The tale of Two Unsung Heros!
Tale of Two Unsung Heroes!
Breaking News!
First Turbaned Sikh in US Army in 2016
The above Breaking News compelled me to put the things in the right perspective as this news is devoid of Fact.
Hare is the story of two 'Bharat Rattans' , who gave the 'Aahuti' of their youth for Social Justice and single handed taught Indians what Secularism ,Nationalism and Cursuade mean.
This is not the First Time US has done this !Thank God America's Racialism and Ingratitude has ended! The Earlier US policy was that They did not Recognize them as Sikhs ,Called them Hindoo .On July 22, 1918, Bhagat Singh Thind ,termed as Turbaned Hindoo was recruited by the US Army to fight in World War I and used turbened Sikhs in World wars and it took them 100 years to know the Articles of Sikh faith! Even Britishers did not recruit the Kambojs and communities other than Jat Sikhs in Army.
Udham Singh Who refused to disclose his caste,Faith, Religion to the Trial Court After Killing Odwayer in Caxton Hall London) and gave his name as,Ram Mohammad singh Azad, and made it loud and clear to the Britishers that Indians could no longer be divided on caste and religious linesHave you ever heard of such a name of any Indian or Nationalist of calibre of Udham Singh, an orphan boy,who nursed the grudge of Jallinwala Bagh massacre for21 years and and took revenge from Britisher's in their own backyard,nay Assembly?
.When Scotland Yard released the files on his trial they revealed his reaction when the judge gave the verdict: he spat and swore ‘against the King and Emperor’ and declared that he wasn’t afraid of death and that when he had gone ‘thousands of [my] countrymen would drive you dirty dogs out of my country’.
Udham singh hand cuffed taken out of Caxton hall London
The White House celebrating 100th Anniversary of Pioneer Bhagat Singh Thind's Arrival in US in July 2013
Major Contributions of Dr Bhagat Singh Thind :
Breaking News!
Washington, October 8,2016
Meeting a long-pending demand of the Sikh
community, the US has allowed career-long religious accommodation for
them to serve in the armed forces while maintaining their articles of
faith like the turban and beard.
First Turbaned Sikh in US Army in 2016
The above Breaking News compelled me to put the things in the right perspective as this news is devoid of Fact.
Hare is the story of two 'Bharat Rattans' , who gave the 'Aahuti' of their youth for Social Justice and single handed taught Indians what Secularism ,Nationalism and Cursuade mean.
This is not the First Time US has done this !Thank God America's Racialism and Ingratitude has ended! The Earlier US policy was that They did not Recognize them as Sikhs ,Called them Hindoo .On July 22, 1918, Bhagat Singh Thind ,termed as Turbaned Hindoo was recruited by the US Army to fight in World War I and used turbened Sikhs in World wars and it took them 100 years to know the Articles of Sikh faith! Even Britishers did not recruit the Kambojs and communities other than Jat Sikhs in Army.
Udham Singh Who refused to disclose his caste,Faith, Religion to the Trial Court After Killing Odwayer in Caxton Hall London) and gave his name as,Ram Mohammad singh Azad, and made it loud and clear to the Britishers that Indians could no longer be divided on caste and religious linesHave you ever heard of such a name of any Indian or Nationalist of calibre of Udham Singh, an orphan boy,who nursed the grudge of Jallinwala Bagh massacre for21 years and and took revenge from Britisher's in their own backyard,nay Assembly?
.When Scotland Yard released the files on his trial they revealed his reaction when the judge gave the verdict: he spat and swore ‘against the King and Emperor’ and declared that he wasn’t afraid of death and that when he had gone ‘thousands of [my] countrymen would drive you dirty dogs out of my country’.
Udham singh hand cuffed taken out of Caxton hall London
The following is the Story of a Pioneer,Unsung and little known Hero Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind
The White House celebrating 100th Anniversary of Pioneer Bhagat Singh Thind's Arrival in US in July 2013
Bhagat Singh Thind in US Army Uniform
Bhagat Singh Thind with his battalion at Camp Lewis, Washington on November 18, 1918.
- Fight for US citizenship as a first non white and win against US Govt, in the case titled United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind in Sureme Court.(During his 20 year's legal battle loosing Twice in Supreme Court and once in High Court )
- First Turbaned Sikh in US Army and win right to wear turban as a Singh in US Army.
- Indian Independence Activist and Main Leader of Ghader Movement; General Secretary of Ghadar Party from 1916-1917,
- Sikh Spiritual Writer and Scientist
Bhagat Singh Thind
Known for Landmark court case denying him naturalized citizenship of the United States, First Turban wearing Soldier
Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind (Oct.3,1892- Sept.15,1967
Thind came to the US from Amritsar for higher education in July 1913
and later went on to become the first turbaned Sikh to serve in US armed
forces.
