The Sikh Global Village: Argentina
PART I
* Swarn Singh Kahlon has a
Masters in Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, USA. He worked
with the British Multinational, Imperial Chemical Industries in Bombay and
Calcutta for almost three decades before buying-out ICI India’s Trading
Subsidiary as a part of an MBO. Imkemex has its Corporate Office in Mumbai but
Mr.Kahlon now lives in Chandigarh. Besides the study of Sikh Diaspora, his
interests are travel and golf. He can be contacted at ssk@imkemex.com
Res: 505, Sector 18B, Chandigarh. 160 018.
INTRODUCTION: I have been finally able to make my
long-planned tour of South America where I visited Argentine, Bolivia and
Brazil. It was a rewarding experience different from visits to large
concentration Sikh population counties such as North America, UK, etc. My
interest in visiting these countries emanated from the fact that a lot has been
written about the Sikhs in USA, Canada, USA, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia,
Australasia, Kenya, etc but there is a gap in our knowledge of Sikh migration
to several countries, especially South America. In order to complete the map of
Sikh migration on a global basis, I am undertaking the study of Sikh Immigrants
in Latin American countries.
The study is entirely at my own expense. My experience so far
indicates a considerable gap in our knowledge of Sikh migration. I will be
touching only the tip of the Sikh Diaspora iceberg, but hope that others would
pick up the baton to carry out more intensive and detailed research based on my
initial findings.
While on the subject, I need help of your readers in getting
contacts, addresses
(specially e-mail) of Sikhs in Peru, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Panama, Belize,
Mexico, Guineas, Honduras and other Central American countries as I plan
visiting Northern Latin America early 2006.
It is well known that
at the end of 19th and
in the early 20th century,
Sikhs started looking outward, mainly towards South East Asia, China (including
Hong Kong) and even Australasia, followed soon by North America. Known to few,
concurrently they also started to migrate to Argentina. Could it be that,
besides USA and Canada, it was the only other prosperous country in the
American continent, or because, although not English-speaking, Argentina had
British influence, especially in the industry, commerce and business? Whatever
the reason, it was a fascinating journey and Argentina remains one of the
few countries in the world (apart from USA and Canada), where out of the total
number of Indian immigrants, Sikhs formed an overwhelming majority. Trust a
Sikh to choose the farthest possible country from Punjab to emigrate to!
In his book “Unpholé Warké”,
written in Punjabi, the famous Baba Bhagat Singh Bilka writes that Sikhs came
to Argentina in 1910-11 and started working in the sugar mills and railway
workshops of Buenos Aires and Rosario up North. The economic conditions, though
poorer than North America, were better than other Latin American countries and
employment was available. So no wonder that, by 1925, Argentina became the last
destination for many Punjabis.
Sikhs left India in the hope
of settling in USA via Calcutta, Burma, Malaya, Indo-China, Japan, Panama, but
none of the countries allowed them to disembark, and hence some had to land in
Chile and move on to Argentina via Bolivia. Another group traveled via Bombay,
France, Cuba, Mexico, Panama and Brazil to reach Argentina. One has to look
at the World Atlas to realize the magnitude of the distances they covered by
ship, foot, train or bus under totally alien conditions. It was no less an
effort than that of Columbus!
In and around 1930, several
senior members of the global Ghadar movement visited Argentina in places
such as Rosario, Jujey, Tucuman, Cordoba and Salta indicating widespread
presence of Sikhs in Central and North Argentina. Some of these aficionados
came to Argentina from Brazil. During the world gathering of ‘Ghadarites’
in Moscow, out of a total of 71 delegates, about 20% were from Argentina. To
place in context, it has to be noted that delegates from several countries,
particularly from the British Commonwealth countries, were denied passage to
Moscow.
Sikhs became substantially
assimilated into local society and sometimes the second and third generations
would not even call themselves Sikhs. Turbaned Sikhs became a rarity. Some of
the first generation immigrants got married locally and almost all of them have
done so in the second and third generation. New immigrants though are more
ambivalent in this respect. However, an emotional bond with their heritage
still exists, judging by the Gurdwara commissioned in the early nineties in
Rosario de la Frontera.
