Histories of Resistance & Political Organizing

Introduction: Beyond Victimhood Narratives

The history of South Asian men in diaspora is often told as a story of suffering: discrimination, exclusion, violence. This is true but incomplete. Alongside suffering was resistance—organized, strategic, and often successful.

This lesson examines three key examples of political organizing:

1. The Ghadar Party (anti-colonial revolutionary movement in North America)
2. Labor organizing and workers' rights movements
3. Post-9/11 civil rights organizing

Each demonstrates South Asian men claiming political agency, building coalitions, and fighting for dignity and rights.

Part 1: The Ghadar Party - Revolutionary Anti-Colonialism from Diaspora

Origins and Context

Who Founded It:The Ghadar Party was founded in 1913 in San Francisco by Punjabi Sikh immigrants, primarily working-class laborers who had experienced:

• British colonial oppression in India
• Racist exclusion in North America (Asiatic Exclusion League, violence, discriminatory laws)
• Economic exploitation as agricultural and mill workers

Key Founders:

• Lala Har Dayal (intellectual leader)
• Sohan Singh Bhakna (first president)
• Kartar Singh Sarabha (young revolutionary, executed at 19)

Why "Ghadar":Ghadar means "mutiny" or "rebellion" in Urdu/Hindi—directly referencing the 1857 Indian Rebellion against British rule. The name announced revolutionary intent.

Ideology and Strategy

Core Beliefs:

• Armed revolution was necessary to overthrow British rule
• Indians in diaspora had responsibility to fight for homeland liberation
• Solidarity across caste, religion, and regional lines
• Socialist and anti-capitalist economic vision
• Gender reform (though masculinist in practice)

The Ghadar Newspaper:Published weekly in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, and English, The Ghadar was the movement's ideological center:

• Published revolutionary poetry and articles
• Reported on British atrocities in India
• Called Indians to return and fight
• Built transnational anti-colonial consciousness
• Circulated globally despite British attempts at suppression

Sample Poetry from The Ghadar (1914):

"What is our name? Rebellion.What is our work? Rebellion.Where is our abode? Prison.What is our end? The gallows.

The British call us rebels and traitors.We accept these names with pride.Better to die fighting than live on our knees.Our blood will water the tree of freedom."

Strategy and Actions

Phase 1: Organization and Consciousness-Building (1913-1914)

• Established network of supporters across North America
• Raised funds through membership dues and donations
• Published and distributed revolutionary literature
• Built alliances with Irish and other anti-colonial movements

Phase 2: The 1914-1915 AttemptWhen WWI began, Ghadarites saw opportunity:

• Thousands of members returned to India to start revolution
• Planned coordinated uprisings in Punjab and other regions
• Sought to turn Indian soldiers against British during wartime
• Attempted to smuggle weapons from U.S. to India

Why It Failed:

• British intelligence infiltrated the movement
• Coordinated arrests across India and globally
• Many leaders executed or imprisoned
• Indian soldiers remained largely loyal to British
• Lack of mass support from Indian population

Phase 3: Continued ResistanceDespite failure of 1915 uprising:

• Movement continued through 1920s-1940s
• Inspired later anti-colonial movements
• Maintained transnational organizing networks
• Some members joined other revolutionary groups (Hindu-German Conspiracy, etc.)

Significance for South Asian Male Studies

Reclaiming Masculine Honor Through Revolution:Ghadar ideology explicitly connected anti-colonial resistance to masculine honor and dignity:

• Rejection of colonial emasculation
• Fighting as fulfillment of masculine duty
• Martyrdom as ultimate masculine sacrifice
• Brotherhood and solidarity as masculine bonds

Quote from Kartar Singh Sarabha (before execution, 1915):"I will die with a smile on my face. My blood will inspire thousands more to take up the fight. The British can kill us, but they cannot kill the spirit of rebellion. We die as men, not slaves."

Limitations:

• Highly masculinist and often excluded women
• Sometimes reinforced patriarchal norms
• Martial masculinity as primary model
• Class and caste tensions within movement

Contemporary Relevance:The Ghadar Party demonstrates:

• South Asian men actively resisting multiple oppressions simultaneously
• Transnational organizing and solidarity
• Use of print media and cultural production for political ends
• Courage and sacrifice for collective liberation
• Both revolutionary potential and limitations of masculinist resistance

Part 2: Labor Organizing and Workers' Rights

South Asian Workers in North America

Economic Niches:Early South Asian immigrants worked in:

• Agriculture (California farms, orchards)
• Lumber mills (Pacific Northwest)
• Railroad construction
• Canneries
• Later: taxi driving, restaurants, convenience stores

Exploitation Patterns:

• Lower wages than white workers for same work
• Most dangerous jobs
• Company housing in poor conditions
• Debt bondage to labor contractors
• No legal protections or recourse

Labor Organizing Strategies

Challenge:Racist exclusion from mainstream white labor unions created dilemma:

• Some unions explicitly barred Asian workers
• Others used South Asian workers as strikebreakers
• Economic competition pitted workers against each other

Response 1: Interethnic Worker AlliancesSome South Asian workers organized across ethnic lines:

• Allied with Mexican, Filipino, Japanese workers
• Recognized shared exploitation
• Joint strikes and actions
• Building class solidarity despite racial divisions

Example: 1930s California Agricultural StrikesSouth Asian farm workers participated in major agricultural strikes:

• Fought for better wages and conditions
• Faced violence from growers and law enforcement
• Some success in improving conditions temporarily
• Built lasting networks of worker solidarity

Response 2: Independent OrganizationsUnable to join mainstream unions, workers created their own:

• Hindustanee Welfare Reform Society (founded 1913)
• Various mutual aid societies
• Functioned as both social organizations and labor advocates
• Provided financial support during unemployment or illness

The Komagata Maru Incident (1914) - Organizing Against Exclusion

What Happened:The Komagata Maru, a ship carrying 376 South Asian passengers (mostly Sikhs from Punjab), was denied entry to Canada due to racist immigration laws.

