Kala Bagai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kala Bagai
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Kala Bagai arriving in San Francisco in 1915, as reported by newspapers
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| Born | April 15, 1893 |
| Died | October 4, 1983 (aged 90) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Known for | Immigrant activism |
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Kala Bagai (later known as Kala Bagai Chandra) was an important activist who helped immigrants from South Asia in America. She lived from 1893 to 1983. The Smithsonian museum called her "a life-long advocate for immigrants and a mother figure" for South Asian communities in California.
Contents
Early Life in India
Kala was born on April 15, 1893, in Amritsar, a city in what was then British India. Her family followed the Sikh religion. Her parents were Narain Singh and Kani Dhingra.
She married Vaishno Das Bagai and moved to Peshawar to live with his family. They had three sons named Brij, Madan, and Ram.
Vaishno Das Bagai was part of the Ghadar Party. This group worked to free India from British rule. After his parents passed away, he wanted to move his family to the United States. He hoped to join other Ghadar activists there. He felt India was "an enslaved country" and wanted a new life.
Journey to America
When Kala Bagai was 22, she, Vaishno, and their sons moved to the United States. They arrived in San Francisco in September 1915.
When they got there, the Bagai family had to stay for a few days at Angel Island. This was a place where immigrants were questioned. Officials became less suspicious when they saw that the Bagais had brought all their savings with them.
Kala Bagai was one of the very few South Asian women in the United States at that time. Her family was also one of the rare ones who could immigrate to America together.
Life in Northern California
In San Francisco, Kala Bagai found many new things. Her granddaughter, Rani Bagai, said Kala loved seeing the city. It had been rebuilt after a big earthquake. She also enjoyed visiting the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Walking on a sandy beach was also a new experience for her.
Newspapers like the San Francisco Call-Post and the Washington Post wrote about Kala Bagai's arrival. They even mentioned her nose ring.
Vaishno Das Bagai had learned English in India. But Kala had not yet learned the language. She learned English after arriving in America. A German family helped her by looking after her children. This gave her time to study. She also found ways to support the Indian independence movement.
Rani Bagai explained that her grandparents were like pioneers. There were very few Indian people around to help them settle in. Vaishno Das Bagai wore Western-style suits. But Kala still wore a sari, a traditional Indian dress. She was very traditional and did not eat meat. This made it hard for her to adjust to the American diet. She managed by eating fruits and vegetables. They started their new adventure in San Francisco.
In 1982, Kala Bagai shared her story in an interview. She talked about how she and her husband tried to move to Berkeley, California. But their new neighbors were racist. They stopped the family from entering their new home.
Historian Erika Lee wrote about this event. The family had bought their first home in Berkeley. But on moving day, the neighbors locked the house. Kala Bagai said, "All of our luggage and everything was loaded on the trucks. I told Mr. Bagai I don’t want to live in this neighborhood. I don’t want to live in this house, because they might hurt my children." Her husband agreed.
So, they stayed in San Francisco. Over the years, Vaishno ran several stores. One was "Bagai's Bazaar." It sold items like handmade goods from India and embroideries from China. Another was a general store that sold candy, soap, and other supplies. The Bagais lived in an apartment right above this store.
The Fight for Citizenship
Vaishno Das Bagai became a United States citizen in 1921. But his citizenship was taken away in 1923. This happened because of a court case called Bhagat Singh Thind. This decision meant that people from India could no longer be U.S. citizens.
Because of this, the Bagais had to sell their property, including their store. They became "stateless people." This meant they had no country that recognized them as citizens. They could not get a U.S. passport.
Rani Bagai explained the problems this caused. Vaishno could not travel to India unless he used a British Indian passport. But he faced worse issues. He could no longer own a business. He had to transfer his business to a friend who was not Indian. He felt cheated and lost money. He became very sad and frustrated. He could not go back to India because of his work with the Ghadar party. His dreams for his family in San Francisco were disappearing.
Vaishno Das Bagai died in 1928. In a note, he wrote that he did not want to live like a prisoner. He felt trapped, even though he was in a free country.
Kala Bagai was now a widow. She raised her three children without being a U.S. citizen. She was very proud that all three of her sons went to college. They attended Stanford, UC Berkeley, and USC.
She married again in 1934. Her second husband was Mahesh Chandra. He was also a Ghadar activist and an old family friend.
Kala Bagai finally became a United States citizen in 1950. This was after a law called the Luce-Celler Act of 1946 was passed. This law allowed people from India to become citizens.
Activism in Southern California
Kala Bagai and Mahesh Chandra moved to Southern California in the late 1940s. There, Kala built a new life. Her granddaughter, Rani Bagai, described it. Kala went against some cultural norms by marrying again. She went to night school and started wearing Western dresses. She even learned to play tennis. She had many close American friends. She always brought a gift of candy when she visited them.
By the 1950s, Kala Bagai became a leader and community builder. She helped the early Indian and Pakistani immigrant community. She worked with other South Asian immigrants and American women. She planned art events and raised money for refugees after the Partition of India. (The Partition was when British India was divided into India and Pakistan). She welcomed new people into her home and helped them connect.
Rani Bagai said her grandmother wanted to create a welcoming community. She wanted to show kindness to others, something she and her family had not always received. Kala Bagai worked with both American and South Asian immigrant women. In the 1950s and 1960s, she became an active community builder in Southern California. She hosted Indian American cultural events and gatherings. She worked to connect her adopted American culture with the diverse cultures of India.
Some members of the South Asian immigrant community called her "Jhaiji" or "Mother India."
Kala Bagai died in Los Angeles on October 4, 1983. She was 90 years old.
Legacy
Kala Bagai's photos, letters, and recorded interviews are kept by the South Asian American Digital Archive. Her story has become more interesting to historians after her death.
Kala Bagai Way in Berkeley, California
In 2021, the city of Berkeley, California named a street after Kala Bagai. This happened as part of changes to Shattuck Avenue. A two-block part of Shattuck Avenue East was renamed "Kala Bagai Way." This came after a year of community efforts. The street was named to honor her activism. It also recognized the racist way she was treated in the city a century earlier. It was the first street in Berkeley named after an Asian American person.
