Aug. 15 is an important day for India and for members of the
India Canada Association of Sudbury. On Aug. 15 1947,
India became an independent nation after more than a century of
struggle against English, French and Portuguese foreign
control.
The day is marked much like Canadians celebrate Canada Day
with speeches, colourful parades and celebrations. The flag of
India was raised at Tom Davies Square Monday to celebrate the
occasion.
According to Statistics Canada in 2001, there were 713,330 people who consider themselves as being Indo-Canadians.
The Indo-Canadian community dates back to the beginning of the
late 19th century. The pioneers were men, mostly Sikhs from the
Punjab.
Many were veterans of the British Army who were encouraged
to settle on the West Coast, which at the time was very
sparsely populated, to prevent a takeover by the United States.
Queen Victoria proclaimed in 1858 that throughout the empire
the people of India would enjoy "equal privileges with white
people without discrimination of colour, creed or race." Of
course, the first immigrants to Canada faced racism. The
Canadian government prevented Indian men from bringing their
wives and children until 1919.
Policies were put in place in 1907 to prevent Indians from
voting and there were quotas on Indo-Canadian immigration
until 1957. The government re-enfranchised Indo-Canadians'
right to vote in 1947.
Vicki Gilhula
