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Thind enlisted in the United States Army a few months before the end of [[World War I]]. After the war he sought to become a [[naturalized citizen]], following a legal ruling that [[White Americans|Caucasians]] had access to such rights. Identifying himself as an [[Aryan]], in 1923, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled against him in the case ''[[United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind]]'', which retroactively denied all Indian Americans the right to obtain United States citizenship for failing to meet the definition of a "white person", "person of African descent", or "[[Alien (law)|alien]] of African nativity".<ref>{{cite web|title=United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923)|url=http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/261/204/case.html#214|publisher=Justia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=US v. BHAGAT SINGH THIND |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/261/204.html |work=FindLaw.com |accessdate=November 15, 2019}}</ref>
Thind enlisted in the United States Army a few months before the end of [[World War I]]. After the war he sought to become a [[naturalized citizen]], following a legal ruling that [[White Americans|Caucasians]] had access to such rights. Identifying himself as an [[Aryan]], in 1923, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled against him in the case ''[[United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind]]'', which retroactively denied all Indian Americans the right to obtain United States citizenship for failing to meet the definition of a "white person", "person of African descent", or "[[Alien (law)|alien]] of African nativity".<ref>{{cite web|title=United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923)|url=http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/261/204/case.html#214|publisher=Justia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=US v. BHAGAT SINGH THIND |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/261/204.html |work=FindLaw.com |accessdate=November 15, 2019}}</ref>


Thind remained in the United States, earned his [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] in [[theology]] and [[English literature]] at [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]], and delivered lectures on [[metaphysics]]. His lectures were based on [[Sikh religious philosophy]], but included references to the scriptures of other [[world religions]] and the works of [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Walt Whitman]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]]. Thind also campaigned for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] from [[British Raj|colonial rule]]. In 1936, Thind applied successfully for U.S. citizenship through the [[State of New York]] which had made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race.
Thind remained in the United States, earned his [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] in [[theology]] and [[English literature]] at [[University of California, Berkeley|UC Berkeley]], and delivered lectures on [[metaphysics]]. His lectures were based on [[Sikh religious philosophy]], but included references to the scriptures of other [[world religions]] and the works of [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Walt Whitman]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]]. Thind also campaigned for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] from [[British Raj|colonial rule]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/people/bhagat-singh-thind.htm |title=Bhagat Singh Thind |date=2021-11-01 |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=[[National Park Service]] |last=Wagner |first=Ella |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102081542/https://www.nps.gov/people/bhagat-singh-thind.htm |archive-date=2021-11-02 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1936, Thind applied successfully for U.S. citizenship through the [[State of New York]] which had made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Thind was born on October 3, 1892, in the village of [[Taragarh Talawa]] of [[Amritsar district]] in the state of [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] in India. As he grew into adulthood, Thind began his collegiate studies at [[Khalsa College, Amritsar]] where he began to foster his academic interests. He then travelled to the [[Philippines]] where he worked orally translating languages for a brief period of time.{{cn}}
Thind was born on October 3, 1892, in the village of [[Taragarh Talawa]] of [[Amritsar district]] in the state of [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] in India. As he grew into adulthood, Thind began his collegiate studies at [[Khalsa College, Amritsar]] where he began to foster his academic interests. He then travelled to the [[Philippines]] where he worked orally translating languages for a brief period of time.{{cn|date=March 2023}}


==Arrival in the United States==
==Arrival in the United States==
Bhagat Singh Thind arrived in the United States in 1913 to pursue higher education at an American university. On July 22, 1918, he was recruited by the United States Army to fight in [[World War I]], and on November 8, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of Acting Sergeant. He received an honorable discharge on December 16, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent".<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/makingofasianame00leee |url-access= registration |title=The Making of Asian America: A History | page=[https://archive.org/details/makingofasianame00leee/page/172 172] |first=Erika |last=Lee|publisher= Simon and Schuster | date=2016|accessdate= March 14, 2019 }}</ref>
Bhagat Singh Thind arrived in the United States in 1913 to pursue higher education at an American university. On July 22, 1918, he was recruited by the United States Army to fight in [[World War I]], and on November 8, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of Acting Sergeant. He received an honorable discharge on December 16, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent".<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/makingofasianame00leee |url-access= registration |title=The Making of Asian America: A History | page=[https://archive.org/details/makingofasianame00leee/page/172 172] |first=Erika |last=Lee|publisher= Simon and Schuster | date=2016|accessdate= March 14, 2019 }}</ref>


