New Book: India’s Independence Struggle had Panjabi Roots in USA

Historian Johanna Ogden’s book Punjabi Rebels of the Columbia River: The Global Fight for Independence and Citizenship asserts India's independence movement had roots that extended to Oregon, US, particularly in Astoria, where a group of Panjabi immigrants working in the timber industry initiated the Ghadar Movement in 1913. The book also covers Bhagat Singh Thind’s era-defining US Supreme Court citizenship case. The book details this history, emphasizing the revolutionary nationalist ideals of the Ghadar party, which included unity across religious lines and support for women’s rights. The movement inspired many members to return to pre 1947 India and fight for independence, influencing the broader struggle against British colonialism. In an interview, when asked, ‘What ultimately was their role in the eventual overthrow of the British Crown?’ Ogden says, ‘I think their main role was inspiration. Basically, the state cleared out and it was because of the influence of the Ghadar party that people left the state in droves to go back and fight the British. They come here to build a better life, and then for some of these people, they thoroughly reversed the course of their lives. Maybe 5,000 people from the entirety of the West Coast went back to India and tried to basically foment a mutiny amongst the armed forces in India.’ Ogden’s detailed history of migrants’ experience expands the time frame, geographic boundaries, and knowledge of the conditions and contributions of Indians in North America. Ogden is a historian and local activist in Portland.