Karen Dosanjh’s work detailing South Asians and Sikh’s migration to B.C. has attracted attention from other parts of the world and continues to find new life in different mediums.
From her book to a documentary, which will be screened at Sikhlen’s Film Festival in the fall, Dosanjh said she is also making plans for a play in the near future.
Her book is titled Untold Stories: The South Asian Pioneer Experience in B.C.
Dosanjh’s said her research into her family’s history turned into a much bigger project — tracing the origins of the first Sikhs in Canada.
“The first Sikhs to arrive were actually British soldiers,” she told Global News.
“They went back to Punjab and talked about the incredible promise land called B.C. and the jobs that lay there. They were able to come here, and fill labour-intensive jobs in the railways, the forestry industry and in agriculture.”
Her book has been turned into a documentary and it chronicles what life was like in the early days.
Dosanjh was invited by the government of Canada to India for the film’s premiere. Her work has become a teaching tool used in B.C. classrooms, full of untold stories and the hidden history of so many families who helped build this country.
“These are not just stories for the Sikh community. These are Canadian stories. These stories reflect the formation of Canada itself,” she said.
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