Stranger on the Home Front: A Story of Indian Immigrants and World War I

Stranger on the Home Front: A Story of Indian Immigrants and World War I — page 1
A Note on Vocabulary India at the time this story is set included modern-day India Pakistan and Bangladesh The entire area was ruled by the British Empire and sometimes referred to as Hindustan Punjab was a region within Hindustan now partly in India partly in Pakistan Most Indian immigrants to the United States at the turn of the century came from this region Punjabis could be of any religion with the three main religions of the region being Islam whose followers are called Muslims Sikhism and Hinduism Lahore in present day Pakistan is a major city in Punjab Sikhism is a religion that started in the 1400s in Punjab Most early Indian immigrants were Sikhs Many Sikhs use the last name Singh which means lion Many wear turbans to cover their long uncut hair The kirpan is a knife worn by many Sikhs as a symbol of their faith