Pioneer Asian Indian
Immigration to the Pacific Coast

In the annals of Asians’ struggle for US citizenship, Bhagat Singh Thind’s fight for citizenship occupies a prominent historical place. Thind’s citizenship was rescinded four days after it was granted. Eleven months later, he received his citizenship for the second time. However, the Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which sent Thind’s case to the next higher court for ruling. Thind valiantly fought his case in the Supreme Court but the judge revoked his citizenship simply due to the color of his skin. The verdict in Bhagat Singh’s case, United States v. Thind ensured that the rights and privileges of naturalization were reserved for “Whites” only.

Indians in the United States were commonly called “Hindoos” (“Hindus”) irrespective of their faith. Thind’s nationality was also referred to as "Hindoo” or “Hindu" in all legal documents and the media although he was a Sikh by faith and preserved his religious beliefs and practices by keeping his beard, long hair on his head and wore turban.

Bhagat Singh came to the US in 1913 to pursue higher education in an American university. However, on July 22, 1918, he was recruited by the US Army to fight in World War 1. A few months later, on November 8, 1918, Bhagat Singh, a turban wearing “Hindu”, was promoted to the rank of an Acting Sergeant. He had not even served for a month in his new position when the war was declared ended. He received an “honorable discharge” on 16th of December, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent". [Rashmi Sharma Singh: Petition for citizenship filed on September 27, 1935, State of New York].

The U.S. citizenship conferred many rights and privileges but only “free white men” were eligible to apply. In the United States, many anthropologists used Caucasian as a general term for "white.” Indian nationals from the north of the Indian Sub-Continent were also considered Caucasian. Thus, several Indians were granted US citizenship in different states. Thind also applied for citizenship from the state of Washington in July 1918.

He received his citizenship certificate on December 9, 1918 wearing military uniform as he was still serving in the US army. However, the Immigration and Naturalization Service did not agree with the district court granting the citizenship. Thind’s citizenship was revoked in four days, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that he was not a “free white man.” Thind was trusted by the US to be a soldier in the army and had all the rights and privileges like any “white man.” He was worthy of trust to defend the US but his color stood in his way for the US to trust him for citizenship.

Thind was disheartened but was not ready to give up. He applied for citizenship again from the neighboring state, Oregon on May 6, 1919. The same Immigration and Naturalization Service official who got Thind’s citizenship revoked first time, tried to convince the judge to refuse citizenship to a “Hindoo” from India. He even brought up the issue of Thind’s involvement in the Gadar Movement, members of which campaigned actively for the independence of India from the British Empire. Judge Wolverton, believing Thind, observed, “He (Thind) stoutly denies that he was in any way connected with the alleged propaganda of the Gadar Press to violate the neutrality laws of this country, or that he was in sympathy with such a course. He frankly admits, nevertheless, that he is an advocate of the principle of India for the Indians, and would like to see India rid of British rule, but not that he favors an armed revolution for the accomplishment of this purpose.” The judge took all arguments and Thind’s military record into consideration and declined to agree with the INS. Thus, Thind received US citizenship for the second time on November 18, 1920.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service had included Thind’s involvement in the Gadar Movement as one of the reasons for the denial of citizenship to him. Gadar which literally means revolt or mutiny, was the name of the magazine of Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast. The magazine became so popular among Indians, that the association itself became known as the Gadar party.

The Hindustan Association of the Pacific Coast was formed in 1913 with the objective of freeing India from the British rule. The majority of the supporters and members were from the Punjabi community who had come to the US for better economic opportunities. They were unhappy with racial prejudice and discrimination against them. Indian students, who were welcomed in the universities, also faced discrimination in finding jobs commensurate with their qualifications, on graduation. They attributed prejudice, inequity and unfairness to their being nationals of a subjugated country. Har Dyal, a faculty member at Stanford University, who had relinquished his scholarship and studies at Oxford University, England, provided leadership for the newly formed association and channelized the pro-Indian, anti-British sentiment of the students for independence of India.