The
Country
Despite being the second
largest country in South America and the eighth largest in the world, Argentina
has always fallen short of being able to establish itself as the major power,
which its size and range of industries suggest. Corrupt military Governments
and bad economic management has been the problem. Another factor is probably
the pattern of immigration in earlier years, as the land was owned by only a
small section of the population in the form of huge estates, which encouraged
vested interests. The economic crisis earlier in this century forced
devaluation of the Argentinean currency to a third of its earlier parity with
US Dollar. Argentina has almost exclusively European population (contrast with
Bolivia and Brazil). The country has good farmland, grazing areas, high
mountains to the North and West and the southern-most city of the world.
Climate is moderate except on the mountains and in the deep South where winters
can be severe. Along with other South American countries except for Brazil,
Argentina is Spanish speaking. The Spaniards discovered it in 1516, but the
local ‘Indians’ killed the expedition leader. La Plata was really settled
successfully only in 1580. Argentina declared independence from Spain in 1816.
The country boasts of such charismatic leaders as San Martin, who ranks high as
liberator of Spanish America. The country also had such romantic rulers as
Peron and Eva Duarte, later Eva Peron - of “Don’t Cry for me,” Argentina”
Broadway musical fame.
The
First Immigrants
No definitive information is
available but the national census of 1895 shows the presence of six Indo-English
persons as per Lia Rodriguez De La Vega, a Buenos Aires Researcher. A house
built in village Lagheri, dating back to 1911 by Gunwant Singh on his visit
back home would indicate 19th century
immigration. According to
Baldev(Daniel) Singh of village Bopa Rai Khurd, who lived in Argentina for over
two decades, the British who were setting up sugar mills were facing
difficulties because of “Veerappan”-type brigands and sought the help of Sikhs
to provide security for their operations. There are some striking photos of
these turbaned Sikhs in, for example, the Esperenza Sugar Mill. In another
version, it is told that the Sikhs were brought in by the British to help build
the railroad system. Story of Muncha Singh is mentioned as a case study. Still
another version is of the Sikhs wanting to emigrate to USA, were dumped by the
shipping lines on the northern shores of South American continent from where
they wended their way through Brazil or through Peru/ Bolivia to Argentina.
Another channel of emigration was to begin in Cuba and in time onwards via
Panama Canal onto the Pacific coast of South America. When the Canal
construction got completed in 1914, the Sikh workers were apprehensive of being
sent back to India. Looking for new pastures to inhabit, they literally walked
their way to Argentina. What an effort!
But why Argentina? There were
problems in settling in Canada and USA in the 1910-20 period because of Asian
Exclusion policy of USA and Whites only policy of Canada. Many immigrants left
for India post severe riots against them (most notorious being in Bellingham,
Washington State) both in Canada and USA. The Kamagata Maru incident in
Vancouver was another major blow. Immigration Authorities tightened the entry
norms and many potential immigrants were not granted permission to land. It
would seem Argentina Government was not as hostile as other white dominated
countries, but distance and lack of regular sailings from India was a
deterrent. Language, even though most emigrants did not have command of English,
was another disadvantage. Most follow-up immigration was through family or
friends or village mates. It is stated by several immigrants that Argentina
was more attractive than other South American countries because of its climate
being similar to Punjab, especially in the North West where most of the Sikhs
ultimately settled. The quality of farm land was considered similar to
Punjab. Even though good farming conditions may have been the initial
attraction, many, if not most, immigrants are now into non-farming professions.
But the lure of land is the biggest magnet for a “Jat” and seems to be the case
for the early Sikh migrants.
The
Passage to ‘Tina’
The earlier Sikhs heard of a
country by the name of “Tina”, possibly easy to pronounce than by its full name
Argentina. This created sometimes-unintended problems. In his biography as an
immigrant to Fiji, Tota Ram Sanadhya, Fiji Museum, 1991 (book courtesy Narendra
Anuj of Australia) mentions in some detail the legal suit filed by some Sikhs
in Fiji. The case of ship “Clansman” was well publicized as a
confrontation between a group of Punjabis (Sikhs) and a European lawyer named
Berkley. In 1911 some Sikhs set off for Argentina but they wrongly came to Fiji
thinking it was Argentina. Having realized their folly, they were determined to
go on to Argentina. Berkley agreed to get “Clansman” fitted to take them
on their cross Pacific journey. He wanted a minimum of fifty passengers.
