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Bhagat Singh Thind (October 3, 1892 – September 15, 1967) was an Indian-American Sikh writer, scientist and a lecturer on spirituality who was involved in an important legal battle over the rights of Indians to obtain U.S. citizenship. Thind had enlisted in the U.S. Army a few months before the end of World War I. After the war he sought the right to become a naturalized citizen, following a legal ruling that Caucasians had access to such rights. In 1923, a crucial Supreme Court case ''United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind'' was decided in favor of the United States, retroactively denying all Indians citizenship for not being a White person "in accordance with the understanding of the common man."〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/261/204/case.html#214 )〕 However, Thind remained in the U.S., completed his PhD, and delivered lectures in metaphysics. Basing his lessons on Sikh religious philosophy, he added to his teaching with references to the scriptures of several religions and the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau. He campaigned actively for the independence of India from the British Empire. Then, in 1936, Thind applied for and received U.S. citizenship through the state of New York. ==Background== Born on October 3, 1892, in the village of Taragarh Talawa of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India which now officially called Taragarh〔http://pbplanning.gov.in/districts/Jandiala.pdf〕 listed as number 68 in this record. He belonged to Thind clan of Kamboj Sikh. Present day Thind family of India standing at Village Taragarh/Talawan in District Amritsar, where Dr. Thind was born as shown in website by his son.〔http://www.bhagatsinghthind.com/popup_familyindia24.html〕 Bhagat Singh Thind came to the U.S. in 1913 to pursue higher education in an American university. However, on July 22, 1918, he was recruited by the US Army to fight in World War I. A few months later, on November 8, 1918, Bhagat Singh, was promoted to the rank of an Acting Sergeant. He received an honorable discharge on December 16, 1918, with his character designated as "excellent".〔Rashmi Sharma Singh: Petition for citizenship filed on September 27, 1935, State of New York.〕 U.S. citizenship conferred many rights and privileges but only "free white men" were eligible to apply.〔(The Multiracial Activist – www.multiracial.com – Perez v. Sharp (32 Cal. 2d 711, 198 P. 2d 17) )〕 In the United States, many anthropologists used Caucasian as a general term for "white". Indian nationals of the high caste, especially from the Indian states of Punjab and Kashmir were labelled as Caucasoid by some. Thus, several Indians were granted U.S. citizenship in different states. Thind also applied for citizenship from the state of Washington in July 1918. Thind's citizenship was rescinded four days after it was granted. Eleven months later, he received his citizenship for the second time. However, the Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which sent Thind's case to the Supreme Court for ruling. Thind fought his case in the Supreme Court but the court revoked his citizenship. Indians in the United States and Canada were commonly called "Hindoos" ("Hindus") irrespective of their faith. Thind's nationality was also referred to as "Hindoo" or "Hindu" in all legal documents and the media although he was a Sikh by faith. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bhagat Singh Thind」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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