The Ghadar Party in North America
Exploring the history of the Ghadar Party in North America through translations from Ghadar biographies.
The Ghadar Party was famous in establishing political networks across the world to free India from British rule. It was established in 1913 in Canada and most of its networking from inception occurred in British Columbia and California. From North America, it slowly spread to other parts of the world and became an international movement.
Sohan Singh Bhakna and the founding of the Ghadar Party
Sohan Singh Bhakna was the founder of the Ghadar Party; his ideology was influenced quite heavily by his life. Whilst in India, he would participate in protests against the 1906-07 colonisation bill. As a child, he was influenced by local Namdharis such as Baba Kesar Singh and the non-cooperation movement spearheaded by them at Bhaini Sahib.
In 1909, he left Punjab to go to Seattle. Upon entry to Seattle, he was subject to questioning by Seattle authorities His autobiography ‘Jeevan Sangram’ mentions his foray into work after arriving at Seattle:
ਅਗਲੇ ਦਿਨ ਅਸੀਂ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਸਿਆਟਲ ਤੋਂ ਉਰੇਗਨ ਸਟੇਟ ਪੋਰਟਲੈਂਡ ਵੱਲ ਤੁਰ ਪਏ। ਕਿਉਂਕਿ ਪੋਰਟਲੈਂਡ ਤੋਂ ਤਿੰਨ ਮੀਲ ਦੂਰ ਕੋਲੰਬੀਆ ਦਰਿਆ ਦੇ ਕੌਢੇ ਇੱਕ ਲੱਕੜੀ ਦੀ ਨਵੀਂ ਮਿੱਲ ਬਣਦੀ ਸੀ, ਜਿਸ ਦਾ ਨਾਂ ਮਨਾਰਕ ਮਿੱਲ ਸੀ। ਮੇਰੇ ਦੋਸਤ ਉਸੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੌਮ ਕਰਦੇ ਸਨ। ਕੌਮ ਬੜਾ ਸਖ਼ਤ ਸੀ। ਮਜ਼ਦੂਰੀ ਦੋ ਢਾਈ ਡਾਲਰ ਮਿਲਦੀ ਸੀ। ਕੋਈ 200 ਦੇ ਕਰੀਬ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਇੱਥੇ ਕੰਮ ਕਰਦੇ ਸਨ।
The other day, both of us drove from Seattle to Portland, Oregon. Because three miles from Portland, a new lumber mill called Monarch Mill was built, on the banks of Columbia River. My friends worked there and they were very strict about work. The wages were two and a half dollars and about 200 Punjabis worked here.
After starting work at the mill, he would note how widespread workplace discrimination was against migrant workers, including Turks, Russians and Chinese workers. After setting up labour unions, Indian students and migrants would collaborate together to set an Indian association. In 1912, the Indian association of Pacific Coast was opened, with Sohan Singh being elected as president. The Ghadar journal began in 1913 alongside figures like Lala Har Dayal and Pandit Kanshi Ram and the movement only became bigger with the arrest of Lala Har Dayal and began rapidly growing amongst diaspora in Hong Kong, Japan, Burma and Canada.
The Ghadarites of Canada
Since Canada operated as a British colony, it was harder for Ghadarites to carry out specific activities there hence US served as a better base of operations. The Komagata Maru incident, where Punjabis were denied entry into Canada and then arrested once back at Calcutta, served as a radicalisation point for Canadian migrants to become Ghadarites.
In 1908, the Canadian govt had thoughts about deporting all the South Asian immigrants to Honduras. They sent Sham Singh and Hagar Singh to inspect whether Honduras would be suitable for immigrants; the two were offered a large bribe to consider the deal. The two denied and exposed the nature of lower wages and malaria-infested conditions in Honduras. Teja Singh of the Khalsa Diwan Society instead purchased 250 acres of property near North Vancouver for the unemployed labourers, which led to the end of this scheme.
Mewa Singh Lopoke was also affiliated with the Khalsa Diwan Society, setting up the first gurudwara in Canada and acting as the granthi. In 1914, he became affiliated with the Ghadarites after purchasing weapons for the passengers of the Komagatu Maru. Eventually, he worked with Bhag Singh Bhikhiwind to assassinate informants to the immigration department. As revenge, Bela Singh, an informant, would undergo the assassination of Bhag Singh Bhikhwind. During the trial of Bela Singh, Mewa Singh Lopoke would shoot W.C. Hopkinson, a Canadian immigration inspector who attempted to infiltrate the Ghadarite movement using informants.
Arrival of Teja Singh Sutantar
Whilst in Turkey, Teja Singh Sutantar had spent five years in the army and underwent military training. As a result, he was one of the main sources of military training knowledge for Ghadar communities.
