East Indians in Canada
| Author | H. F. Angus |
| Published date | 01 March 1947 |
| Date | 01 March 1947 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070204700200105 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
East
Indians
in
Canada
H. F.
Angus
T
he
few
hundred
East
Indians
who
live in
Canada
have
an
international
importance
out
of
all
proportion
to
their
num-
bers.
It
is
as
difficult
to
explain
to
Canadians
why
their treatment
is
resented
in
India
as
it
is
to
explain
to
Indians why
they
do not
enjoy
full
political
rights
in
all
parts
of
Canada.
Within
a
few
years,
and perhaps
within
a
few
months,
India
will
decide
whether
to
remain
within the
British
Commonwealth
or
to
secede
from
it.
In
decisions
of
this
sort
emotions
play
as
strong
a
part
as
reason and
any display
of
sympathetic
consideration
by
a
British
Dominion
may
have
more
influence
than
cold
calcula-
tions
of
military
expediency and
economic
advantage.
Equal
rights
could be
given
to
East
Indians
in
Canada
by
changing
two
or
three
words in a
statute
of
the
Province
of
British
Columbia.
There are
no
disqualifications
in
the
other
provinces
and practically
all
the
disqualifications
in
British
Columbia
would
disappear automatically
if
persons
of
East
Indian
race
were eligible
to
be
placed
on
the
voters'
list.
So
would
the
disqualification
for
voting
in
federal
elections
in
Bri-
tish
Columbia. When
the
Legislative
Assembly
is
in
session
forty-eight
men
-and
women
have
it
in
their
power
to
make
the
decisive
change.
Indians
naturally
ask
why
they
don't
do
it.
No
noticeable
change
in
Canadian
life
would
occur
if
East
Indians
were
enfranchised
in British
Columbia. Less
than
1,700
persons
are
concerned
including
children,
who
would
not
be
able to
vote
because
of
age.
By
no
means
everyone
entitled
to
vote
troubles
to
get
his
name
placed
on
the
list
and
by
no
means
everyone
whose
name
is on
the
list
actually
votes. At
most
a
few
hundred
votes
would
be
cast
by
East
Indians
in
provincial
and
federal
elections.
Even
if
these
votes
were cast in
the
most
objectionable
way
conceivable
(and
there
is no
reason
whatever
to
expect
that
this
would
be
the
case)
they
could
make
no
appre-
ciable difference
to
Canadian political
life.
If
the
direct
consequences
of
enfranchising
East
Indians
are
negligible
the
indirect
consequences
must
be
examined.
We
47
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