Thind originally arrived in Seattle upon his move to the United States in 1913.<ref>Lee, Erika. "Immigration, Exclusion, and Resistance, 1800s-1940s. In Finding A Path Forward: Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study, ed. Franklin Odo. United States National Park Service.</ref> He arrived on the Minnesota which was a boat that originated from the Philippines' capital Manila, and his brother Jagat Singh Thind perished on the journey. He partook on this journey in a migration of around 7,000 other mostly Punjabi Sikh Indian men, of which many fled their homeland to escape prosecution by the British who still colonized India.<ref>Shah, Nayan. Stranger Intimacy: Contesting Race, Sexuality and the Law in the North American West. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2012.</ref> After his arrival, he moved to Oregon where he worked in lumber mills alongside a diverse community of European, Asian, and other ethnicities.<ref>Ogden, Johanna. “Ghadar, Historical Silences, and Notions of Belonging: Early 1900s Punjabis of the Columbia River.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 113, no. 2 (Summer 2012): 164-197.https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/east_indians_of_oregon_and_the_ghadar_party/#.YJ19AqhKiUk</ref> Due to this history, Thind joined the [[Ghadar Movement]], of which many of its earliest members, including Thind, were under watch by British spies in the United States.<ref>Coulson, Doug. “British Imperialism, the Indian Independence Movement, and the Racial Eligibility Provisions of the Naturalization Act: United States v. Thind Revisited.” Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives 7</ref> Thind did not take part in the movement's attempt to rebel against British rule in India, but remained a member of the movement and its messages throughout his life. <ref>Snow, Jeniffer. “The civilization of white men: the race of the Hindu in the United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind.” Race, nation, and religion in the Americas, Oxford: New York: Oxford Univ Pr, 2004, p 259-280.</ref>
Thind originally arrived in Seattle upon his move to the United States in 1913.<ref>Lee, Erika. "Immigration, Exclusion, and Resistance, 1800s-1940s. In Finding A Path Forward: Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study, ed. Franklin Odo. United States National Park Service.</ref>{{full|date=March 2023}} He arrived on the Minnesota which was a boat that originated from the Philippines' capital Manila, and his brother Jagat Singh Thind perished on the journey. He partook on this journey in a migration of around 7,000 other mostly Punjabi Sikh Indian men, of which many fled their homeland to escape persecution by the British who still colonized India.<ref>Shah, Nayan. Stranger Intimacy: Contesting Race, Sexuality and the Law in the North American West. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2012.</ref>{{pn|date=March 2023}} After his arrival, he moved to Oregon where he worked in lumber mills alongside a diverse community of European, Asian, and other ethnicities.<ref>Ogden, Johanna. “Ghadar, Historical Silences, and Notions of Belonging: Early 1900s Punjabis of the Columbia River.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 113, no. 2 (Summer 2012): 164-197.https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/east_indians_of_oregon_and_the_ghadar_party/#.YJ19AqhKiUk</ref> Due to this history, Thind joined the [[Ghadar Movement]], of which many of its earliest members, including Thind, were under watch by both British and U.S. intelligence officials.<ref name="papers.ssrn.com">{{cite journal |last1=Coulson |first1=Doug |title=British Imperialism, the Indian Independence Movement, and the Racial Eligibility Provisions of the Naturalization Act: United States v. Thind Revisited |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2610266 |journal=Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives |date=2015 |volume=7 |pages=1–42 |ssrn=2610266}}</ref>{{rp|16-18}} Thind did not take part in the movement's attempt to rebel against British rule in India, but remained a member of the movement and its messages throughout his life.<ref name="Snow 2004">{{cite book |last=Snow |first=Jennifer |title=Race, Nation, and Religion in the Americas |chapter=The Civilization of White Men: The Race of the Hindu in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/0195149181.001.0001 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1093/0195149181.003.0011 |publication-place=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press | date=2004-09-02 |isbn=978-0-19-514918-0 |doi=10.1093/0195149181.003.0011 |page=259–280}}</ref>
⚫
U.S. citizenship conferred many rights and privileges, but only "free white men" and "persons of African nativity or persons of African descent" could be naturalized.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://multiracial.com/index.php/1948/10/01/perez-v-sharp-32-cal-2d-711-198-p-2d-17/|title=Perez v. Sharp (32 Cal.2d 711, 198 P.2d 17) – The Multiracial Activist}}</ref>