Born on October 3, 1892, in the village of Taragarh Talawan of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India .Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was born in well-known military Kamboj Sikh Thind family of village Taragarh/Talawan in the District Amritsar. His father, S. Boota Singh Thind, retired as Subedar Major from the British Indian Army. His mother, Isser Kaur died when he was a child
Joint Thind Family inVillage Taragarh
Dr. Thind's ancestors had earlier served in the Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit and even before that, in the 'Marjeewra' Sikh 'fauj' of Guru Gobind Singh.
On July 22, 1918, Bhagat Singh was recruited by the US Army to fight in World War I. A few months later, on November 8, 1918, Bhagat Singh, was promoted to the rank of an Acting Sergeant. He received an honorable discharge on December 16, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent"
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".Thind applied for citizenship from the state of Washington, and received his citizenship certificate on December 9, 1918, wearing military uniform as he was still serving in the U.S. army. However, the Immigration and Naturalization Service did not agree with the district court granting the citizenship appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which sent Thind's case to the Supreme Court for ruling. Thind fought his case in the Supreme Court but his citizenship was revoked in four days, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that he was not a White but a Hindoo. (Indians in the United States and Canada were commonly called "Hindoos" irrespective of their faith. Thind's nationality was also referred to as "Hindoo" in all legal documents and the media although he was a Sikh by faith..
Thind 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 Thind. He even brought up the issue of Thind's involvement in the Gadar Party, 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 appealed against the judge’s decision to the next higher court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case to the U.S. Supreme Courttaking plea that he was not “Caucasian enough’’ (White in General-of European origin) to be eligible for it
“Caucasian enough’’ (White in General-of European origin) to be eligible for it, forcing him to lead a life-long campaign to gain US citizenship.In 1923, a crucial Supreme Court case United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind was decided in favor of the United States, Thind argued that Indo-Aryan languages are indigenous to the Aryan part of India in the same way that Aryan languages are indigenous to Europe.Thind argued that he was a white person by arguing that he was a member of the Caucasian race using "a number of anthropological texts" that people in Punjab and other Northwestern Indian states belonged to the "Aryan race", and Thind cited scientific authorities such as Johann Friedrich Blumenbach as classifying Aryans as belonging to the Caucasian race. Thind's lawyers argued that Thind had a revulsion to marrying an Indian woman of the "lower races" when they said, "The high-caste Hindu regards the aboriginal Indian Mongoloid in the same manner as the American regards the Negro, speaking from a matrimonial standpoint." Thind's lawyers argued that Thind had a revulsion to marrying a woman of the Mongoloid race, because they felt that expressing "disdain for inferiors" would characterize Thind as being white.
Associate Justice George Sutherland said that authorities on the subject of race were in disagreement over which people were included in the scientific definition of the Caucasian race, so Sutherland instead chose to rely on the common understanding of race rather than the scientific understanding of race. Sutherland found that, while Thind may claim to have "purity of Aryan blood" due to being "born in Village Taragarh Talawa near Jandiala Guru, Amritsar, Punjab" and having "high caste" status, he was not Caucasian in the "common understanding", so he could not be included in the "statutory category as white persons"
Thind petitioned for naturalization a third time in 1935 after Congress passed the Nye-Lea Act, which made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race, and based on his status as a veteran of the United States military during World War I he was finally granted United States citizenship nearly two decades after he first petitioned for naturalization.
As public support for Asian Indians grew throughout World War I, and as India's independence came closer to reality, Indians argued for an end to their legislative discrimination. Hurdling over many members of Congress and the American Federation of Labor, which vehemently opposed removing legislative measures barricading Indian immigration and naturalization, the Asian Indian community finally succeeded in gaining support among several prominent congressmen, as well as President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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, before the passage of the new law. The purpose of the Immigration Act was "prospective and not retroactive."
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.
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 United States citizenship of Indians. Between 1923 and 1926, the citizenship of fifty Indians was revoked. The Barred Zone Act of 1917 had already prevented fresh immigration of Indians.
Thind received his U.S. citizenship through the state of New York in 1936, taking the oath for the third time to become an American citizen.
Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind (Oct.3,1892- Sept.15,1967
Born on October 3, 1892, in the village of Taragarh Talawan of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India .Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind was born in well-known military Kamboj Sikh Thind family of village Taragarh/Talawan in the District Amritsar. His father, S. Boota Singh Thind, retired as Subedar Major from the British Indian Army. His mother, Isser Kaur died when he was a child
Joint Thind Family inVillage Taragarh
Dr. Thind's ancestors had earlier served in the Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit and even before that, in the 'Marjeewra' Sikh 'fauj' of Guru Gobind Singh.
