South Asian Canadian men dairy farmers

The Weekender (The Abbotsford News) writes about Indo-Canadian heritage featured at MSA Museum. The articles starts out by describing the story of Sunder Singh. Sunder Singh was interviewed about his immigration to Canada from his village of Daulatpur, Punjab, in 1906. Sunder Singh mentions owning a dairy farm near Whatcom Road in 1942 and his role in the building of the first Gur Sikh Temple in 1911. The article also features the Gill family. The front has a black-and-white photograph of three generations of Gill men: (left to right) Indar Singh Gill, Nash Singh Gill (Indar's son), and Rajnesh Singh Gill (Indar's grandson).

Creator: Thandi, Sunder

Creator: Thandi, Sucha Singh

Interview with Sucha Singh Thandi in which he describes his uncle, Sunder Singh Thandi. Sunder singh Thandi migrated to Canada 1906-1907, He was in his thirties when he decided to move from Punjab, India. He was a farmer and was involved in agricultural sector. He wanted to explore more places, as that time many people were moving to different countries, therefore, he decided to visit Canada with the intentions of returning back to his home country. This interview was recorded on June 14th, 1996.

Creator: Thandi, Sunder

Creator: Thandi, Sucha Singh

Interview with Sucha Singh Thandi describing his uncle, Sunder Singh Thandi. Sunder Singh came to Canada in 1906. In India, he used to buy animals and sell them. He came to Canada for a trip, with a plan to work, make some money, and return home. He got on the boat from Calcutta, and when he arrived, he worked hard and resided in barns or bunkhouses. He was close to the friends he met on the ship because none of them knew English. He moved to Abbotsford and worked at Mill Lake before purchasing a farm of 60 acres. In 1947, he was married and together he and his wife took care of their two foster daughters. During war times, Sucha Singh went to play a central role in the Heritage Sikh temple. He also donated the steel Nishan Sahib. He died in 1953 of throat cancer at the age of 90. This interview was conducted on June 22, 1996 at Abbotsford.

Creator: Ratzlaff, Ben

Interview with Ben Ratzlaff about his work with Sunder Singh's dairy farm. Ben and his family moved to British Columbia because of the promising future. He started to work at Sunder Singh's dairy farm where he and his family were given a place to live. He held high opinions of Sunder Singh. Ben knew about farming since he was raised on a farm. Ben describes how he got to know many of the South Asian works, and often invited some for tea and snacks. He also describes how he had once helped a man by the name of Jassa Singh, to hide from the government by sending him to Saskatchewan. Ben quit his job with Sunder Singh in the late 1940s. This interview was conducted by Nirakshik Chand on August 26, 1996.

Creator: Banga, Bim

Interview with Bim Banga. Bim Banga was born in New Westminster on December 3, 1932. In the interview, Bim Banga speaks about his father and his experience coming to Canada. Bim Banga also recalls what it was like growing up in British Columbia. He and his 5 siblings went to the Queen Elizabeth Elementary, while his father worked in Mohawk Lumber Company. In 1938, his family went to India except for his father, his older brother, and himself, who stayed back to work. When Banga was 24 he stopped wearing a turban. In 1950, Mr. Banga, along with his brother and father went to India so Bim and his brother could find potential spouses to get married to. When they came back, he started working on Sunder Singh's dairy farm. Later on, he was able to open his own. They moved to Mission and when he wanted to work in a mill, his father took over the dairy farm. In 1960, his fiancee came and they were married. This is a full-length interview that was recorded on July, 30th 1996 at Mr. Banga's residence.