⚫
U.S. citizenship conferred many rights and privileges, but only "free white men" and "persons of African nativity or persons of African descent" could be naturalized.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://multiracial.com/index.php/1948/10/01/perez-v-sharp-32-cal-2d-711-198-p-2d-17/|title=Perez v. Sharp (32 Cal.2d 711, 198 P.2d 17) – The Multiracial Activist}}</ref> In the United States at this time, many [[anthropologists]] used the term ''Caucasian'' as a synonym for ''white''. Indians were also categorized as Caucasians by various anthropologists. Thus, several Indians were granted United States citizenship in different [[U.S. state]]s. Thind also applied for citizenship from the [[State of Washington]] in July 1918. {{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}


==First United States citizenship==
==First United States citizenship==
[[File:Bhagat Singh Thind at Camp Lewis.jpg|thumb|Bhagat Singh Thind with his battalion at Camp Lewis, Washington on November 18, 1918.]]
[[File:Bhagat Singh Thind at Camp Lewis.jpg|thumb|Bhagat Singh Thind with his battalion at Camp Lewis, Washington on November 18, 1918.]]
Thind received his certificate of US citizenship on December 9, 1918, wearing [[military uniform]] as he was still serving in the United States Army. However, the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service|Bureau of Naturalization]] did not agree with the decision of the [[United States district court|district court]] to grant Thind citizenship. Thind's nationality was referred to as "Hindoo" or "Hindu" in all legal documents and in the [[news media]] despite being a practicing [[Sikh]]. At that time, Indians in the United States and [[Canada]] were called [[Hindus]] regardless of their [[religion]]. Thind's citizenship was revoked four days later, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that Thind was not a "white man".
Thind received his certificate of US citizenship on December 9, 1918, wearing [[military uniform]] as he was still serving in the United States Army. However, the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service|Bureau of Naturalization]] did not agree with the decision of the [[United States district court|district court]] to grant Thind citizenship. Thind's nationality was referred to as "Hindoo" or "Hindu" in all legal documents and in the [[news media]] despite being a practicing [[Sikh]]. At that time, Indians in the United States and [[Canada]] were called [[Hindus]] regardless of their [[religion]]. Thind's citizenship was revoked four days later, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that Thind was not a "white man".{{cn|date=March 2023}}


==Second United States citizenship==
==Second United States citizenship==
Thind applied for United States citizenship again from the neighboring [[State of Oregon]], on May 6, 1919. The same Bureau of Naturalization official who revoked Thind's citizenship tried to convince the judge to refuse citizenship to Thind, accusing Thind of involvement in the [[Ghadar Movement|Ghadar Party]], which campaigned for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] from [[British Raj|colonial rule]].<ref>[http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6435-race-nation-and-refuge.aspx Doug Coulson, Race, Nation, and Refuge: The Rhetoric of Race in Asian American Citizenship Cases (Albany: SUNY Press, 2017)].</ref> Judge [[Charles E. Wolverton]] wrote that Thind "stoutly denies that he was in any way connected with the alleged propaganda of the Gadar Press to violate the neutrality laws of this country, or that he was in sympathy with such a course. He frankly admits, nevertheless, that he is an advocate of the principle of India for the Indians, and would like to see India rid of British rule, but not that he favors an armed revolution for the accomplishment of this purpose."{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} The judge took all arguments and Thind's military record into consideration and declined to agree with the Bureau of Naturalization. Thus, Thind received United States citizenship for the second time on November 18, 1920.
Thind applied for United States citizenship again from the neighboring [[State of Oregon]], on May 6, 1919. The same Bureau of Naturalization official who revoked Thind's citizenship tried to convince the judge to refuse citizenship to Thind, accusing Thind of involvement in the [[Ghadar Movement|Ghadar Party]], which campaigned for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] from [[British Raj|colonial rule]].<ref name="Coulson 2017">{{cite book |last=Coulson |first=Doug |title=Race, Nation, and Refuge |url=https://sunypress.edu/Books/R/Race-Nation-and-Refuge|publisher=[[SUNY Press]] | publication-place=Albany |date=2017-10-01 | isbn=978-1-4384-6661-3 | page=}}</ref>{{pn|date=March 2023}} The judge took all arguments and Thind's military record into consideration and declined to agree with the Bureau of Naturalization. Thus, Thind received United States citizenship for the second time on November 18, 1920.{{cn|date=March 2023}}