Soon after the formation of the Gadar party, World War I broke out in August, 1914. The Germans, who fought against England in the war, offered the Indian Nationalists (Gadarites) financial aid for arms and ammunition to enable Indian volunteer fighters to expel the British from India while the British Indian troops would be busy fighting war at the front. The Gadarite volunteers, however, did not succeed in their mission and were taken captives upon reaching India. Several Gadarites were imprisoned, many for life, and some were hanged. In the United States too, many Gadarites and Germans who supported Gadar activities, were prosecuted in the San Francisco Hindu German Conspiracy Trial (1917-18) and some were convicted for varying terms of imprisonment for violating the American Neutrality Laws.

Thind like many other Indian students had joined the Gadar movement and actively advocated independence of India from the British Empire. Judge Wolverton granted him citizenship after he was convinced that Thind was not involved in any “subversive” activities. The Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed against the judge’s decision to the next higher court – the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which sent the case to the US Supreme Court for ruling on the following two questions:

1. Is a high caste Hindu of full Indian blood, born at Amrit Sar, Punjab, India, a white person within the meaning of section 2169, Revised Statutes?"
2. Does the act of February 5, 1917 (39 Stat. L. 875, section 3) disqualify from naturalization as citizens those Hindus, now barred by that act, who had lawfully entered the United States prior to the passage of said act?"

Section 2169, Revised Statutes, provides that the provisions of the Naturalization Act “shall apply to aliens, being free white persons, and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent.”

In preparing briefs for the Ninth Circuit Court, Thind’s attorney argued that the Immigration Act of 1917 barred new immigrants from India but did not deny citizenship to Indians who were legally admitted like Thind, prior to the passage of the new law. The purpose of the Immigration Act was “prospective and not retroactive.”

Thind’s attorney gave references of previous court cases of some Indians who were granted citizenship by the lower federal courts which considered Indians as Caucasians and hence eligible for citizenship. (U.S. v. Dolla 1910, U.S. v. Balsara 1910, Akhay Kumar Mozumdar 1913, Mohan Singh, 1919). In 1922, in the case of a Japanese immigrant, US vs. Ozawa, the highest court, the U.S. Supreme Court officially equated “white person” with “a person of the Caucasian race”. Judge Wolverton, in granting citizenship to Thind, said, “The word “white” ethnologically speaking was intended to be applied in its popular sense to denote at least the members of the white or Caucasian race of people.”

Thind was convinced that based on Ozawa's straightforward ruling of racial specification and many similar previous court cases, he would win in the fight and his winning will open the doors for all Indians in the United States to obtain US citizenship. Little did he know that the color of his skin would become the grounds for denial of the right of citizenship by the highest court in the US.

Justice George Sutherland of the United States Supreme Court delivered the unanimous opinion of the court on February 19, 1923, in which he argued that since the "common man's" definition of “white” did not correspond to "Caucasian", which Indians were, they could not be naturalized. Thus the Judge, giving his verdict, said, “a negative answer must be given to the first question, which disposes of the case and renders an answer to the second question unnecessary, and it will be so certified.”

Shockingly, Justice Sutherland, the same judge who had equated Whites as Caucasians in US vs. Ozawa, pronounced that Thind though Caucasian, was not “White” and thus was ineligible for US citizenship. The judge apparently decided the case under the prevailing pressure by the forces of prejudice, racial hatred and bigotry, not on the basis of precedent that he had established in a previous case.

 The Supreme Court verdict shook the faith and trust of many Indians in the American system of justice. The economic impact for land and property owning Indians was devastating as they again came under the jurisdiction of the California Alien Land Law of 1913 which restricted ownership of land by persons ineligible for citizenship. Some Indians had to liquidate their land holdings at dramatically lower prices. America, the dreamland, did not offer the dream they had come to realize.

