Piara Singh Bains was born on October 30, 1927 in Sarhala Khurd, District Hoshiarpur, Punjab India to father Basant Singh and mother. Raised in Sarhala Khurd, Piara Singh attended Khalsa High School in Mahilpur, Hoshiarpur. In 1944, he passed the Matriculation Examination from the University of Punjab. From here, he joined the Indian army, and continued to serve during the remaining duration of the Second World War. During this time, he served in the Indian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Corps (I.E.M.E), as an instrument mechanic (optical), until he was discharged in 1947. Soon after, he joined the workforce as a civilian. He began working for Central Railway in 1948 in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, where he settled with his family. While he was working, he continued on with higher education and completed various training courses. In 1963, he completed his Apprentice Mechanic/Train Examiner course from the Central Railway System Technical School in Jhansi. After this training, he was appointed to the position of Chargeman ‘C’, and later, ‘B’ grade Fitter Chargeman. In 1971, after working for over two decades for the Central Railway Piara Singh resigned and during that same year, he immigrated to Canada along with his wife, Mohinder Kaur, and children, son Inderjit Singh, and daughter Hardial Kaur, to join his older sister Karam Kaur who sponsored his immigration to British Columbia. In 1973, he completed his Vocational Training Programme in welding in Burnaby, British Columbia, and soon after began working as a welder. This fonds contains records pertaining to the life of Piara Singh Bains in India and Canada. Documents are from both India and Canada, and include records such as educational certificates, correspondence, and government records. Also included in this fonds are some academic papers and writings by renowned academic Verne A. Dusenbery. Records in this fonds are written in various languages including English, Punjabi, and the Persian Court Language.