==Supreme Court appeal==
==Supreme Court appeal==
The [[Immigration and Naturalization Service|Bureau of Naturalization]] appealed against the judge's decision to the next higher court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case to the Supreme Court for ruling on the following two questions:
The [[Immigration and Naturalization Service|Bureau of Naturalization]] appealed against the judge's decision to the next higher court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case to the Supreme Court for ruling on the following two questions:{{cn|date=March 2023}}


# "Is a high caste Hindu of full Indian blood, born at [[Amritsar]], Punjab, India, a white person within the meaning of section 2169, Revised Statutes?"
# "Is a high caste Hindu of full Indian blood, born at [[Amritsar]], Punjab, India, a white person within the meaning of section 2169, Revised Statutes?"
# "Does the act of February 5, 1917 (39 Stat. L. 875, section 3) disqualify from naturalization as citizens those Hindus, now barred by that act, who had lawfully entered the United States prior to the passage of said act?"
# "Does the act of February 5, 1917 (39 Stat. L. 875, section 3) disqualify from naturalization as citizens those Hindus, now barred by that act, who had lawfully entered the United States prior to the passage of said act?"


Section 2169, Revised Statutes, provides that the provisions of the Naturalization Act "shall apply to aliens, being free white persons, and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent."
Section 2169, Revised Statutes, provides that the provisions of the Naturalization Act "shall apply to aliens, being free white persons, and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent."{{cn|date=March 2023}}


In preparing briefs for the Ninth Circuit Court, Thind's attorney, [[Sakharam Ganesh Pandit]], argued that the Immigration Act of 1917 barred new immigrants from India but did not deny citizenship to Indians who, like Thind, were legally admitted before the passage of the new law. The purpose of the Immigration Act was "prospective, and not retroactive."
In preparing briefs for the Ninth Circuit Court, Thind's attorney, [[Sakharam Ganesh Pandit]], argued that the Immigration Act of 1917 barred new immigrants from India but did not deny citizenship to Indians who, like Thind, were legally admitted before the passage of the new law. The purpose of the Immigration Act was "prospective, and not retroactive."{{cn|date=March 2023}}


On February 19, 1923, Justice [[George Sutherland]] delivered the unanimous opinion of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] to deny citizenship to Indians, stating that "a negative answer must be given to the first question, which disposes of the case and renders an answer to the second question unnecessary, and it will be so certified." The justices wrote that since the "common man's" definition of "white" did not include Indians, they could not be naturalized.<ref>{{cite news|title=Court Rules Hindu Not a 'White Person'; Bars High Caste Native of India From Naturalization as an American Citizen|work=New York Times|date=February 20, 1923| accessdate= March 14, 2019 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/02/20/archives/court-rules-hindu-not-a-white-person-bars-high-caste-native-of.html}}</ref>
On February 19, 1923, Justice [[George Sutherland]] delivered the unanimous opinion of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] to deny citizenship to Indians, stating that "a negative answer must be given to the first question, which disposes of the case and renders an answer to the second question unnecessary, and it will be so certified." The justices wrote that since the "common man's" definition of "white" did not include Indians, they could not be naturalized.<ref>{{cite news|title=Court Rules Hindu Not a 'White Person'; Bars High Caste Native of India From Naturalization as an American Citizen|work=New York Times|date=February 20, 1923| accessdate= March 14, 2019 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/02/20/archives/court-rules-hindu-not-a-white-person-bars-high-caste-native-of.html}}</ref>