Thind's citizenship was revoked and the INS issued a certificate in 1926 canceling his citizenship for a second time. The Immigration and Naturalization Bureau also initiated proceedings to rescind American citizenship of Indians and from 1923 to 1926, citizenship of fifty Indians was revoked. The Barred Zone Act of 1917 had already prevented fresh immigration of Indians. The continued shadow of insecurity and instability compelled some to go back to India to anchor their lives with their families and familiar environment. The Supreme Court decision further lead to the decline in the number of Indians to 3130 by 1930. [From India to America; Garry Hess, p 31]

There probably was little sympathy for treating “Hindu Thind” shabbily but there was a concern for the poor treatment of “US Veteran Thind.” Thus in 1935, the 74th congress passed a law allowing citizenship to US Veterans of World War I, even those from the 'barred zones'. Dr. Thind finally received his U.S. citizenship through the state of New York in 1936, taking oath for the third time to become an American citizen. This time, no official of the INS dared to object or appeal against his naturalization.

Thind had come to the US for higher education and to “fulfill his destiny as a spiritual teacher.” Long before his arrival in the US or of any other religious teacher or yogi from India, American intellectuals had shown keen interest in Indian religious philosophy. Hindu sacred books translated by the English missionaries had made their way to America and were the “favorite text” of many members of the Transcendentalists’ society which was started by some American thinkers and intellectuals who were dissatisfied with spiritual inadequacy of the Unitarian Church. The society flourished during the period of 1836-1860 in the Boston area and had some prominent and influential members including author and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), poet Walter Whitman (1819 – 1892), and writer Henry David Thoreau (1817-62).

Emerson’s writings reflected influence of Indian philosophy. In 1868, Walt Whitman wrote the poem "Passage to India." Henry David Thoreau had considerable acquaintance of Indian philosophical works.

Bhagat Singh Thind had started delivering lectures in Indian philosophy and metaphysics.

Thind, during his early life, was influenced by the spiritual teachings of his father whose “living example left an indelible blueprint in him.” During his formative years in India, he read the literary writings of American authors Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau and they too had deeply impressed him. After graduating from Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, and encouraged by his father, he left for Manila, Philippines where he stayed for a year. He resumed his journey to his destination and reached Seattle, Washington, on July 4, 1913.

Thind had gained some understanding of the American mind by interacting with students and teachers at the university and with common people by working in lumber mills of Oregon and Washington during summer vacations to support himself while at UC Berkeley. Thus, his teaching included the philosophy of many religions and in particular that contained in Sikh scriptures. During his lectures, discourses and classes to Christian audience, he frequently quoted Vedas, Guru Nanak, Kabir, etc. He also made references to the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau to which his American audience could easily relate to. He gave new “vista of awareness” to his students throughout the United States and was able to initiate “thousands of disciples” into his expanded view of reality – “the Inner Life, and the discovery of the power of the Holy Năm.” He never converted or persuaded any of his students to become Hindu or Sikh but generously shared India’s mystical, spiritual and philosophical treasures with them.

Thind who had earned a Ph.D, became a prolific writer and was respected as “spiritual guide.” He published many pamphlets and books and reached “an audience of at least five million.” The list of his books include Radiant Road to Reality, Science of Union with God , The Pearl of Greatest Price, House of Happiness, Jesus, The Christ: In the Light of Spiritual Science (Vol. I, II, III), The Enlightened Life, Tested Universal Science of Individual Meditation in Sikh Religion, Divine Wisdom in three volumes. [www.Bhagatsinghthind.com]

Thind was working on some books when suddenly he died on September 15, 1967. He was born on October 3, 1892, thousands of miles away in the village of Taragarh, tehsil Jandiala, district Amritsar, in the state of Punjab, India. He was survived by his wife, Vivian, whom he had married in March, 1940, daughter, Rosalind and son, David, to whom several of his books are dedicated.

Thind never established a temple, Gurdwara or a center for his followers but lived for a long time in the hearts of his numerous followers. David Thind, long after his father’s death, has established a website www.Bhagatsinghthind.com to propagate the philosophy for which Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind spent his entire life in the US. He has also posthumously published two of his father’s books, Troubled Mind in a Torturing World and their Conquest, and Winners and Whiners in this Whirling World and is working on some others.

Thind extended the boundaries of his fight by challenging the forces of race and color. Unfortunately, even the highest US court could not rise above the low level of skin color.

Inder Singh is chairman of Indian American Heritage Foundation, president of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International), former president of NFIA and founder president of FIA of Southern California.