as regards immigration with what results we know not. What the Sikhs want is not high-sounding platitudes, but deeds. We have had enough of generous sentiments, but they do not go What is wanted is definite assurances and practical action in this matter.
far.
At the Indian National Congress held in Dec, 1914, a speaker moved the following resolution:
"Confucius, the Chinese sage very wisely uttered 'recompense good with good and evil with justice. Justice is the idea which really
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lies behind the idea of reciprocity. The Viceroy has invited an expression of opinion of the Indian people on the question of reci- procity. Therefore those who are assembled at the Congress have to express the opinion of the educated Indians. It was thought in some quarters that India was taking part in the war in expectation of a reward. She does not claim this reciprocity as a matter of roward, but as a matter of pure justice; what India wants is absolute equality of right with If any one of the self-governing colonies. Canada says that Indians can only go direct from India to Canada where there is no direct line of steamer from India to America, India should say that no Canadian shall come to India unless he comes to India along a direct line of steamer from Canada. Similarly with regard to the civil service in India of Colonists,
With regard to Australia there is a special test, not a test of color-that Asiatics must be able to translate some living language put before them for admission into Australia. When an Indian goes to Australia they give him modern Greek which he cannot at all know. If a white emigrant goes there, they give him French or German which he knows.
If an Australian comes to India, he must be made to translate Bengali, Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam. What India wants is equality on every point insisted by the self- governing colonies. Indians are now invited to colonize Queensland (a tropical climate) which cannot be cultivated by white men. If all the facilities given to white men for colonization are given to Indians, and Indians are asked to colonize Queensland under favor- able conditions and without derogation to their rights as citizens of the empire, Indians might colonize Australia. It is true that Australians may not come here as laborers and that Indians might want to go to Aus tralia as laborers. So the best way of retalia- tion in the case of Australia is to exclude every kind of imports from that country, if they exclude our people. The imports from Australia to Madras annually amount to more than 13 lakhs of rupees. If that is done a moral effect will be created which nothing else can do. Some sort of prohibitory duty should be inflicted as a moral protest against wrongs inflicted upon Indians in the colonies.
Next as regards indentured labor. An in- dentured laborer is a slave to all intents and purposes. Government checked the export of indentured labor to some of the South African Federations. If indenture is demanded from Indian emigrants to South Africa, white people must also be admitted to India on similar conditions and the difficulties of in. denture will then vanish. The self-governing Colonies are autonomous and impose restric tions on Indian emigrants as they choose.
The Resolution asks that the powers exer- cised by those self-governing colonies should be exercised by the Government of India until India gets the same autonomy, and it is not far off as some people imagine. Whatever the colony does toward India, let the Govern- ment of India do towards the colonies in the name of the people. That is the real senti- ment of the people of India and nothing less than that will satisfy them. It is to be remembered that India is growing conscious
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