Above: Photo of the Thandi family, 1953. Left to right; Sucha Singh, Ossie Kaur, Harnam Kaur (holding Gurdale), Gopal Singh, Sundar Singh (who immigrated from Punjab in 1907), Jeeto Harbajan Kaur, and Gurbachan Singh
New Sikh Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, British Columbia
by MELISSA WELSH
The afternoon of Saturday, December 17, 2011, marked an historical event for Sikh-Canadians, with the Sikh Heritage Museum opening at the GurSikh Gurdwara in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on South Fraser Way.
Lieutenant Governor Steven Point was there to launch the celebration with a ribbon-cutting. Later, the exhibition was formally inaugurated with a prayer by the congregation.
Downstairs, pictures of Sikh-Canadian pioneer families who have lived in the Abbotsford area were displayed.
The building is fitting for the role as the community's museum, considering it was established in 1911.
To mark the centennial of the gurdwara, commemorative functions have taken place every month since last January to recognize the contribution of those early settlers and how they added to the development not only to Abbotsford but Canada as well.
"We're an oral community, we tell our stories at the bedsides of our grandmothers and at the knees of our grandfathers. So this is an amazing opportunity for us, to be a part of the Canadian history to show that we belong to Canada, we have a history in Canada, and that we built this nation too," said Satwinder Singh Bains of the University of the Fraser Valley.
"This is what we've left behind for the community. We needed to do something that was permanent and would continue on."
Mayor Bruce Banman was at the event, wearing a head-covering, witnessing the historic ceremony.
"I'm truly amazed. We have a permanent piece of history that not only Abbotsford can be proud of, but Canada can be proud of. It's the oldest gurdwara in Canada, that's important," Banman said.
Courtesy: B.C. Local News. Edited for sikhchic.com.
December 24, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Sudarshan K. Riyat (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.), December 24, 2011, 4:00 PM.
I am proud of what I have read in the article and how much the community has accomplished. I belong to a family which has roots in U.S.A. since the early 1900s. My grandfather came here in 1905 and my father came here in 1919 just after the First World War. My father was in high school and was present when the Jallianwala massacre took place in Amritsar.
2: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), December 26, 2011, 1:11 PM.
It is truly amazing to see how a community which 100 years ago was not allowed to practice their rights as citizens of the British Empire, has now become the most politically influential minority in the country.
3: N. Singh (Canada), December 26, 2011, 6:02 PM.
Sudarshan Kaur Ji: If this is indeed true then you should make every effort to ensure that your family history is well documented and recorded for posterity. I am not sure whether your father is still alive as I think there are not many people left who were alive during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but if so then this vital part of our history should be recorded. Our future generations will thank us.
4: Kuldip Singh (Malaysia), December 29, 2011, 4:31 AM.
Aap ji valo(n) keeta gya eh uprala bahut salahaa(n) jog hai, assi chahunde haa(n) ke is tarah saari duniya de Sikh freedom fighter jo ki saade role model hunn, vaaste Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, etc. countries vich vi museum banaaye jaan.