Sikhs have been a part of the American populace for more than 130 years. At the turn of the 19th century, the province of Punjab of British India was hit hard by British practices of mercantilism. Many Sikhs emigrated to the United States and began arriving to work on farms in California. They traveled via Hong Kong to Angel Island, California, the western counterpart to Ellis Island in New York.[4]
"Some Sikhs worked in lumber mills of Oregon or in railroad construction and for some Sikhs, it was on a railway line, which allowed other Sikhs who were working as migrant laborers to come into the town on festival days".
Gurdwara Guru Ravidass Temple, Pittsburg, California
There is a notable population of Ravidassias in the United States, with the majority of them living in California. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 members of the Ravidassia community in California’s Central Valley - a vast majority of them with roots in Punjab in northwestern India. The background of the Ravidassia community in California is from Sikhs, Hindus, and Indigenous peoples.[6] Ravidassia community has six Guru Ravidass temples in California, which have an appearance of Sikh Gurdwaras with the sacred book Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji placed at the center point of the main prayer hall.[7]
Role in America
Most Sikhs started life in America as farm labourers, with many eventually becoming landowners and successful farmers. In 1956, Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian American to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. At present Amarjit Singh Buttar is perhaps the only turbaned Sikh who holds elected public office. He was elected in December 2001 to the Vernon, Connecticut Board of Education for a four-year term. He has also been recently selected as the chairman of the board. Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana is also of Punjabi descent, as well as Nikki Haley, the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations[8] and the 116th governor of South Carolina.[9]
Many Punjabi Americans have become successful in technology-related fields. Vinod Dham helped to develop the Pentium processor while Vinod Khosla and Sabeer Bhatia co-founded Sun Microsystems and Hotmail respectively.[10]Aneesh Chopra served as the first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the United States, appointed by President Barack Obama.
Geographical distribution
States
Approximately half of all American Punjabis live in California.
Nearly half of American Punjabis live in California. Most of California's Punjabi population live in NorCal, especially in the Central Valley and the Bay Area. The nation's largest Punjabi population is in California's Central Valley, where Punjabi is the third most spoken language after only English and Spanish.[17] Punjabis can be found across the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, but the largest concentrations can be found in the valley's largest cities (Sacramento in the Sacramento Valley and Stockton, Fresno, and Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley), and in smaller communities associated with the farming of almonds, peaches, walnuts, and plums. There are also significant concentrations of Punjabi Americans in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and in the Bay Area near Fremont, California.
In the Sacramento Valley, Yuba City and Live Oak have prominent Punjabi populations, with the first Punjabi arriving in Yuba City in 1906.[18] In 2021, Yuba City was home to an Indian American population of 10,638 (15.3% of the city's population), while Live Oak was home to an Indian American population of 1,038 (11.4% of the city's population), with most of these being Punjabis.[19]Sutter County, California as a whole is home to 12,753 Indian Americans (12.9% of the county population); with most of these being Punjabis, this makes Sutter County the most proportionally Punjabi county in America. Down south in the San Joaquin Valley, Livingston is home to 2,798 Indian Americans (19.9% of the city's population); with most of these being Punjabi, Livingston is the most proportionally Punjabi municipality in America.[20][21]
The New York metropolitan area also has a significant Punjabi American presence, with 49,005 Punjabis living in the area. 18,187 Punjabis live in New York City (0.23% of the city's population), including 16,139 in the borough of Queens (0.73% of the borough's population).[22] The Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens is often referred to as "Little Punjab" due to its large Punjabi population. In 2020, the stretch of 101st Avenue between 111th and 123rd streets in Richmond Hill was renamed Punjab Avenue (ਪੰਜਾਬ ਐਵੇਨਿਊ) and the stretch of 97th Avenue between Lefferts Boulevard and 117th Street was renamed Gurdwara Street.[23][24] Outside of the city, the suburbs of Hicksville in Long Island and Carteret in Central Jersey have significant Punjabi populations. In 2021, Hicksville was home to 8,040 Indian Americans (18.7% of the community's population) while Carteret was home to 4,708 Indian Americans (18.8% of the borough's population), with many of these being Punjabis.[25]
Outside of California and the New York metropolitan area, there are significant populations of Punjabi Americans in Kent, Washington and Greenwood, Indiana.
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