Thind's citizenship was revoked and the Bureau of Naturalization issued a certificate in 1926 canceling his citizenship a second time. The Bureau of Naturalization also initiated proceedings to revoke citizenship granted to other [[Indian Americans]]. Between 1923 and 1926, the citizenship of fifty Indians was taken away.
Thind's citizenship was revoked and the Bureau of Naturalization issued a certificate in 1926 canceling his citizenship a second time. The Bureau of Naturalization also initiated proceedings to revoke citizenship granted to other [[Indian Americans]]. Between 1923 and 1926, the citizenship of fifty Indians was taken away.{{cn|date=March 2023}}


==Third and final United States citizenship==
==Third and final United States citizenship==
Thind petitioned for naturalization a third time through the state of New York in 1935 after the Congress passed the Nye-Lea Act, which made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race. Based on his status as a veteran of the United States military during World War I, he was finally granted United States citizenship nearly two decades after he first petitioned for naturalization.<ref name="papers.ssrn.com">{{cite journal|last1=Coulson|first1=Doug|title=British Imperialism, the Indian Independence Movement, and the Racial Eligibility Provisions of the Naturalization Act: United States v. Thind Revisited|journal=Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives|date=2015|volume=7|pages=1–42|ssrn=2610266}}</ref>
Thind petitioned for naturalization a third time through the state of New York in 1935 after the Congress passed the Nye-Lea Act, which made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race. Based on his status as a veteran of the United States military during World War I, he was finally granted United States citizenship nearly two decades after he first petitioned for naturalization.<ref name="papers.ssrn.com"/>

==Contributions==

* Fought for United States citizenship (''[[United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind]]'')
* First turbaned soldier in the [[United States Army]]
* [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] activist and General Secretary of [[Ghadar Party]] from 1916 to 1917<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/gadar.html |title=Bhagat Singh Thind |access-date=May 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222064859/http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/gadar.html |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Sikh spiritual writer and philosopher

Thind, during his early life, was influenced by the spiritual teachings of his father whose "living example left an indelible blueprint." After graduating from [[Khalsa College, Amritsar|Khalsa College]], he left for Manila, where he stayed for a year.

Thind learned about American culture from students and teachers at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], and from working people in the lumber mills of [[Oregon]] and [[Washington (state)|Washington]], where he worked during summer vacations to support himself financially. His teachings incorporated the scriptures of many religions, including [[Sikhism]]. During his lectures to Christian audiences, he frequently quoted the [[Vedas]], [[Guru Nanak]], [[Kabir]], and other sources in [[Indian philosophy]]. He also made reference to the works of [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Walt Whitman]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]].

Thind earned a [[PhD]], became a writer, and was respected as a spiritual guide. He gave a new "vista of awareness" to his students throughout the United States and was able to initiate "thousands of disciples" into his expanded view of reality&nbsp;– "the Inner Life, and the discovery of the power of the Holy Nãm." He published many pamphlets and books, including ''Radiant Road to Reality'', ''Science of Union with God'', ''The Pearl of Greatest Price'', ''House of Happiness'', ''Jesus, The Christ: In the Light of Spiritual Science'' (Vol. I, II, III), ''The Enlightened Life'', ''Tested Universal Science of Individual Meditation in Sikh Religion'', and ''Divine Wisdom''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/ |title=Bhagat Singh Thind |access-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222064859/http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/ |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Death==
==Death==
Thind was writing a book when he died on September 15, 1967. He was outlived by his wife, Vivian, whom he had married in March 1940, and his daughter Tara and son David. His son created a website<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/ |title=Bhagat Singh Thind |access-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222064859/http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/ |archive-date=February 22, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to propagate the philosophy for which his father devoted himself to the United States. He also posthumously published two of his father's books: ''Troubled Mind in a Torturing World and their Conquest'' and ''Winners and Whiners in this Whirling World''.
Thind was writing a book when he died on September 15, 1967. He was outlived by his wife, Vivian, whom he had married in March 1940, his daughter, Rosalind Stubenberg and son, David Bhagat Thind. Two of his books were self-published posthumously by his son: ''Troubled Mind in a Torturing World and their Conquest'' and ''Winners and Whiners in this Whirling World''.


