Jawanda - Gurdit Singh Jawanda

Gurdit Singh Jawanda

One of the first of the Jawandas to come North America was Gurdit Singh Jawanda, who arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1906, the same year the Khalsa Diwan Society was formed in Vancouver with its first gurudwara on 1866 West 2nd Avenue.

Gurdit was from the village of Haripur Khalsa, in Punjab (India). More precisely, this village is in Jalandhar District (this part of Punjab is also known as Doaba). The village is just west of the town of Phillaur, slightly north of the Sutlej River, which also serves as the border with Ludhiana District, which is also in Punjab (India).

Soon after arriving in Vancouver, Gurdit was arrested by the Canadian authorities for not entering the country lawfully. In the early days of Canadian immigration policy, there were strict regulations designed to repress immigration from India. Although, Gurdit did not arrive on the infamous Komagata Maru, which docked in Vancouver eight years later, the attitude towards immigrants of that time was much the same. (A forthcoming movie about the Komagata Maru incident, called Exclusion, is being developed by internationally acclaimed director, Deepa Mehta and to star Akshay Kumar (who is replacing Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan.)

Gurdit eventually escaped from the internment camp with a handful of other Punjabis. Gurdit, known for his work hard and play hard lifestyle, was able to somehow find employment in Vancouver. Years later he brought to the lower mainland area, his two sons. They settled in Port Alberni, British Columbia, a town on Vancouver Island that was a hub of the British Columbia forest industry at the time, and to a somewhat lesser degree today.

Not a very hospitable place for Indo-Canadian families at the time, the Jawandhas did not begin bringing their wives to Canada until the grandchildren of Gurdit started to arrive in the early to mid 1960s. This Jawanda generation was the first to have their children born in Canada and raised as westerners. Until this time, Gurdit and his two sons would work to send money back to India to enhance the family farm holdings and treasury back in Haripur Khalsa.

A prominent gate built by Gurdit's sons with money earned from working in the saw mills of Port Alberni, still stands today at the entry point to the sprawling Jawanda farm. This 'triumphal arch' serves as a reminder to the family of the struggle and sacrifice of Gurdit Jawanda after adventurously entering Canada.

The progeny of Gurdit Jawanda to this day live mostly in the Greater Vancouver area and Vancouver Island. Some still work in the forestry and other blue collar industries, while many have also diverisified, making their livings as entrepreneurs, business and sales executives, middle managers, real estate developers, etc.