Californian
Pakistanis under the Spotlight
By Dr Ghulam M. Haniff
US
On my way to Stockton from Sacramento in the
mid-fifties I was compelled to stop in a sleepy
little farm town by the highway as the gas indicator
in my car pointed to low. When I turned into the
main street I could not escape noticing that the
town was called Lodi. Perhaps, it was a strange
name but what struck me, as I entered the driveway
of the gas station, was the strange sight of a
man in a bright yellow turban, with an august
beard and a dagger sash across his chest standing
by the gas-pump.
As I had rightly surmised the person turned out
to be a Sikh, and from his bewildered looks, concluded
that he was probably a new arrival from India.
He presented an unusual spectacle in the small
town America, given its rural setting, of that
time. That could be seen by the curious looks
of the people, and honking of horns as cars drove
by.
Hurriedly I got out of the car and moved in his
direction as he eyed me suspiciously. Needless
to say he was very glad to see me, as I was him,
and had a pleasant conversation with him in a
mixture of Urdu, Punjabi and English. He turned
out to be a good informant for through him I found
out that a handful of Pakistani ranch-hands lived
in the community of Lodi.
That is how Lodi came on my radar screen despite
its small size, and at that time, its off-the-beaten
track location.
During the years that passed, I kept abreast of
the development of a Pakistani community and noted
with interest as its size increased. While only
a handful of individuals came initially, the liberalization
of immigration laws later on brought in a deluge
of newcomers.
No one would have expected that Lodi would come
under the national spotlight. So it came as a
surprise to me when I saw the headlines that five
people had been arrested for alleged violation
of immigration laws.
The Lodi Pakistanis are not exactly a sophisticated
bunch having migrated from rural villages of Pakistan.
They obviously did not understand the seriousness
of talking with an investigating agency without
the presence of a lawyer.
When Pakistanis first began to dribble-in into
the community of Lodi most of them were either
illiterate or semi-literate. Some of them were
probably also illegal immigrants. Today their
status in both respects has changed considerably
for the better. As a whole the Pakistanis are
well integrated into the larger community, making
contributions through their skills, and have friendly
relations with their neighbors.
From the very beginning Pakistani Muslims had
organized themselves into a congregation for Friday
prayers. However, it was not until the 1980s and
1990s that Islamic centers were established in
either rental facilities or purpose purchased
buildings. As the community grew their religious
activities revolved around the older, Lodi Mosque,
and newer, Farooqia Islamic Center.
Today, Pakistanis number almost 3000 in a community
that has a population of 62,000. They make up
about five percent of the population, the largest
proportion of Pakistanis of any city in the United
States. It may seem odd that such a large number
of Pakistanis would congregate in a rural town,
but the surrounding countryside is reminiscent
of central Punjab and the weather in the summer
not much different.
The largest number of immigrants came during the
eighties and nineties though a well-established
nucleus existed from an earlier period. The new
arrivals also brought a more of an activist religious
orientation, and given the community’s general
background of limited education, it has fomented
a degree of factionalism. Reports indicate that
infighting led to complains of illegality that
ultimately attracted the attention of the law
enforcement authorities.
Northern California has had long association with
Pakistani Muslims. The first Muslim immigrants
who settled in the central valley area were arrivals
from the Punjab region of what was then British
India. These immigrants arrived during the early
part of the twentieth century, perhaps around
1908, either directly from the subcontinent or
through Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada.
Owing to their limited market skills in most respects,
almost all of the new arrivals chose to become
farm workers. They were mostly ranch-hands, though
some accumulated capital, and were able to buy
their own orchards. Mostly men, these got together
for special celebrations in Yuba City and Sacramento.
In the late thirties, the date cited is 1938,
a mosque was established in Sacramento, which
burned down and reconstructed at the same location
in 1948.
Attracted by farm opportunities some Pakistanis
even reached Imperial Valley on the Mexican border,
in the thirties and forties, where a Pakistan
House was set up as a community center in the
city of El Centro. The facility established existed
well into the fifties though it could not be sustained
owing to the lack of newcomers.
In the central valley Sacramento Islamic Center
has been and continues to be the focal point for
the Pakistani community. Immigrants still arrive
from Pakistan, though quite a few married with
their wives, and some wind up in one of the other
towns including Yuba City and Lodi.
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