==Writings==
==Writings==
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==In media==
==In media==
NPR's ''throughline'' podcast puts Thind's story in the context of Indo-European language theory, and its abuse to justify racist ideology in the 20th century. {{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/08/1155489235/the-whiteness-myth|title=The Whiteness Myth|date=February 9, 2023}}
NPR's ''throughline'' podcast puts Thind's story in the context of Indo-European language theory, and its abuse to justify racist ideology in the 20th century. {{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/08/1155489235/the-whiteness-myth|title=The Whiteness Myth|website=[[NPR]] |date=February 9, 2023}}


In 2020 the story of his Supreme Court case was part of PBS's documentary ''Asian Americans.''<ref>{{cite web|author=Kristen Lopez |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/05/pbs-asian-americans-documentary-1202230675/amp/ |title='Asian Americans': PBS Documentary Compels Viewers to Honor and Remember – IndieWire |publisher=Indiewire.com |date=2020-05-12 |accessdate=2020-05-19}}</ref>
In 2020 the story of his Supreme Court case was part of PBS's documentary ''Asian Americans.''<ref>{{cite web|author=Kristen Lopez |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/05/pbs-asian-americans-documentary-1202230675/amp/ |title='Asian Americans': PBS Documentary Compels Viewers to Honor and Remember – IndieWire |publisher=Indiewire.com |date=2020-05-12 |accessdate=2020-05-19}}</ref>
Line 102: Line 88:
== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

Lee, Erika. ''[https://archive.org/details/makingofasianame00leee <!-- quote=The Making of Asian America: A History. --> The Making of Asian America: A History]''. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2016.


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
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* [http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/collection/bhagat-singh-thind Bhagat Singh Thind materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)]
* [http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/collection/bhagat-singh-thind Bhagat Singh Thind materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)]
* [https://www.pbs.org/rootsinthesand/i_bhagat1.html PBS - Roots in the Sand - Bhagat Singh Thind]
* [https://www.pbs.org/rootsinthesand/i_bhagat1.html PBS - Roots in the Sand - Bhagat Singh Thind]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150923184247/http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/lifeofdrthind.html Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070602143532/http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/index.htm Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind]
* [http://www.goldentempleamritsar.org/ Golden Temple, Amritsar, Sri Harmandir Sahib, Darbar Sahib, Hari Mandir, Sikhism, Famous Temples of India, Ancient Temples of India, Temples India, Darbar Sahib, Swaran Mandir]


{{Ghadar Conspiracy}}
{{Indian independence movement}}
{{Indian Revolutionary Movement}}
{{Sikh politics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:American Sikhs]]
[[Category:American Sikhs]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Indian Sikhs]]
[[Category:Punjabi Sikhs]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
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[[Category:Indian-American history]]
[[Category:Indian-American history]]
[[Category:Sikhism in the United States]]
[[Category:Sikhism in the United States]]
[[Category:People with acquired American citizenship]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:Indian American]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]

Latest revision as of 20:12, 9 June 2024

Not to be confused with Bhagat Singh.

Bhagat Singh Thind
Sergeant Bhagat Singh Thind in U.S. Army uniform during World War I at Camp Lewis, Washington, in 1918. Thind, an American Sikh, was the first U.S. serviceman to be allowed for religious reasons to wear a turban as part of his military uniform.
Born(1892-10-03)October 3, 1892
Taragarh Talawa, Amritsar, Punjab, British India
DiedSeptember 15, 1967(1967-09-15) (aged 74)
Los Angeles, California, United States
CitizenshipBritish Indian (1892–1918)
American (1918–1967)
OccupationWriter
Known forUnited States v. Bhagat Singh Thind

Bhagat Singh Thind (October 3, 1892 – September 15, 1967) was an Indian American writer and lecturer on spirituality who served in the United States Army during World War I and was involved in a Supreme Court case over the right of Indian people to obtain United States citizenship.

Thind enlisted in the United States Army a few months before the end of World War I. After the war he sought to become a naturalized citizen, following a legal ruling that Caucasians had access to such rights. Identifying himself as an Aryan, in 1923, the Supreme Court ruled against him in the case United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, which retroactively denied all Indian Americans the right to obtain United States citizenship for failing to meet the definition of a "white person", "person of African descent", or "alien of African nativity".[1][2]

Thind remained in the United States, earned his PhD in theology and English literature at UC Berkeley, and delivered lectures on metaphysics. His lectures were based on Sikh religious philosophy, but included references to the scriptures of other world religions and the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau. Thind also campaigned for Indian independence from colonial rule.[3] In 1936, Thind applied successfully for U.S. citizenship through the State of New York which had made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race.

