Canadian Sikh Pioneers

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FAMILY OF DHARM SINGH GILL

Journey from Dhudike to Abbotsford

Rajinder Singh Gill’s family of Aldergrove is a prosperous farming family. A pioneer of their family Dharm Singh Gill’s uncle Jeewan Singh arrived on the Komagata Maru ship to Vancouver. When the ship was turned back and was on its way back to Hongkong uncle changed ships to begin his journey back into Canada. After staying in San Francisco for a while he took a train to Calgary. His journey was full of adventures as he had to jump off the train while trying to avoid the train guards. After wandering for many days, he arrived in Calgary. But it was at Golden where according to Rajinder, there was a Gurdwara, that he was able to find work. After getting well settled in Canada he decided to call Rajinder Singh’s Gill’s grandfather, Dharm Singh Gill to Canada in the year 1928. For some time his father stayed with his uncle.

Dharm Singh Gill worked very hard in Canada. He got his resident status due to the efforts of Dr Pandia, who was a lawyer in Vancouver and a great supporter of the Indo Canadian community. According to Rajinder, his father, Zora Singh told him that there were at least 250-300 men who were illegally living in Canada. It was due to the efforts of Dr Pandia that got them legal status to live in Canada. Dharm Singh Gill was blessed with a baby boy in India, Zora Singh Gill, father of Rajinder in the year 1929. Zora Singh grew up in Dhudike, got married and was blessed with two sons. It is interesting to note that it was not until 1954, when Dharm Singh traveled to Punjab, that he met with his son, daughter in law and his two grand children.

It was in the year 1959, that Dharm Singh Gill called his son to come to Canada from Dhudike in Punjab. Rajinder Singh had grown to be nearly sixteen years of age and began working for a saw mill. The family moved into farming and today owns a farm, in Aldergrove. Not a day passes by in which they do not think about the Gur Sikh temple, and its betterment.

The Gill family has had a long association with the Gur Sikh temple. All the family events have been celebrated at the Gur Sikh Temple. Dharm Singh Gill, who is known as Baba ji, led a wonderful life. According to Rajinder he was very good friends with everyone, especially with Paul Singh Dhaliwal. All his friends were very fond of him and so was he. He was very adaptable and everyone in Abbotsford knew him well. He was always proactively involved in doing the sewa of the Gur Sikh temple. He was often seen doing the chavar, fly whisks sewa at the Gurdwara. He was also seen lighting incense in the Gurdwara. There was another important person, at that time, Baba Nand Singh. He along with Dharm Singh worked together in the Mohawk Mill, at New Westminster. At the mill, there were two brothers Pritam Singh and Nand Singh, all these friends along with one more, used to work in a ship for a white man, who used to limp a little. He once fell in the water from the ship. Baba and his friends using the turban saved his life and pulled him out of water. That white man, said to my Baba and Pritam Singh, that I always insisted on wearing a hard hat, but from now onwards I will not, thus accepting turban as a permitted part of the uniform.

Rajinder Singh was married at the Gur Sikh temple. According to him, the Gur Sikh Temple had always been like so, lively and full of sangat. Everyone participated, Bhai Nand Singh got ration for the wedding, Mukhtiar Singh helped too, Basant Kaur, Minder Gill and Gurdial Kaur made langar and helped in the wedding proceedings. There were no caterers at that time there. It was always a joint effort of the community in any event of any family. Tayee used to take the lead and help in making food for the community. Rajinder Singh’s two sons and one daughter got married here too. He thinks that there should be a museum constructed here. “All the important memorabilia of our community has to be collected and put together and preserved for future generations to see it for themselves”, adds Rajinder.

The Gadree Baba’s were in great support of this Gurdwara and used to visit it often. They used to come from California. They found their way to the Gur Sikh temple by looking at the Nishan Sahib, which was a cedar tree trunk. There was a light fixed on the top, which was used to direct the Gadree Sikhs and alert them about the presence of border patrols on guard. These Gadree Sikhs had contributed immensely to the Indian freedom struggle, as is known world over.

There is not a single day when Rajinder Singh Gill's family members cannot be seen in the Gur Sikh temple. Their bond has become stronger every day. He is very happy to know that the Gur Sikh temple, which epitomizes the history of the Sikhs in British Columbia will get its long due representation on the internet. It will help people know and learn about the long history of Sikh families in Canada.

There is an interesting anecdote associated with Rajinder’s Uncle Jeewan Singh. During the second-world war, the government had rationed food and other stuff for everyone, especially the Gurdwara at the second avenue. Ghee was an important ingredient for the making of Karah parshad and was required in abundance daily. The secretary of the Gurdwara Naginder Singh Gill, of village Churh Chuk, took Baba Jiwan Singh to the court to meet the judge, and explain to him that we, the Sikhs need Ghee, to make Karah Parshad. Judge asked them to prove that the amount asked for is what they should be allowed to have. At that instance Naginder Singh Gill asked Jeewan Singh who was very fond of ghee to demonstrate it to the judge. The veteran of Punjab ate a full pot (2 pound) of Ghee, which won him and the community the right from the judge to get as much Ghee as much it was required for the karah parshad for the Gurdwara.

The rest of the interviews are on http://www.canadiansikhheritage.ca/