By Tarlochan Singh | Opinion |
It is well known that people from India started migrating to North America from 1890 onwards. The Sikh farmers first came to Canada to work in the saw mills and later on migrated to California USA. Centuries old Gurdwaras are still places of attraction for our youth. I have gone through the official records and have found that citizenship of America was granted to Indians for the first time through an Act of Parliament in 1946. It is recorded that this was achieved through a sustained campaign led by J J Singh who was then the President of Indian League of America.
In August 2020, the media published headline stories mentioning that Sabrina Singh had become the first ever Indian-American as Press Secretary to the Vice Presidential nominee of a major political party. She was picked up by Kamala Harris who was elected as Vice President of the US. She was earlier the spokeswoman of two Democratic Presidential candidates. The media followed her and discovered that Sabrina Singh was the granddaughter of J J Singh who had been the President of Indian League of America in New York when India was fighting for independence. She tweeted that her grandfather mounted a campaign in 1940 against the racially discriminatory policies of the US and fought for Indians to obtain citizenship of America.
Jag Jit Singh (JJ Singh) was born in a Sikh family on October 5, 1897 in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan). His father was a Judicial Officer. He studied in U.K. and migrated to the US. He opened a fabric store in New York and started importing textiles from India.
SEE ALSO: Sabrina Singh joins #BidenHarris ticket
In 1941 he was elected President of the India League for America, a New York based organization that spoke for India and Indians living in the United States. At that time there were about 4000 Indians in the USA but they did not have citizenship rights. J J Singh along with S. Anup Singh and Mubarak Ali Khan lobbied in Washington corridors of power and met Senators and led a sustained campaign with the support of leading Americans which resulted in the passage of the Luce–Cellar Act of 1946.
This law granted for the first time citizenship rights to these 4,000 Indians living there and established a quota of 100 Indians immigrants every year. The Act was signed by President Harry Truman on July 2, 1946 and after signing the Act, he gifted the pen with which he had affixed his signature to JJ Singh who was standing with him in the White House. Interestingly, that pen is now with Sabrina Singh, who has been Deputy Press Secretary to President Joe Biden.
Another landmark of J J Singh to help India was reported in The New York Times on Feb 28, 1944, United Nations Relief & Rehabilitation Administration in a meeting in Atlantic City, decided to provide help to the millions of people who were starving due to the Second World War. Burmese refugees were included but not the Indians. J.J Singh went to Washington to lobby and organized a campaign to get an amendment to feed the hungry Indians alongside. Finally the foreign relations committee of the Senate approved the Amended Bill. The singular efforts of JJ Singh brought huge relief to millions of people in India.
He remained bachelor to fully devote his time and energy for the cause of India. Finally, at the age of 54, in October 1951 he married to Malti Saksena, daughter of Sh. R.R. Saksena, High Commissioner for India to Canada and former Consul General in New York. The couple had two sons who were born in the US.
In 1959, JJ Singh decided to move back to India to raise his children in his home country. It was reported that his farewell lunch before departure was quite a gathering which included the Supreme Court Justice, W-O-Douglas, Vice President Richard Nixon and the New York Mayor R. F. Wagner. The New York Times reported on Jan 18, 1959: “U.S. Loses ‘Envoy’ to the call of India.” There was also an editorial on him in the paper. The Mayor of New York hosted a lunch for him. M.C. Chagla, the then Ambassador of India in USA, called JJ Singh “a great unofficial Ambassador of India to that country”. He further added that future Ambassadors from India would miss JJ Singh’s advice about American politics and culture. The Times named him “The life and soul of Indian League”.
Back in India, J.J. Singh settled in Delhi and enjoyed an active social life. He remained an avid supporter of the civil rights and social justice movements. He fully supported Jayaprakash Narayan campaign to save democracy.
He died in 1976 in Delhi. Later, both his sons Man Mohan Singh and Manjit Singh migrated to the US.
It is astonishing that such an illustrious person who earned so much goodwill for India in the US and generated a great deal of support from the American media for cause of the country and Indian immigrants was totally ignored by the Government of Independent India. This is in stark contrast to the recognition accorded to Krishna Menon, by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also credited fighting for India’s cause in London. It is high time that at least the historic role that JJ Singh played for India is properly recognized and displayed in India’s Diplomatic Centres in USA.
Tarlochan Singh is a former Indian MP and chairman of the National Commission for Minorities from 2003 to 2006.
RELATED STORY:
Dr Manmohan Singh: Priceless diamond (Asia Samachar, 31 Dec 2024)
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond. When you leave a comment at the bottom of this article, it takes time to appear as it is moderated by human being. Unless it is offensive or libelous, it should appear. You can also comment at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can reach us via WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 or email: asia.samachar@gmail.com. For obituary announcements, click here