The Journey:

• Departed Hong Kong, stopped in Shanghai and Yokohama
• Arrived in Vancouver, May 1914
• Passengers held on ship for two months
• Canadian authorities refused to allow landing
• Eventually forced to return to India
• Upon arrival in India, British opened fire, killing many passengers

The Resistance:

• Shore Committee in Vancouver organized legal challenges
• Local South Asian community rallied support
• Ghadar Party members involved in advocacy
• International publicity about Canadian racism
• Though unsuccessful in immediate goal, built organizing capacity

Significance:

• Demonstrated collective resistance to exclusion
• Built transnational solidarity
• Exposed contradictions of British Empire (freedom for whites, exclusion for colonized)
• Inspired ongoing immigration rights organizing

Part 3: Post-9/11 Civil Rights Organizing

The Context of New Racialization

After September 11, 2001:

• Dramatic increase in hate crimes against South Asians, particularly Sikhs and Muslims
• Expanded government surveillance and profiling
• Detentions, deportations, and immigration enforcement
• FBI interviews and monitoring of communities
• Workplace discrimination
• Social suspicion and hostility

First Victim:Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh man, was murdered on September 15, 2001, in Mesa, Arizona—the first of many hate crime murders targeting South Asians and those perceived as Middle Eastern or Muslim.

Organizational Response

Sikh Coalition (founded 2001):

• Formed immediately after 9/11 to defend Sikh civil rights
• Legal advocacy for hate crime victims
• Education about Sikhs for law enforcement and public
• Workplace discrimination cases
• Airport profiling challenges
• Became major civil rights organization

Key Campaigns:

• Fought for recognition of hate crimes against Sikhs
• Advocacy for right to wear turbans in schools, workplaces, military
• Training for TSA agents on religious discrimination
• Legal representation for victims of discrimination

South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT):

• National advocacy organization
• Policy work on immigration, hate crimes, civil rights
• Community organizing and leadership development
• Research and documentation of discrimination
• Coalition building across South Asian communities

Muslim Advocates and Similar Organizations:

• Legal defense for Muslims facing discrimination
• Challenges to surveillance programs
• Immigration rights advocacy
• Civil liberties protection

Strategies and Tactics

Legal Advocacy:

• Individual discrimination cases
• Pattern and practice lawsuits
• Policy advocacy at federal and state levels
• Amicus briefs in key cases

Community Education:

• Know Your Rights trainings
• Documentation of discrimination
• Support for hate crime victims
• Connection to legal and social services

Coalition Building:

• Alliances with other civil rights organizations
• Interfaith solidarity
• Connections with Black and Latino civil rights movements
• Progressive policy coalitions

Cultural and Media Work:

• Public education campaigns
• Media advocacy challenging stereotypes
• Storytelling projects centering community voices
• Youth leadership development

Success Stories

Policy Wins:

• Hate crime legislation expanded in some jurisdictions
• Airport profiling reduced through advocacy (though not eliminated)
• Workplace accommodations secured for religious practice
• FBI hate crime tracking improved

Cultural Shifts:

• Greater awareness of Sikh identity among Americans
• More nuanced media coverage (though still limited)
• Turbans accommodated in various contexts
• Political representation increased

Community Capacity:

• Strong civil rights infrastructure built
• Leadership pipeline developed
• Legal expertise within community
• Networks for rapid response to incidents

Ongoing Challenges

Persistent Issues:

• Hate crimes continue, especially during political tensions
• Surveillance and profiling remain
• Immigration enforcement aggressive
• Workplace discrimination ongoing
• Mental health impacts of constant vigilance

Movement Tensions:

• Respectability politics vs. radical organizing
• Class divisions within communities
• Generational differences in strategy
• Relationships with other marginalized groups
• Questions about police relationships and carceral approaches

Part 4: Lessons for South Asian Male Studies

Resistance as Masculine Reclamation

Throughout these histories, we see South Asian men reclaiming masculine agency through political action:

• Fighting for dignity and rights
• Building collective power
• Protecting communities
• Challenging systems of domination

This offers alternative masculinities to both:

• Colonial/racist emasculation
• Toxic patriarchal control

Complexity and Contradiction

Political organizing shows South Asian men's complexity:

• Revolutionary while sometimes reproducing patriarchy
• Building solidarity while navigating internal divisions
• Fighting oppression while sometimes perpetuating other forms
• Heroes and flawed humans simultaneously

Collective Power vs. Individual Achievement

These histories challenge model minority myth's individualism:

• Change requires collective organization
• Individual success is built on collective struggle
• Solidarity across difference is possible and necessary
• Political consciousness and action matter