South Asian Canadian Heritage https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/ South Asian Canadian Heritage - Connecting past to present Wed, 18 Mar 2026 23:03:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.8 https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/cropped-UFV_SASI_-logo2017_Horizontal_RGB-32x32.png South Asian Canadian Heritage https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/ 32 32 Elementor #17659 https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/2026/03/18/elementor-17659/ https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/2026/03/18/elementor-17659/#respond Wed, 18 Mar 2026 23:02:50 +0000 https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/?p=17659 Chandra Bodalia’s Legacy The History and Heritage of Gurdwara’s in B.C July 2025 – June 2026 This exhibit (2025/2026) highlighted the work of famed BC photojournalist Mr. Chandra Bodalia. For 30 years he spent much valuable time capturing the social, political, religious, cultural and economic life of South Asian Canadians in BC. As a part

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Chandra Bodalia's Legacy

The History and Heritage of Gurdwara’s in B.C

July 2025 - June 2026

This exhibit (2025/2026) highlighted the work of famed BC photojournalist Mr. Chandra Bodalia. For 30 years he spent much valuable time capturing the social, political, religious, cultural and economic life of South Asian Canadians in BC. As a part of his legacy were the photos of built environments such as Sikh places of worship and events associated with Sikhi. 

We are grateful to the Bodalia family for entrusting us with his life's work

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A life through the lens

Chandravadan “Chandra” Bodalia (1948–2017) was a celebrated photojournalist who documented the South Asian Canadian experience in British Columbia. A Gujarat-born immigrant who arrived in Vancouver in 1976, he transitioned into photography in the late 1980s after working various trades. Over a 30-year career, his work appeared in local publications like The Voice and The Link, capturing community milestones, cultural events, and political moments. He left behind an extraordinary archive of over three million photographs an invaluable visual record of B.C.’s South Asian communities and a lasting research resource for understanding their history.

Khalsa Diwan Society


First Purpose Built Gurdwara in Canada - 1908

The 866 West 2nd Avenue Gurdwara in Kitsilano holds a landmark place in Canadian Sikh history as the country’s first purpose-built gurdwara. Constructed in 1908 for the Khalsa Diwan Society and designed by William Henry Archer, it served a community of roughly 2,000 people for over six decades. Far more than a place of worship, it was the social, political, cultural, and economic heart of early Sikh life in Canada hosting religious gatherings, revolutionary and political meetings, and deeply personal moments like weddings, births, and funerals. Sold in 1970 to fund the construction of the Ross Street Gurdwara, its profound influence on the community it shaped continues to resonate to this day.

 

 
 

 

 

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One Family,
Endless Strength

The Hundal Family

Hakam Singh Hundal arrived in B.C. in 1906, and after a two-year battle, secured his family’s entry into Canada via an Act of Grace in 1913.

His son Ikball, despite earning a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1925, was barred from his profession due to racial discrimination. Refusing to accept injustice, he joined the Ghadar Party and returned to India to fight for independence. He returned to Canada in 1955, but tragically lost his life to random violence in 1965.

The Hundal family’s story is one of courage, sacrifice, and an unwavering commitment to justice.

Hundal family in front of their family home in Point Grey, B.C.

Paul Hundal Family, South Asian Canadian Digital Archive 

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Explore our Flickr album

Visit the Flickr album 

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]]> https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/2026/03/18/elementor-17659/feed/ 0 Caste Reflections https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/2021/05/19/caste-reflections/ https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/2021/05/19/caste-reflections/#comments Wed, 19 May 2021 20:13:59 +0000 https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/?p=10456 As a 37 year old, I now can call myself an anti-caste advocate. Or atleast someone who is constantly assessing and reassessing how I maintain being an anti-caste advocate through the conversations I have, the work that I do, how I raise my children and how I weave my academics into these conversations. My path to this self proclaimed label (so perhaps a label that could be challenged) has been forged through my lived experiences, my own learning and with the humility of knowing that I still have so much work yet to do.

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To view all the ‘Caste Matters’ blog posts from community around British Columbia, please visit: https://blogs.ufv.ca/sasi/category/caste-matters/.