Early life[edit]

Thind was born on October 3, 1892, in the village of Taragarh Talawa of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab in India. As he grew into adulthood, Thind began his collegiate studies at Khalsa College, Amritsar where he began to foster his academic interests. He then travelled to the Philippines where he worked orally translating languages for a brief period of time.[citation needed]

Arrival in the United States[edit]

Bhagat Singh Thind arrived in the United States in 1913 to pursue higher education at an American university. On July 22, 1918, he was recruited by the United States Army to fight in World War I, and on November 8, 1918, he was promoted to the rank of Acting Sergeant. He received an honorable discharge on December 16, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent".[4]

Thind originally arrived in Seattle upon his move to the United States in 1913.[5][full citation needed] He arrived on the Minnesota which was a boat that originated from the Philippines' capital Manila, and his brother Jagat Singh Thind perished on the journey. He partook on this journey in a migration of around 7,000 other mostly Punjabi Sikh Indian men, of which many fled their homeland to escape persecution by the British who still colonized India.[6][page needed] After his arrival, he moved to Oregon where he worked in lumber mills alongside a diverse community of European, Asian, and other ethnicities.[7] Due to this history, Thind joined the Ghadar Movement, of which many of its earliest members, including Thind, were under watch by both British and U.S. intelligence officials.[8]: 16–18  Thind did not take part in the movement's attempt to rebel against British rule in India, but remained a member of the movement and its messages throughout his life.[9] U.S. citizenship conferred many rights and privileges, but only "free white men" and "persons of African nativity or persons of African descent" could be naturalized.[10]

First United States citizenship[edit]

Bhagat Singh Thind with his battalion at Camp Lewis, Washington on November 18, 1918.

Thind received his certificate of US citizenship on December 9, 1918, wearing military uniform as he was still serving in the United States Army. However, the Bureau of Naturalization did not agree with the decision of the district court to grant Thind citizenship. Thind's nationality was referred to as "Hindoo" or "Hindu" in all legal documents and in the news media despite being a practicing Sikh. At that time, Indians in the United States and Canada were called Hindus regardless of their religion. Thind's citizenship was revoked four days later, on December 13, 1918, on the grounds that Thind was not a "white man".[citation needed]

Second United States citizenship[edit]

Thind applied for United States citizenship again from the neighboring State of Oregon, on May 6, 1919. The same Bureau of Naturalization official who revoked Thind's citizenship tried to convince the judge to refuse citizenship to Thind, accusing Thind of involvement in the Ghadar Party, which campaigned for Indian independence from colonial rule.[11][page needed] The judge took all arguments and Thind's military record into consideration and declined to agree with the Bureau of Naturalization. Thus, Thind received United States citizenship for the second time on November 18, 1920.[citation needed]

Supreme Court appeal[edit]

The Bureau of Naturalization appealed against the judge's decision to the next higher court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case to the Supreme Court for ruling on the following two questions:[citation needed]

  1. "Is a high caste Hindu of full Indian blood, born at Amritsar, Punjab, India, a white person within the meaning of section 2169, Revised Statutes?"
  2. "Does the act of February 5, 1917 (39 Stat. L. 875, section 3) disqualify from naturalization as citizens those Hindus, now barred by that act, who had lawfully entered the United States prior to the passage of said act?"

