Perhaps this section on South Asians needs definition more than
other sections. South Asians are sometimes referred to as East
Indians. The complexity of writing about South Asians is that they
are diverse linguistically and culturally in many ways. People of
South Asian decent may come from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Nepal, India, Afghanistan, and Bhutan. Further, the majority of
the people living in India reside primarily in villages as opposed
to larger urban areas. These small communities each differ
linguistically, culturally and religiously. There are, for
example, at least a dozen different language groups within India,
which are mutually unintelligible. Add to this a complex class and
caste system as well as the movement and emigration of many South
Asians and the endeavor of profiling South Asians in Alberta
becomes increasingly complex. Although their history in Alberta is
relatively a short one, they have contributed greatly to the
province.
Just as there are great divisions between different cultures and
groups within South Asia, there are also commonalities that make
it logical for us to discuss the South Asians as a group. Hinduism
is believed to come from the Arya people, in approximately 1500
BCE, who conquered the entire area of Pakistan and Northern India.
From their beliefs imposed upon the people of that area, Hinduism
was born. The moral and intellectual foundations of the religion,
such as emphasis on family and interest in philosophy pervade the
South Asians today. That is not all. The South Asians also have a
shared history, specifically one of colonization. This is
colonization from the Mogul people, although probably the most
pervasive were the British whose effects can still be seen today.
As earlier mentioned, South Asians did not settle in Alberta until
relatively late. Much of the reason was sadly the difficult
immigration policy. Much like the outrageous entry tax for Chinese
immigrants, Canadian policy was motivated by attempting to limit
Sikh immigration. The resulting policy around 1907 stated that
immigrants must come directly from their country of origin. At
this time there was no possible way to get from India to Canada.
This included wives and other family members of other South Asians
already in Canada, most of which were in British Columbia.
Finally, in 1919, they were allowed to bring over their wives,
however the legislation remained in effect until 1947. The South
Asians came together to fight this legislation but to no avail.
Although this effectively stopped any immigration of new families,
the South Asians that were here, even in the 1920s, quickly became
University graduates and successful farmers
Then, during World War II, it was decided that Colonial India
would be divided into India and Pakistan, and Ceylon would become
independent. The Indian government would not accept the
discrimination against its people. Therefore, in 1948 the Canadian
government lifted the continuous passage legislation.
Relatively large immigration into Alberta, however, did not begin
until the 1960s, as part of a trend of professional immigrants
coming to Alberta. The South Asians who came to Alberta were
generally skilled, educated and held somewhat high positions in
their country of origin. Most of these people had a higher
education in English and therefore adapted more easily to life
Canada. In Alberta it is difficult to find or identify a place
central to the South Asians of Alberta, whether a town or a
neighbourhood within a city. The people of South Asia settled
throughout the province.
Although the immigrants from South Asia were well educated and
equipped to handle the change from their homeland to life in
Canada, they had to and continue to face racism, making their
adaptation only more difficult. The tendency in the past has been
to group the South Asians together, assuming they are
interchangeable and to adhere to and create a negative stereotype
of what it means to be South Asian. However, the South Asian
community is strong and its participation in Alberta can only
enrich us by learning of a rich history and culture within our
province.
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This digital collection was
produced with financial assistance from Canada's Digital
Collections initiative, Industry Canada.