In the early 1930s, upon the arrival of Teja Singh Sutantar in the US, many Punjabis started to take up arms upon hearing his ideology of armed revolution, Bhagat Singh Bilga’s ‘Ghadar Lehar De Anfole Varke’ mentions his influence on Punjabi communities:
ਤੇਜਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਆਉਣ 'ਤੇ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਅਤੇ ਕਨੇਡਾ ਦੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀਆਂ ਵਿਚ ਬੜਾ ਰਾਜਸੀ ਉਭਾਰ ਆਇਆ। […] ਹਥਿਆਰ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਅਤੇ ਬਨਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਵਿਧੀ ਦਸੀ। ਮੈਪ ਰੀਡਿੰਗ ਸਿਖਾਈ, ਮਿਥੀ ਥਾਂ ’ਤੇ ਪਹੁੰਚਣਾ ਸਿਖਾਇਆ, ਕੰਪਾਸ ਅਤੇ ਮੈਪ ਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕਰਨੀ ਦਸੀ, ਗੁਰੀਲਿਆਂ ਵਲੋਂ ਟੈਂਕਾਂ ਦਾ ਮੁਕਾਬਲਾ ਕਰਨਾ ਦੱਸਿਆ, ਤੋਪ ਦੀ ਲੋਕੇਸ਼ਨ ਦਰਿਆਫਤ ਕਰਨੀ ਸਿਖਾਈ ਆਦਿ। ਜੋਸ਼ ਏਨਾ ਵਧ ਗਿਆ ਕਿ ਗ਼ਦਰ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਨੇ ਆਪਣਾ ਹਵਾਈ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਖਰੀਦ ਕੇ ਟਰੇਨਿੰਗ ਦੇਣੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਸੀ।
Upon Teja Singh’s arrival, there was a political upheaval among the Punjabis of the US and Canada. […] He shared the knowledge of how to acquire and create weapons. He taught map reading, how to reach a certain place, how to use a compass and a map, how to fight guerilla tanks and how to find the location of cannons. The zeal grew by so much that the Ghadar Party bought its own aeroplane and started giving training.
Alongside this, Teja Singh and Rattan Singh both sought to introduce democratic principles to mimic a republican set-up. Teja Singh Sutantar was more focused upon military training after coming from Turkey and Rattan Singh was more focused on introducing democratic methods and other intellectualism.
After the Ghadarites came to prominence, they were being chased by British and US authorities both. The confrontations Ghadarites and the authorities would often escalate into full-scale shootouts. ‘Ghadar Lehar De Anfole Varke’ mentions the confrontation between the Ghadarites and British/US authorities:
ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ਹਕੂਮਤ ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਸਰਕਾਰ’ਤੇ ਗ਼ਦਰੀਆਂ ਵਿਰੁਧ ਲਗਾਤਾਰ ਦਬਾ ਪਾ ਰਹੀ ਸੀ। ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਇਮੀਗਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਮਹਿਕਮਾ ਸਖਤ ਤੋਂ ਸਖਤ ਕਾਨੂੰਨਾਂ ਦੀ ਵਰਤੋਂ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ। ਇਸ ਨੇ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਵਿਚ ਆਏ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਹਮਲਾ ਕੀਤਾ [...] ਬਰਤਾਨੀਆ ਦੇ ਏਜੰਟ ਗੈਰਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ ਪ੍ਵਾਸੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਫੜਾਉਣ ਵਿਚ ਫੇਰ ਸਰਗਰਮ ਹੋ ਗਏ। ਗ਼ਦਰੀਆਂ ਵਲੋਂ ਤਿੱਖੀ ਲੜਾਈ ਵਿਚ 20 ਏਜੰਟ ਖਤਮ ਕੀਤੇ ਗਏ ਸਨ। […]
ਬਰਤਾਨਵੀ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਹੁਣ ਤੇਜਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੀਆਂ ਸਰਗਰਮੀਆਂ ਤੋਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਦੁਖੀ ਸੀ। ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਇਮੀਗਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀਆਂ 'ਤੇ ਦਬਾਅ ਪਾ ਰਹੀ ਸੀ ਕਿ ਉਹ ਤੇਜਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੂੰ ਡੀਪੋਰਟ ਕਰ ਦੇਵੇ। ਇਸ ਗਲ ਤੋਂ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਅਤੇ ਤੇਜਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਵੀ ਕਾਫੀ ਚੌਕੈਨੇ ਸਨ। ਤੇਜਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਹਾਕੀਓ ਮਾਰੂ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਫੜਕੇ ਪਨਾਮਾ ਚਲਾ ਗਿਆ ਸੀ।
The British were applying pressure on the US government to make them anti-Ghadar. The US immigration department were passing stricter laws, which impacted Punjabi students considerably. […] British agents had started rounding up illegal immigrants. In a battle between the Ghadarites and the British, 20 agents were killed. […]
The British government were disappointed with Teja Singh’s activities. The US immigration department were attempting to get Teja Singh deported. Because of this, Teja Singh was alert to the situation. Teja Singh eventually left to Panama through the ferry Hakio Maru.
The dissolution of the Ghadar Party in North America
After the Teja Singh incident, many of the prominent Ghadarites of North America branched out to other countries such as China, Argentina, Brazil and Malaysia. North America had stopped being an important site for Ghadar activities and many of which who stayed later moved back to India. In India, Ghadarites focused primarily on establishing the Kirti Kisan Party to ensure they could fight elections.