 

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]]> https://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/2021/05/19/caste-reflections/feed/ 6 The Vote (1907-1947) http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/the-vote http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/the-vote#comments Tue, 11 Jul 2017 18:48:08 +0000 http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/?p=729 The post The Vote (1907-1947) appeared first on South Asian Canadian Heritage.

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In 1907 Indo-Canadians were denied the right to vote in an amendment to the Provincial Elections Act. Forty years later, in 1947, their right to vote was restored.

Seven months of intense research, curatorial work, design and implementation came to a successful culmination with the Sikh Heritage Museum launching its exhibit (Dis) Enfranchisement 1907-1947: The Forty-Year Struggle for the Vote on Sunday, February 19th.

The exhibit (Dis) Enfranchisement 1907-1947: The Forty-Year Struggle for the Vote investigates and presents the arduous struggle for the South Asian franchise and the right for equal recognition and citizenship with other Canadians. In addition to the story of the South Asian franchise, the exhibit also pays homage to the stories of franchise for Chinese-Canadians, Japanese-Canadians and women of European descent.

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Timeline

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Timeline

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]]> http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/the-vote/feed/ 1 Komagata Maru Centennial Commemoration (1914-2014) http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/koma-gata-maru/ http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/koma-gata-maru/#comments Thu, 06 Jul 2017 16:01:58 +0000 http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/?p=489 The post Komagata Maru Centennial Commemoration (1914-2014) appeared first on South Asian Canadian Heritage.

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]]> http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/koma-gata-maru/feed/ 1 100 Year Pioneer Project (1904-2014) http://canadiansikhheritage.ca/community-interviews/#new_tab http://canadiansikhheritage.ca/community-interviews/#new_tab#comments Wed, 05 Jul 2017 21:15:19 +0000 http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/?p=478 Undertaken by the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) through the auspices of the Khalsa Diwan Society, Abbotsford, this is the Indo-Canadian 100 Year Pioneer Project.  Researchers, faculty and staff at the SASI have interviewed, transcribed and narrated the stories of those first Indo-Canadian pioneers who contributed to the building of our communities from 1904 onwards. These

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]]> Undertaken by the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) through the auspices of the Khalsa Diwan Society, Abbotsford, this is the Indo-Canadian 100 Year Pioneer Project.  Researchers, faculty and staff at the SASI have interviewed, transcribed and narrated the stories of those first Indo-Canadian pioneers who contributed to the building of our communities from 1904 onwards. These narratives allow for the perseverance and vision of these pioneers to be etched in time. Please click on the link below to view this extensive database, for narratives on the pioneers, and to view their images.

100 Year Pioneer Project Website

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]]> http://canadiansikhheritage.ca/community-interviews/#new_tab/feed/ 1 South Asian Migration: 1906-1915 The Vancouver Province Articles http://www.ufv.ca/sasi/research/pdfs/#new_tab http://www.ufv.ca/sasi/research/pdfs/#new_tab#comments Wed, 05 Jul 2017 21:08:54 +0000 http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/?p=471 The post South Asian Migration: 1906-1915 The Vancouver Province Articles appeared first on South Asian Canadian Heritage.

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This database highlights the work the CICS has done to digitize the articles from the Vancouver Daily News Province from the years 1906-1915. We are grateful to Dr. Norman Buchignani, Doreen M. Indra and Ram Srivastiva, authors of A Continuous Journey for donating their archival documents to us. We would like to thank Donna Gomes, a Library Information Technology student who was hired as our research assistant to take on the task of creating this database. We are also grateful to the staff at the UFV Library for their assistance and guidance in setting up this project.

This database is an invaluable resource for researchers, faculty and students.

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]]> http://www.ufv.ca/sasi/research/pdfs/#new_tab/feed/ 3 History of South Asians in Canada: A Timeline http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/history-of-south-asians-in-canada/ http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/history-of-south-asians-in-canada/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2017 16:21:19 +0000 http://www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/?p=1517 The post History of South Asians in Canada: A Timeline appeared first on South Asian Canadian Heritage.

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