Argentina and South America

The author traces the earliest migration to Argentina to late 19th century. The main migration was in early 20th century. Unlike other continents there were no waves of migration post WW II and India's independence in 1947 or in 1980s. In South America Argentina turned out to be a preferred destination - it was then called 'Europe of South America'. Anticipating problems in disembarking the Sikh passengers at US ports, some ships off-loaded them in countries like Cuba, Panama or even Brazil from where; it was a very long walk to Argentina. Most immigrants, however, sailed direct from India either from Calcutta via Singapore or from Bombay via European ports. Gurdwaras especially in Calcutta and Singapore came in handy for transit stays which could in some cases extend to months. How these illiterate village folks from landlocked Punjab could analyse as to where to migrate to is beyond comprehension! There were many problems of settling down due language, small numbers, vast distance from India and limited means of communication. Some issues such as the burial of the dead not being allowed resulted in a strange sight of building 'Sikh Family Tombs'. Keeping the turban or getting wives from India was problematic - marrying locally became a necessity. This resulted in rapid assimilation of the immigrants. Despite all this, contact howsoever minimal was maintained with people back home. The British involvement in Sugar Mills and Railways helped as they employed the Sikhs preferentially in appreciation of their help in the World Wars. The immigrants initially maintained the Sikh faith despite the odds. An old photo of workers in Esperenza Mill shows all of them wearing turbans. A Gurdawara has been built in Rosario de La Frontier in Salta Province in early 1990s which is providing new impetus of connecting with Sikhi and Punjabi culture. Shop names such as 'Dasmeshpita Supermercado', 'Sikh Khalsa Almacen', 'Despensa Singh' are a sight to savour in this farthest corner of globe. A memorial in a British Sugar Mill commemorating the Dead of WW I has the name of 'Arjan Singh'. There are now Singhs, whose fathers or grandfathers were Sikhs but who do not know the background of their Singh ancestry. As an illustration, in the city of Cordoba, there were about twenty Singhs in the telephone directory but none of them except one could understand either English or Punjabi. This should highlight the challenge of studying the Diaspora in South America. Many second generation Singhs were still having 'roti and daal' at home - at least when the author was visiting. Meeting a turbaned Sikh from India was very nostalgic for most people the author met and one could discern a strong yearning to visit India and re-establish the linkages with their forgotten inheritance. Besides Argentina, Panama has quite a few Sikhs. The migration goes back to Panama Canal construction in early 20th century. In the Tourist Reception Centre of the Canal, there is a large mural on the wall which shows some workers with turbans. In 1980s a number of Sikhs migrated to Bolivia where farmland was available at a cheap price. Unfortunately, the project was not very successful and most of the immigrants have either returned to Punjab or moved onto North America. Sikhs did go to Brazil and Cuba but most of them either returned home or moved on to other countries. Belize had a Chief Justice, George Singh's son of a Sikh immigrant. The so-called HQ of Khalistan and the Gurdwara in Ecuador mentioned in some Sikh websites do not exist. Another interesting feature is the presence in many South American countries of locals who have become Sikhs as followers of Yogi Bhajan's 3HO. It is indeed a sight to see them in these distant lands with full Sikh regalia and a commitment to Sikh Dharma which is worth admiring. There have not been much concerted efforts by the Travel Agents to send illegals to South American countries. There were odd forays such as in one instance a few Sikhs had been brought to Buenos Aires telling them that they had arrived at their destination of 'Americas' - somewhat true but how misleading! A couple of second-generation Sikh ladies are helping them out. During 1992-5, there was an influx of immigrants mainly Sikhs using Belize as a transit point to migrate to North America. At one point there were about 150 of them about 70% of them Sikhs, some with turbans. Belize authorities did finally crack down. A new innovation is to secure student visa by getting admission in Belize University (which involves flying from Cuba in a chartered plane) and subsequently applying for change of status which is possible but expensive. Single girls are also venturing out.

Appendices

Case studies of four immigrants are appended (A1) Carmen Singh - totally assimilated daughter of Munc(s)ha Singh, a 1915 immigrant; (A2) Bhai Bhag Singh who migrated to Cuba and then literally walked to Argentina; (A3) Harrattan Singh, a faith healer - a recent immigrant of late 1990s; (A4) Zulma Singh, a second-generation young woman working in Air Traffic Control, Salta.