The first Sikhs who came to work at Fraser Mills, and most of BC, were either single men, or had left their wives and children in India. When the married men finally did manage to bring their families to Canada, they tried to prepare them for the changes they would face. When their wives and children came, they advised them to also adapt. Many women outfitted themselves with western clothing while waiting to sail from Hong Kong.
As many Sikh men discovered in the early decades of the 1900s, looking different was a problem when trying to find work. Many gave up their turbans, cut their hair and beards, and adopted western style clothing in order to make their lives easier. To add insult to injury, white barbers would not cut Sikh hair. Instead, the men went to Japanese or Chinese barbers. These weren’t the only places that restricted entrance. Sikhs were not allowed in theatres or many other public venues.
““On the day that I arrived in 1932.” Mrs. Paritam K. Sangha remembers, “my husband took me to the shop to get new clothes right away. I pleaded with him that I hadn’t had anything to eat and that I was starving, but he did not listen. First, we got the new dresses then later we got something to eat. It was the rule then to dress like the white ladies and keep our hair covered with a scarf at all times.””
Rattan Singh at the age when he attended Millside School, 1926-27. Not long after this, he was working at Fraser Mills. Courtesy of Mike Ghuman.
These ladies and children are in a back yard, somewhere in Millside, Fraser Mills, circa 1930s. Mike Ghuman's father, Rattan Singh, grew up with their husbands. Courtesy of Mike Ghuman.