On July 22, 1918, Bhagat Singh was recruited by the US Army to fight in World War I. A few months later, on November 8, 1918, Bhagat Singh, was promoted to the rank of an Acting Sergeant. He received an honorable discharge on December 16, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent"
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".Thind applied for citizenship from the state of Washington, and received his citizenship certificate on December 9, 1918, wearing military uniform as he was still serving in the U.S. army. However, the Immigration and Naturalization Service did not agree with the district court granting the citizenship appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which sent Thind's case to the Supreme Court for ruling. Thind fought his case in the Supreme Court but his citizenship was revoked in four days, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that he was not a White but a Hindoo. (Indians in the United States and Canada were commonly called "Hindoos" irrespective of their faith. Thind's nationality was also referred to as "Hindoo" in all legal documents and the media although he was a Sikh by faith..
Thind 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 Thind. He even brought up the issue of Thind's involvement in the Gadar Party, 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 appealed against the judge’s decision to the next higher court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case to the U.S. Supreme Courttaking plea that he was not “Caucasian enough’’ (White in General-of European origin) to be eligible for it
“Caucasian enough’’ (White in General-of European origin) to be eligible for it, forcing him to lead a life-long campaign to gain US citizenship.In 1923, a crucial Supreme Court case United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind was decided in favor of the United States, Thind argued that Indo-Aryan languages are indigenous to the Aryan part of India in the same way that Aryan languages are indigenous to Europe.Thind argued that he was a white person by arguing that he was a member of the Caucasian race using "a number of anthropological texts" that people in Punjab and other Northwestern Indian states belonged to the "Aryan race", and Thind cited scientific authorities such as Johann Friedrich Blumenbach as classifying Aryans as belonging to the Caucasian race. Thind's lawyers argued that Thind had a revulsion to marrying an Indian woman of the "lower races" when they said, "The high-caste Hindu regards the aboriginal Indian Mongoloid in the same manner as the American regards the Negro, speaking from a matrimonial standpoint." Thind's lawyers argued that Thind had a revulsion to marrying a woman of the Mongoloid race, because they felt that expressing "disdain for inferiors" would characterize Thind as being white.
Associate Justice George Sutherland said that authorities on the subject of race were in disagreement over which people were included in the scientific definition of the Caucasian race, so Sutherland instead chose to rely on the common understanding of race rather than the scientific understanding of race. Sutherland found that, while Thind may claim to have "purity of Aryan blood" due to being "born in Village Taragarh Talawa near Jandiala Guru, Amritsar, Punjab" and having "high caste" status, he was not Caucasian in the "common understanding", so he could not be included in the "statutory category as white persons"
Thind petitioned for naturalization a third time in 1935 after Congress passed the Nye-Lea Act, which made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race, and based on his status as a veteran of the United States military during World War I he was finally granted United States citizenship nearly two decades after he first petitioned for naturalization.
As public support for Asian Indians grew throughout World War I, and as India's independence came closer to reality, Indians argued for an end to their legislative discrimination. Hurdling over many members of Congress and the American Federation of Labor, which vehemently opposed removing legislative measures barricading Indian immigration and naturalization, the Asian Indian community finally succeeded in gaining support among several prominent congressmen, as well as President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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, before the passage of the new law. The purpose of the Immigration Act was "prospective and not retroactive."
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.
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 United States citizenship of Indians. Between 1923 and 1926, the citizenship of fifty Indians was revoked. The Barred Zone Act of 1917 had already prevented fresh immigration of Indians.
Thind received his U.S. citizenship through the state of New York in 1936, taking the oath for the third time to become an American citizen.
Thind, who had earned a Ph.D, became a writer and was respected as a
spiritual guide. He published books. The list of his books includes 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
Thind was working on some books when he died on September 15, 1967.
He was outlived by his wife, Vivian, who he had married in March 1940
and his daughter Tara and his son David. who 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.
Searched,Compiled,Illustrated by TTejinder Kamboj
(Tejinder singh Kamboj & Simarjit Kamboj(Born Simar Thind)
(The writer's mother-in law,Smt Swaran Kaur Thind,was born and brought up in Village Taragarh ,District Amritsar,Punjab ( Village of Dr.Bhagat Singh Thind) Dr. Bhagat Singh had named his Daughter as Tara after his villageThe entire village of Kamboj community,Migrated from Kamboja Kingdom located between Kashmir and Afghanistan,During Mahabharat and Ashoka Period.)
Searched,Compiled,Illustrated by TTejinder Kamboj
(Tejinder singh Kamboj & Simarjit Kamboj(Born Simar Thind)
(The writer's mother-in law,Smt Swaran Kaur Thind,was born and brought up in Village Taragarh ,District Amritsar,Punjab ( Village of Dr.Bhagat Singh Thind) Dr. Bhagat Singh had named his Daughter as Tara after his villageThe entire village of Kamboj community,Migrated from Kamboja Kingdom located between Kashmir and Afghanistan,During Mahabharat and Ashoka Period.)
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