Forty-six paid up the passage money (Pounds twentyfive each) but the ship was
not fit enough for the long voyage and Berkley wanted to wriggle out of the
contract signed or thumb-impressioned by the Sikhs. There are many turns and
twists of the case, including the death of Berkley in June 1912.
The Sikhs lost their case and
were refunded only a quarter of their passage money by December 13,1912 and the
same day they left for Wellington, NZ on their way to Argentina. Prior to their
departure the usual Colonial Office warning was given to them that according to
the Secretary of State for India, there was little hope for employment in
Argentina. One Mr. J. J. Davies escorted the Sikhs till Wellington. An
interesting mention by Davies says that the Sikhs had Pounds 2,700 in gold
before sailing for Buenos Aires. So this group of about 46 persons should have
arrived in Argentina early 1913. In the earlier days, the route to Argentina
was from Calcutta via Singapore. They had to spend several days and weeks in
both these port cities before they could get their passages. This was true even
for emigration to other countries. Gurdwaras in Calcutta and Singapore came in
handy for free stay and meals. Some of these folks would find temporary jobs,
including newspaper vending, etc. Most of the emigrants were in small groups of
known people, which helped in bearing the hardships together. One can well
imagine the hard times the emigrants must have had with limited funds, lack of
language skills and no exposure to the problems of long sea voyage in difficult
and in some cases possibly inhuman conditions. The voyages were long with
seasickness and food problems for wheat eating, land-locked Punjabis. Yes,
there was a dream that they were chasing where the only thing certain was
uncertainty. Bravo!
Early
Problems and Settling Down
Just like the early immigrants
to other countries, especially ‘white dominated’ countries, initial problems
were colossal. Language and totally alien culture were the main barriers. Lack
of funds added to the misery and the immigrants had to seek any odd job that
could be obtained. Those who came by boat headed North West from Buenos Aires
towards Salta about 1500 kms away. Those stragglers who reached Bolivia either
from Chile or Brazil moved down to nearby Tucuman near the border. It may be
conjectured that it was comparatively easy to get jobs in the far out
Northwest, as these areas were not as attractive as big cities like Buenos
Aires were for the local Argentines. Living conditions up-country were easier
and similar to Punjab. Sugar mills and railroad construction provided initial
secure income source before the Sikhs started working on farms and slowly
graduating to being owner farmers and Ranchers. Subsequently, trucking and
transport, as is the familiar pattern for Sikhs moving out from Punjab, became
the immigrants’ new diversification. This was followed by owning shops and
Super Markets in due course of time. As the early immigrants settled down,
communications were established seeking more compatriots to join from the
family or village to which they belonged. For many, the local booze and the pub
was a welcome relief from solitude. Initially all immigrants were single. Only
a few could get their wives to join them in due course but at a much late date.
Most of them entered into local marriage alliances.
The
Subsequent Arrivals
Immigration continues till
today but in smaller numbers. There is a case of several Sikh youths who were
dumped by the Travel Agents in Buenos Aires a few years ago, telling them that
Argentina was in fact America, so true but so very misleading. Most of them are
waiting to migrate to the real America viz. USA or Canada. They are now running
small retail outlets to be able to survive. A second generation Sikh lady is
helping them out. A typical immigrant story is of a young man from Ludhiana,
who went on a tourist visa, took off his turban on arrival in Argentina,
married the grand-daughter of a well established Singh in 1992 in the local
Home Gurdwara. The couple returned to India end-1999 for family reasons but
have now migrated to North America.
The newer arrivals maintain Punjabi identity much more, which
prods the others to keep the connection as well. Balbir Singh from the Guemes
village in Salta Province, is passionately Sikh and Punjabi, helping out others
to migrate to Argentina. Although clean-shaven himself, his son of 8 years or
so keeps “joora” (long uncut hair knotted on the head). He has a couple
of other turbaned Sikh immigrants working with him.
