08) THE ETERNAL REBEL: THE CAMPAIGN TO GET MEWA SINGH RECOGNIZED AS A CANADIAN HERO

 

From Radical Desi Magazine, January 2015

 

            When freelance journalist Gurwinder Singh Dhaliwal moved a motion at the BC Punjabi Press to seek support for a campaign to push authorities to recognize Mewa Singh as Canadian hero, he was met by immediate resistance from his own compatriots. After all, Mewa Singh remains a controversial figure in mainstream Canadian history.

 

            Hanged a century ago for murdering Immigration Inspector William Hopkinson, Mewa Singh was a political activist who remains respected within the local South Asian community. For many he was the first South Asian martyr to meet the gallows in Canada, but the nature of the act he committed still bothers many who do not want to upset the establishment with such a demand.

 

            It was in 2009 that Dhaliwal proposed to the press club that a campaign be started by the Punjabi media to get Mewa Singh recognized as Canadian hero. He was told outright by some hostile members that such a move would result in a backlash from the wider community.

 

            However, Dhaliwal remained determined in his mission. As a radio broadcaster, he started holding a moment of silence on air by playing a sad tune at 7:30 am on the mornings of January 11 ‑ the day Mewa Singh was hanged in 1915. The person instrumental behind the initiative is an independent history researcher, Sohan Singh Pooni. It was he researched the exact date and timing of Mewa Singh's execution, and encouraged Punjabi radio stations to start holding the moment of silence. Dhaliwal took the lead, and this year, when the community marks the centenary of Mewa Singh's hanging, the murmurings for recognizing his sacrifice have almost turned into a chorus.

 

            Mewa Singh was born in Amritsar, India in 1880. Like other South Asian immigrants, he moved to Canada for a better livelihood in 1906. He worked at a mill in New Westminster. Most immigrants had come to this part of the world as British subjects, as both India and Canada were British colonies back then. Rampant racism against the immigrants and the anti‑immigration policies of the Canadian government turned people like Mewa Singh into political activists.

 

            He soon came in contact with supporters of the Ghadar Party, established in 1913 by South Asian radicals who saw the British occupation of their home country as the root cause behind their sufferings abroad. They realised that the British government never came to their rescue in any event of racial violence, and they could live with dignity only if their motherland was free. The Indian immigrants were neither allowed to bring in their families, nor allowed to vote. The idea was to discourage them from permanent settlement to "keep Canada white". The Ghadar Party activists resolved to launch an armed rebellion against the British government to liberate India, so that they could be treated with respect in foreign lands.

 

            Mewa Singh helped in raising funds for Vancouver's first Sikh temple, which became a center of political activities in which non‑Sikh activists also freely participated. As the struggle against anti‑immigration laws continued, the Komagata Maru episode became a major turning point. A Japanese vessel carrying over 300 passengers from India were denied entry at Vancouver port under the discriminatory continuous journey law. The ship was forced to return on July 23, 1914. The current Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the incident in 2008, and Canadian officials generally acknowledge that it was a wrong thing to do.

 

            Mewa Singh and temple president Bhaag Singh tried to arrange arms to be transported to India for a future rebellion through passengers aboard the Komagata Maru. To make this happen they travelled to the US. But the plan did not work. Mewa Singh was arrested along with pistols and ammunition upon entering the Canadian border. Despite pressure from immigration authorities to testify against Bhaag Singh and other prominent Ghadar party leaders, he did not cooperate with the authorities. He was later released.

 

            Following this episode, a fight between the pro‑establishment faction of the South Asian community and the radicals broke out. On September 5, 1914, Bela Singh ‑ who was penetrated into the community by the controversial Immigration Inspector William Hopkinson to spy on the activities of the Ghadar Party ‑ went inside the Sikh temple and shot at Bhaag Singh and many others. Bhaag Singh and Badan Singh succumbed to their injuries. Bhaag Singh had left behind his small daughter. His wife had already died.

 

            This incident had a devastating impact on Mewa Singh. As Bela Singh was facing trial, Mewa Singh went to the courts on October 21 and shot Hopkinson dead. He courted arrest without any confrontation. During his trial, Mewa Singh remained determined and gave a powerful testimony in which he explained how the shooting inside the temple and the subsequent death of Bhaag Singh shook him to the core. He went on to suggest how racism was adversely affecting the lives of the immigrants, and the immigration officers were harassing the community and forcing everyone to bribe the authorities. He had no regrets for his action, and when he was taken to the scaffold on January 11, 1915, being a devout Sikh he chanted prayers. 400 Indians had gathered outside the New Westminster jail where he was hanged and raised slogans in support of Mewa Singh.

