User talk:Mvathyam

Sikhs In Shanghai
1880s to 1949

In 1880s Sikhs were hired as part of Shanghai Municipal Police(S.M.P.) foreign contingent. The first Sikh inspector was recruited from British Hong Kong which already hired policemen from India. A cosmopolitan municipality, pre-1949 Shanghai, erstwhile fishing village and port was divided into settlements, thanks to Opium war treaties (Treaty of Nanking, 1842). The British settlement, later known as international settlement was governed by a citizens group, Shanghai Municipal Council(S.M.C.) and served as hub of business and trading interests for several foreign communities based here. S.M.C.'s Watch Committee controlled policing decisions in the settlement. Sikhs were recruited primarily to patrol traffic points because of their imperious appearance and soldierly skills. Watchmen and gaol staff were also hired from British India.

The Sikhs were allotted Gurdwara premises officially in 1907 - the Sikh religious assembly place. Currently, it is a multi-family dwelling and is located on 326 Dong BaoXing Lu/East BaoXing road. In 1916, S.M.C.'s architect R.C.Turner designed another, larger gurdwara that was supposedly a red brick building with capacity to seat 500 people.Whereabouts of this gurdwara are unknown. In North China Herald, a British daily and documents in Shanghai Municipal Archives it is referred to as Gordon Road Police Gurdwara. Due to Lahore conspiracy (1914) and other intermittent unrest that prevailed within the Shanghai Sikh community, the S.M.C. Watch committee decided to restrict use of the Gordon Road gurdwara to policemen in its employ alone.

The highest ranked officer in the Sikh contingent of S.M.P.was a Jemadaar. At all times the Sikhs were paid proportionately less than their foreign counterparts, except native Chinese. The Chinese resented the presence of Sikhs and felt that slaves, i.e. Sikhs fetched from India were lording over them and their position was equal to slaves of slaves. North China Herald and other historical documents refer to cruelty shown by Sikhs towards ricksha coolies who were levied license and inspection fee by the British. Sikhs also became part-time moneylenders and acquired unsavory reputation for charging exorbitant rates. E.I.M. Barrett was the Sikh contingent's Captain Superintendent (later Commissioner of Police) and appointed in 1906.

Highlights

- Ghadr,an Indian freedom movement with dominant active Sikh participation also made its presence in Shanghai. Several Sikhs participated in this "seditious" movement.

- Sikhs from Shanghai also boarded the Komagatu Maru, a ship that sailed to Vancouver,Canada. Sikhs were denied entry due to exisiting discriminatory racial laws of the country.

- In May 1925, Captain Everson ordered his men, including some Sikhs to shoot at the mob(actually Chinese nationalists) that had collected in front of Louza Police Station, Shanghai.

- W.E.Fairbairn and Sykes developed a riot control method that originated in Shanghai. It incorporates 'gatka' - Sikh Martial art. Fairbairn was also Commissioner of Police in Shanghai.

Names of some of the famous/infamous Sikhs who were at one point of time based in Shanghai.

Jemaadar Dewa Singh

Sardar Sahib Buddha Singh - the only Sikh in Shanghai conferred the title of Sirdar Sahib.

Narain Singh

Gujjan Singh

Harbaksh Singh

Mastan Singh Gill

Kehar Singh

Mvathyam (talk) 07:37, 12 June 2012 (UTC)