Take also the fascinating case of a so-called “Granthi” Sikh in
Buenos Aires, who migrated a few years ago, after working for two years in a
garment factory in Korea. He is now a specialist in healing through yoga and
natural therapies. His clinic in the center of Buenos Aires has photos of
Sikh Gurus and Khanda prominently displayed and Sikh chants from Japji are a
part of the healing process.
Some of the Sikhs have moved
from Bolivia to Argentina e.g. the earlier Granthi at Rosario. Others have
moved southwards from Bolivia through marriage, because of better economic
prospects. However for many, if not most new immigrants, the final El Dorado is
North America. The devaluation of Argentina currency at the beginning of this
century to a third of its earlier value against the US Dollar has been a
setback for the immigrants.
Second
and Third Generation
The second generation of Sikhs who married Argentinians is
totally assimilated locally and except for Singh as the surname have very
little association with Sikhs or Punjab.
Establishing contacts for a visitor is difficult because of the
small numbers and problems of language, as very few of them speak English or
Punjabi. During the author’s visit to Argentina in August, 2005, he met with a
wide spectrum of Singhs. Except for the first generation immigrants or children
of the first generation father and mother from the Punjab, the first names are
local e.g. Leandro, Dante, Louis, Carmen, Nora, Esther, etc. Hardly any of them
has visited Punjab but when met by the author, they were exuberantly friendly
and wished to know about their Sikh heritage and Punjab culture. There were
several gestures to show their emotional and sentimental pleasure at meeting a
turbaned Sikh. A barrage of questions would follow and without exception they
had a strong desire to visit Punjab - finances permitting. Some of the ladies
even expressed a desire to marry Sikhs from Punjab! Most of the immigrants seem
to be quite well off compared with the background of the early immigrants. But
there are not many “rags to riches” stories similar to North America or UK. On
the other hand, there are no stories of trouble-making or jailed Sikhs. One
would place the Sikh immigrants and their newer generations as professionals,
middle-income group, retailers, farmers and transport operators. They are universally
handsome, beautiful and hospitable. They maintain some kind of Indian touch
through cooking “daal” or “alloo-mattar curry and yogurt”, sometimes wearing
Punjabi dress or doing yoga with “keertan” background, and by keeping photos of
Sikh Gurus’ photos and the “khanda” symbol. There is a cultural gap, which
needs to be bridged through literature, books, VCD’s on the Golden Temple and
Punjab, preferably dubbed or written in Spanish. They are ripe to be
inducted into Sikhism and Punjabi culture.
Gurdwara,Contact
with Punjab and maintaining of Sikh and Punjabi Ethos
There are very few Sikhs with turbans. Amongst the first
immigrants, quite a few of them kept the turban. But majority of them took off
the turban due to isolation and to gain local acceptance. Getting a job, except
with the British enterprises that respected Sikh identity, could have been
problematic. Marriage to local women was another contributory factor. New
immigrants are closer to Sikh and Punjabi culture and these new arrivals, though
in small doses, help maintain the culture. Some of the Sikhs, even though
clean-shaven, and despite the small size of their homes, keep Guru Granth
Sahib. They have access to recorded “shabad keertan” and of course
Punjabi pop and Bhangra music. A third generation girl who otherwise is
Argentinian in all respects, wore “Salwar Kameez”, though probably as a fashion
statement, along with her beautiful mother, on her law-degree graduation
ceremony. Cooking of Punjabi dishes along with the beefsteak is quite a
routine.
A Gurdwara was constructed in the early nineties and is proving
to be a great anchor for the community. Regular functions are held on Sundays
and “Sangrands”. Important Gurpurbs are celebrated. On such special occasions
Sikhs come from long distances. Gurdwara also provides for get-togethers on
marriages, deaths and anniversaries and is helping bring closer various Sikhs
and their families. ‘Langar’ is always served on all occasions. There is
a resident granthi and a guest room has been provided for the visitors.
One heard stories of help and support by the Sikhs even from long distances
whenever there are serious illnesses or accidents in a family. It is really a
sight to see shop hoardings such as “Dasameshpita Norte Supermercado” (Supermarket),
“Almacen Singh Khalsa” (Retail Shop) or “Despensa Singh”(Retail shop). The
“Singh” surname is well respected and even the third generation is proud to be
a Singh. Earlier immigrants had to be buried after death as cremation was not
allowed.* It was interesting to see “Singh Family Burial” Tombs. Cremation now
is possible.
