#  Sikhism in America 

 



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  [### First Arrivals

 ](/first-arrivals) Sikhs first arrived in the United States by way of Vancouver in the first decade of the 20th century. Most Sikhs at this time settled in California and worked as manual laborers. In 1912, the first gurdwara in the United States was opened in Stockton... 

 

 

   ![First Arrivals](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/first_arrivals_copy.jpg?h=e260f9f9&itok=L7NPeQDE) 

 



 

 

   [### Discrimination: The “Ragheads”

 ](/discrimination-the-%E2%80%9Cragheads%E2%80%9D) Since Anti-Asian sentiment was rampant in the American West, Sikhs were the victims of systematic discrimination. They were also targets of defamation and physical violence throughout the early 20th century. Download (PDF) Sikh immigration to the U.S... 

 

 

   ![Discrimination: The “Ragheads”](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/discrimination-the_ragheads.jpg?h=aa6e7eaa&itok=hVJ5jCyp) 

 



 

 

   [### The Ghadar Party: Freedom for India

 ](/the-ghadar-party-freedom-for-india) The Ghadar Movement was formed in 1913 by expatriate Punjabis in the United States with shared leadership from Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims. The goal of the movement was to assist in overthrowing British colonial rule in India. The publicity that the group... 

 

 

   ![The Ghadar Party](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/the_ghadar_party-_freedom_for_india.jpg?itok=xGrnq7NY) 

 



 

 

   [### Bhagat Singh Thind: Citizen or Alien?

 ](/bhagat-singh-thind-citizen-or-alien) One of the major legislative tests of eligibility for citizenship was the case of Bhagat Singh Thind, a Punjabi who had come to the U.S. in 1913. He had been granted a certificate of naturalization but it was later contested. The case went to the U.S... 

 

 

   ![BhagatSinghThind](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/bhagatsinghthind.jpg?itok=6o2AdT8-) 

 



 

 

   [### Assimilation: California Farmers

 ](/assimilation-california-farmers) In the face of discriminatory measures and the end of Punjabi immigration, many American Sikh men began assimilating with the various peoples throughout the American West Coast, specifically Mexicans. As intermarriage occurred, these newly blended... 

 

 

   ![Assimilation CA Farmers](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/assimilation_california_farmers_copy.jpg?h=588acc46&itok=LUoduCgp) 

 



 

 

   [### The New Immigration: Reconstituting the Community

 ](/the-new-immigration-reconstituting-the-community) After World War II, new immigration legislation began allowing Indians to enter the United States, first in limited numbers in 1947, then in larger numbers when in 1965 national-origins quotas were eliminated entirely. As new Sikh immigrants set down... 

 

 

   ![The New Immigration](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/the_new_immigration_copy.jpg?itok=K3BO7iOK) 

 



 

 

   [### The American “Cousins”

 ](/the-american-%E2%80%9Ccousins%E2%80%9D) In the late 1960s, Yogi Bhajan arrived in the United States and shortly after began the 3HO movement, an acronym for the Happy, Healthy, and Holy Organization and now called Sikh Dharma. The movement is a syncretic form of Sikhism and other religious... 

 

 

   ![The American cousins](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/the_american_cousins.jpg?h=203b5f97&itok=7P7JTsXe) 

 



 

 

   [### The Sikh Community Today

 ](/the-sikh-community-today) The Sikh community in the United States has continued to grow and put down roots across the entirety of the United States. Sikhs are active members of civic service and advocacy projects while they continue efforts to maintain their distinctive religious... 

 

 

   ![the_sikh_community_today_copy.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/the_sikh_community_today_copy.jpg?itok=L9xwDyYE)