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Formed on 13 March 1909 at Vancouver in Canada, with Seva Singh
as president, was incorporated on 23 February 1915 under the Societies
Act, with the primary object of promoting Sikh teaching and way
of life, establishing and maintaining gurdwaras and appointing ministers
and missionaries. With fresh influx of Sikh immigrants during the
1960's the scope of the Society's activity widened. One of the major
concerns then was to secure the immigrants their rights as full
partners in the life of that nation, and the constitution was amended
to this end in 1970.
The Society influenced, both directly and indirectly,
the individual and collective activities of its members. Besides
providing them with a moral anchor, it was their meeting point socially
as well. Under its auspicies, several new gurdwdrds such as those
at places like New Westminster, Abbotsford, Victoria, Port Alberni,
Lake Cowichan and Nanaimo were established. The Society set up a
library, published books on Sikh religion and history and sponsored
competitions in gurbani recital .
The gurdwaras affiliated to it also published
a bi-weekly newspaper, Canadian Sikh Samachar. The society steadfastly
campaigned for the recognition of the legitimate rights not only
of the Sikhs but of all Indian immigrants. It helped them acquire,
in 1947, the municipal, provincial and federal franchise and, in
1951, a special agreement which annulled the 1908 legislation, commonly
known as `the continuous voyage legislation' and fixed a quota system
for Indian immigrants. This agreement was terminated in 1968 whenceforth,
under the new immigration regulations, the immigrants from India
were to be treated on the same basis as those from other countries.
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