Some
Case Studies
During a 10-day visit, the
author met a wide cross-section of Sikhs of the first, second and third
generation. Each meeting was an interesting and somewhat sentimental story.
Only two or three are being mentioned, the rest would be the subject of a
probable book being published later.
Carmen and Leandro Singh: Cordoba, the second largest
city of Argentina had 15 Singhs listed in the Directory. No one except Leandro
Singh could speak English. He along with his mother Carmen Elena Singh and
cousin Gabriela Dora Singh met up with the author in the evening. Carmen’s
father was Muncha Singh who married Juana when she was only 15 years of age in
1917 in Cordoba, where Muncha was working with the British Railways. Muncha had
7 daughters and 5 sons. Muncha presumably came to Argentina a couple of years
earlier and started working in Buenos Aires, before moving to Cordoba. At his
marriage, so far as Carmen could remember, no Sikhs were present. It was a
marriage of convenience as Juana was probably a housemaid. Carmen kindly
presented Muncha’s photo in India on a horseback before he left for Argentina.
Carmen and Leandro were full of excitement and, as they said after the meeting
“we are richer now as we belong to two cultures, one of Argentina and the other
of Sikhs and the Punjab”.
They insisted on seeing off
the author the next day at the airport. Carmen had not met an Indian till our
meeting since Muncha’s death in 1943, at the age of 52 years. Juana died in
2001 at age 99. The author provided them with telephone numbers of other Singhs
in Cordoba as Leandra wants to establish a sort of “Singh” Club.
Jiwa and Tara Singh: Jiwa
Singh (uncle) and Tara Singh (nephew) of village Bopa Rai Khurd, are the
leading farm owners of Rosario de la Frontera, a small town where the Gurdwara
is located. Besides owning vast acreage of farm lands, they have a transport
business and super market and other real estate. They were responsible for initiating and setting up
the Gudwara. The story goes that Jiwa wished to migrate to North America but
Dan Singh, an earlier immigrant from his village requested him to accompany his
mother to Argentina. On arrival in 1958 he started working with Dan Singh and
then soon thereafter bought his own truck. A partnership was formed between
Tara Singh, Jiwa Singh and Dan Singh(now dead).
Suba Singh This clean-shaven taxi driver in Salta city migrated
to Argentina as a teenager in the sixties. The most interesting moment of the
visit to Suba was to see a photograph of five teenage brothers in turbans and
striped (night suit type) pyjamas in their village Saleempur Masrooda in the
Jallandhar/Phagwara area. Despite their lower middle class background, all five
brothers have settled abroad, two each in UK and Argentina and one in
Australia. They symbolize the Sikh enterprise!
Ajit (Gurmit) Singh: Ajit Singh left for Argentina at the age16, in 1951,
on the invitation of his uncle Rakha Singh in Jujey Province. The latter had
migrated in the early thirties at age twenty or so. Ajit’s passage (five other
Sikhs also traveled with him) from Singapore to Buenos Aires cost a meager Rs
45 and the ship touched Java and Durban en-route to Buenos Aires. He had to
spend more than two months each in Calcutta and Singapore before he could get a
passage. Ajit was married to Norma, an Argentinian whom he left behind when
returning in 1994 to his village Jandiala.
Summing
Up
Out of all the South American
countries, Argentina has the maximum Sikh connection both historically and in
terms of numbers. There is total assimilation of the Sikhs into local culture
and a vast majority is locally married. Knowledge of Punjabi is disappearing
but the setting up of a Gurdwara is providing a meeting point and helping in
spreading Sikh ethos and Punjabi culture. At least ceremonial events are
getting to be held in the Gurdwara encouraging community feeling. Sikhs in
India (Institutional help is preferred but is hardly available) can provide
help through books, literature, etc with emphasis on pictorial and audio
presentation which should be in Spanish. Many Singhs would like closer
association with Sikhs, Punjab and India. Can we rise up to the occasion?
[End of Part I]
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