Vancouver

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100 year old 'Vancouver Sikh Temple'

Vancouver ( /væn.ˈku˝vər/) is a coastal city located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is named for British Captain George Vancouver, who explored and first mapped the area in the 1790s. The metropolitan area is the most populous in Western Canada and the third-largest in the country, with the city proper ranked eighth among Canadian cities. According to the 2006 census Vancouver had a population of 578,041, and just over 2.1 million people resided in its metropolitan area. Over the last 30 years, immigration has dramatically increased, making the city more ethnically and linguistically diverse; 52% do not speak English as their first language. Almost 30% of the city's inhabitants are of Chinese heritage.

From a logging sawmill established in 1867 a settlement named Gastown grew, around which a townsite named Granville arose. With the announcement that the railhead would reach the site, it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated as a city in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and London. Port Metro Vancouver is the new name for the Port of Vancouver, which is now the busiest and largest in Canada, as well as the fourth largest port (by tonnage) in North America. While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry. It also is the third-largest film production centre in North America after Los Angeles and New York City, earning its film industry the nickname Hollywood North.

The Sikh youth of Vancouver

The Vancouver Sikh Youth are fighting on issues for real change, which include making Sikh religion, philosophy and culture the forefront instead of old issues regarding tables and chairs. “There is no debate about where to sit anymore. Everyone will be accommodated. There are far bigger issues to tackle,” said a press release from the Sikh Youth Vancouver group.

The Sikh youth also propose to get rid of the $25 membership fee and make the membership available online. This will help increase the number of members and give our community a bigger political role. The Ross St. Gurdwara’s membership has dropped from nearly 60, 000 to a mere 4,000 members. Instead of engaging in the blame game the Sikh Youth Vancouver has a program that will restore the society to its once respectable status. It’s hard to believe that the issue of tables and chairs, born some 14 years ago, had such a disastrous effect on our community. Such a long time ago yet still fresh, as the issue, has lingered on in many minds. Not necessarily a religious but more of a political free ride used to cash in on the vote bank by our “religious” leaders.

Gallery

  • Picture Gallery
  • 1906. Among the earliest Sikhs to arrive in Vancouver. (Photo source: in "Canada's New Immigrants", by J.Barkley Williams and Saint N. Sing. Canadian Magazine, 28:383,1906)

    1906. Among the earliest Sikhs to arrive in Vancouver. (Photo source: in "Canada's New Immigrants", by J.Barkley Williams and Saint N. Sing. Canadian Magazine, 28:383,1906)

  • 1908. New Westminster Street, Vancouver, B.C. (Photo VPL 5236, Courtesy Vancouver Public Library (VPL.))

    1908. New Westminster Street, Vancouver, B.C. (Photo VPL 5236, Courtesy Vancouver Public Library (VPL.))

  • 1897. Hong Kong Regiment visiting Vancouver, en route to London to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, 1897. On board was also a group of Chinese and Japanese immigrants and Sikh military.(Photo VPL 3027 Courtesy VPL.)

    1897. Hong Kong Regiment visiting Vancouver, en route to London to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, 1897. On board was also a group of Chinese and Japanese immigrants and Sikh military.(Photo VPL 3027 Courtesy VPL.)

  • 1907. Funeral for first Sikh who died in Vancouver in 1907. No permission was granted by the mayor or others. They took the deceased to a distant forest in the middle of the night and cremated the body in the morning. (Photo 13291 Courtesy VPL.)

    1907. Funeral for first Sikh who died in Vancouver in 1907. No permission was granted by the mayor or others. They took the deceased to a distant forest in the middle of the night and cremated the body in the morning. (Photo 13291 Courtesy VPL.)

  • 1936. (Opened January 19, 1908.) A gathering at the Vancouver Sikh Temple, 1866 West Second Avenue, in 1936. Later demolished and rebuilt on a different site in 1970.(Source: The Voyage of Komagata Maru, by Hugh Johnston, a plate before page 47

    1936. (Opened January 19, 1908.) A gathering at the Vancouver Sikh Temple, 1866 West Second Avenue, in 1936. Later demolished and rebuilt on a different site in 1970.(Source: The Voyage of Komagata Maru, by Hugh Johnston, a plate before page 47

  • Sikh with two bagsin Vancouver 1900 ~ 1910 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.Negative no: UW15673

    Sikh with two bagsin Vancouver 1900 ~ 1910 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.Negative no: UW15673

See also

External links

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