Bhagat Singh Thind

Bhagat Singh Thind
Bhagat Singh Thind in US Army Uniform
Born	(1892-10-03)October 3, 1892 Taragarh Talawa, Amritsar, Punjab, India
Died	September 15, 1967(1967-09-15) (aged 74) Los Angeles, Ca, USA
Nationality	Indian, American
Occupation	Writer, lecturer
Known for	Landmark court case denying him naturalized citizenship of the United States, First Turban wearing Singh in US Army

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 Indian-Americans born abroad citizenship for not being a White person "in accordance with the understanding of the common man."

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.

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 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. 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".