 

            Dhaliwal believes that the simple facts of history suggest that Mewa Singh's act was the culmination of Canada's racist immigration policies. "Now when our Prime Minister has also apologized for the Komagata Maru incident, we need to revisit Mewa Singh's story and present the correct history to our kids. He will always remain a martyr for us. All we need to do is that his image should be rehabilitated in the mainstream history."

 

            Dhaliwal has been raising this issue through his writings and public speeches. He points out that Louis Riel, a hero of the Métis resistance, was long viewed as a criminal. "If Riel can now be recognized as a respected figure in Canadian history, why can't Mewa Singh?"

 

            He is not alone to raise this demand. Waryam Singh Sandhu, a renowned scholar and history writer, has been crisscrossing Canada with the same message. Wherever he goes, Sandhu reminds people that the Canada which now guarantees equal rights to immigrants and claims to be a human rights leader in the world was not the same a hundred years ago.

 

            "All these privileges we are enjoying are an outcome of the struggle started by Mewa Singh," says Sandu. "Canada needs to recognize that these values were shared by Mewa Singh who sacrificed his life for a just society."

 

            He points out that the right to vote, which was given back to Indian immigrants in Canada in 1947, and the privilege to bring families, were the result of tireless activism by men like Mewa Singh. "If Canada respects all these rights what is stopping them from recognizing him as a Canadian hero?"

 

            Gurbaksh Singh Sanghera of the Shaheed Bhai Mewa Singh Society is soon going to launch a petition to get Mewa Singh recognized as a Canadian hero. "We plan to present this petition in the House of Commons through elected officials of our community. They must understand that they are in the parliament due to the efforts of Mewa Singh and his associates."

 

            The Society has been organizing special prayers and vigils in memory of Mewa Singh for the past ten years and has produced and distributed T‑shirts bearing his picture to the community. Sanghera is currently trying to mobilize community groups for letters of support for an initiative to construct a memorial at the site of Mewa Singh's hanging in New Westminster. Naveen Girn, a young history researcher, is behind the initiative. He was the main force behind a marker that was installed at the site where the first Sikh temple was established by Mewa Singh and his comrades.

 

            The Shaheed Mewa Singh Sports and Cultural Association is another group that organizes sports events in his memory, where the young winners are rewarded with free T‑Shirts bearing his picture.

 

            "The idea is to generate interest for Mewa Singh and his contribution among the inquisitive members of the younger generation", explains Parminder Swaich, who is close to the group and has written articles for the souvenir brought out by the association. The two groups are unanimous in their demand for rectifying Mewa Singh's image in the history books and accept him as a Canadian hero.

 

            However, independent community activist Parshottam Dosanjh holds a critical view. For him the recognitions and apologies mean nothing as "institutional racism" continues to prevail in Canada. The Harper government has tightened immigration and citizenship rules hitting hard at family reunions over the past several years.

 

            Bill C24, which can be used to take away citizenship, has particularly evoked sharp reaction within the immigrant communities. "What's the point seeking such recognition from a right wing Conservative government which is bringing controversial immigration laws that might strip citizenship of people of foreign origin?," asks Dosanjh. "A government that continues to attack the rights of the immigrants and refugees cannot be expected to accept such a demand in the first place. Even if we assume that it does accept the demand, it becomes meaningless when we see its ongoing onslaught on the immigrants."

 

            He also expects the activists to get over symbolic demands, and rather focus on real issues. "We need to keep Mewa Singh's struggle against oppression alive rather than wasting energy on seeking apologies for the past mistakes and recognition of historical wrongs."

 

            Swaich agrees and says that Mewa Singh will always be known as a hero in the South Asian community, whether or not the Canadian government recognizes his contributions. "His action needs to be situated in a broader context of the history of racism in this country. Unfortunately, racism refuses to die despite the apology for the Komagata Maru incident by this government. It's unfortunate that immigrant communities and refugees continue to bear the brunt of the inhuman laws under a Prime Minister who had apologized for something that happened a century ago."

 

(The above article is from the January 1-31, 2015 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)