For decades, Canada has served as home-away-from-home for many Indian people. While some Canadians may believe that this influx of Indian immigrants is a new phenomenon, it has old roots, mired in the sociopolitical landscape of India during the 20th century.
As early as 1904 the first Indian immigrants landed in Canada. They had heard of Canada from the travels of British Indian troops, who had passed through Canada on their way to attend the coronation of Edward VII. Most of the immigrants were Sikhs, primarily from farming backgrounds. Their numbers did not grow fast: by 1951, there were only 2,148 South Asians in the country.
This number expanded rapidly after the immigration reforms of the 1950s, and by 1961 there were 67 925 South Asians in Canada, a number that would grow much more rapidly as a result of the turbulent social and political climate of India in the 1980s.
After India gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947, it was partitioned into two states: the “Dominion of India” and the “Dominion of Pakistan”. This separation was due to largely irreconcilable religious cleavages: India was majority Hindu, and Pakistan majority Muslim. Unrepresented by this split were the Sikhs, who represented a small but concentrated minority. Punjabi separatism quickly became a widely held desire within the province of Punjab within India. Political parties like Akali Dal championed Punjabi separatism, and figures like Tara Singh and V.S. Bratti helped develop the movement. Growing discontent caused militant groups to form, which occupied the Golden Temple — the holiest site in Sikhism — after the Anandpur Sahib Resolution was turned down by the Indian Government. It marked the start of the Punjabi insurgency in India.
On the 1st of June in 1984, fighting broke out when the army attacked scores of Sikh temples, including the Golden Temple, after negotiations broke down with Akali Dal. This was Operation Blue Star, and it would come to shape the face of Canadian immigration. Underestimating the arms of the militants, temples remained occupied until June 10, when bullets ran out.
After Operation Blue Star, Satwat Singh and Beant Singh, the bodyguards of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, shot and killed her in an act of retribution for ordering the operation. Afterwards, anti-Sikh riots raged across India, resulting in thousands of Sikh deaths across India.
It was from this landscape that Sikhs fled to Canada. Many joined other Punjabis in B.C., congregating in cities like Surrey and Abbotsford. To this day, Punjabi roots run deep within the region and are easily noticeable, from Khalistani flags to Akali Dal signs.
Beside Sikhs, Hindus also make up a large population of immigrants to Canada. While perhaps not as dramatically motivated, Hindu immigration remains rationally motivated. To Hindus looking for better economic conditions, Canada represents a new frontier which promises better pay, schooling and working conditions. Although there are a myriad of countries that are closer than the over 14 hour flight between Vancouver and New Delhi that offer similar pay, schooling and working conditions, Canada already has a large and prosperous Indian community, a significant advantage for newcomers to the country.
Moreover, Indian immigration has helped prop up Canada’s aging economy. Birth rates are at a record low, with a total fertility rate below 1.3 children per woman. The replacement rate, a rate at which the population of Canada does not increase or decrease, excluding factors like migration, is a rate of 2.1 children per woman. Immigration has given Canada a strong supply of healthy, young workers and buyers, who help keep money moving and the economy stronger than it would be.
Without new young workers, the burden of care for an increasingly older population would be handed to an ever-smaller group of young people. While this would not signal the imminent collapse of society as we know it, most likely Canadians would end up with a situation much like Japan’s: low growth and a relatively ancient population.
Ultimately, we should not treat our immigrants like they are merely some economic unit. These immigrants bring more than just economic benefits: their arrival has shaped our culture, and they are now a part of the fabric that makes Canada its own country. They are as much a part of Canadian society as any other, and are not going anywhere anytime soon. It is not some cultural war, or even a zero sum game, but the moving of people like any other, a phenomenon as old as Canada itself.
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