Section 2169, Revised Statutes, provides that the provisions of the Naturalization Act "shall apply to aliens, being free white persons, and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent."[citation needed]

In preparing briefs for the Ninth Circuit Court, Thind's attorney, Sakharam Ganesh Pandit, argued that the Immigration Act of 1917 barred new immigrants from India but did not deny citizenship to Indians who, like Thind, were legally admitted before the passage of the new law. The purpose of the Immigration Act was "prospective, and not retroactive."[citation needed]

On February 19, 1923, Justice George Sutherland delivered the unanimous opinion of the Supreme Court to deny citizenship to Indians, stating that "a negative answer must be given to the first question, which disposes of the case and renders an answer to the second question unnecessary, and it will be so certified." The justices wrote that since the "common man's" definition of "white" did not include Indians, they could not be naturalized.[12]

Thind's citizenship was revoked and the Bureau of Naturalization issued a certificate in 1926 canceling his citizenship a second time. The Bureau of Naturalization also initiated proceedings to revoke citizenship granted to other Indian Americans. Between 1923 and 1926, the citizenship of fifty Indians was taken away.[citation needed]

Third and final United States citizenship[edit]

Thind petitioned for naturalization a third time through the state of New York in 1935 after the Congress passed the Nye-Lea Act, which made World War I veterans eligible for naturalization regardless of race. Based on his status as a veteran of the United States military during World War I, he was finally granted United States citizenship nearly two decades after he first petitioned for naturalization.[8]

Death[edit]

Thind was writing a book when he died on September 15, 1967. He was outlived by his wife, Vivian, whom he had married in March 1940, his daughter, Rosalind Stubenberg and son, David Bhagat Thind. Two of his books were self-published posthumously by his son: Troubled Mind in a Torturing World and their Conquest and Winners and Whiners in this Whirling World.

Writings[edit]

  • Radiant Road to Reality
  • Science of Union with God
  • The Pearl of Greatest Price
  • House of Happiness
  • Jesus, The Christ: In the Light of Spiritual Science (Vol. I, II, III)
  • The Enlightened Life
  • Tested Universal Science of Individual Meditation in Sikh Religion
  • Divine Wisdom (Vol. I, II, III)

Posthumously released[edit]

  • Troubled Mind in a Torturing World and their Conquest
  • Winners and Whiners in this Whirling World

In media[edit]

NPR's throughline podcast puts Thind's story in the context of Indo-European language theory, and its abuse to justify racist ideology in the 20th century. "The Whiteness Myth". NPR. February 9, 2023.

In 2020 the story of his Supreme Court case was part of PBS's documentary Asian Americans.[13]

Also covered in Scene on Radio's series "Seeing White" episode 10 "Citizen Thind". June 14, 2017.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923)". Justia.
  2. ^ "US v. BHAGAT SINGH THIND". FindLaw.com. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Wagner, Ella (November 1, 2021). "Bhagat Singh Thind". National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Lee, Erika (2016). The Making of Asian America: A History. Simon and Schuster. p. 172. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Lee, Erika. "Immigration, Exclusion, and Resistance, 1800s-1940s. In Finding A Path Forward: Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study, ed. Franklin Odo. United States National Park Service.
  6. ^ Shah, Nayan. Stranger Intimacy: Contesting Race, Sexuality and the Law in the North American West. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2012.
  7. ^ Ogden, Johanna. “Ghadar, Historical Silences, and Notions of Belonging: Early 1900s Punjabis of the Columbia River.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 113, no. 2 (Summer 2012): 164-197.https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/east_indians_of_oregon_and_the_ghadar_party/#.YJ19AqhKiUk
  8. ^ a b Coulson, Doug (2015). "British Imperialism, the Indian Independence Movement, and the Racial Eligibility Provisions of the Naturalization Act: United States v. Thind Revisited". Georgetown Journal of Law & Modern Critical Race Perspectives. 7: 1–42. SSRN 2610266.
  9. ^ Snow, Jennifer (September 2, 2004). "The Civilization of White Men: The Race of the Hindu in United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind". Race, Nation, and Religion in the Americas. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 259–280. doi:10.1093/0195149181.003.0011. ISBN 978-0-19-514918-0.
  10. ^ "Perez v. Sharp (32 Cal.2d 711, 198 P.2d 17) – The Multiracial Activist".
  11. ^ Coulson, Doug (October 1, 2017). Race, Nation, and Refuge. Albany: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-6661-3.
  12. ^ "Court Rules Hindu Not a 'White Person'; Bars High Caste Native of India From Naturalization as an American Citizen". New York Times. February 20, 1923. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  13. ^ Kristen Lopez (May 12, 2020). "'Asian Americans': PBS Documentary Compels Viewers to Honor and Remember – IndieWire". Indiewire.com. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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