News clipping from the Beadall family of Mahinder Singh Beadall placing his ballot in the ballot box while another man looks on. Mahinder Singh was the first South Asian Canadian in Victoria to cast a ballot in a federal election when the vote was reinstated to South Asians in 1947.

This website is dedicated to highlighting the work of an exhibit and extensive research project that the South Asian Studies Institute curated in 2017.

The exhibit, titled (Dis)Enfranchisement 1907-1947: The Forty Year Struggle for the Vote emphasizes the South Asian struggle for the vote from 1907-1947; however, it also included a rich and detailed history of South Asian settlement history to BC beginning in 1897. With themes ranging from community stories, activism and organizations, unique mill towns and solidarity histories of other communities such as Chinese and Japanese stories, this exhibit and website is a perfect resource for educators, community professionals or interested people to learn more about the histories around them.

As you peruse the website, we hope you are able to learn something new and share this page with others as well. If you have further questions about the South Asian Studies Institute and our work, please contact us.

For more information on our work and research you can visit www.southasiancanadianheritage.ca.