Anti-"Hindoo" sentiment in BC and California
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The anti-“Hindoo” sentiment in British Columbia (BC) and California was closely linked to broader racism against other Asian groups, particularly the Chinese and Japanese.
East Indians entered a landscape of heightened racial awareness and division, and like Asian immigrants, were seen as burdens that would disrupt the social and economic balance and obstruct the realization of white societal cohesion and progress.
White British Columbians’ long history of Sinophobia had already demonstrated their deep objection to racial pluralism. Asian immigrants were cast as economic threats, with labour leaders and nativists claiming that the influx of Asians would undermine white workers’ prospects and stability. East Indians, like the Chinese immigrants before them, were accused of being barriers to the progress and prosperity of the country, seen as labourers who would depress wages and opportunities for whites.
Cultural incompatibility also played a significant role in the attitudes towards East Indians. East Indians were depicted as unwilling and incapable of assimilating with white settlers and framed as a threat to the future development of “civilization” in Canada. Their mere presence was seen as undermining the hopes of building a cohesive white society on the west coast.