Subject: Ghadar Day: November 1, 2014

Transcription

1 Peace and Justice Commission CONSENT CALENDAR September 9, 2014 To: From: Submitted by: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Peace and Justice Commission Noah Sochet, Chairperson, Peace and Justice Commission Subject: Ghadar Day: November 1, 2014 RECOMMENDATION Adopt a Resolution declaring November 1, 2014 as Ghadar Day in the City of Berkeley. FISCAL IMPACTS OF RECOMMENDATION CURRENT SITUATION AND ITS EFFECTS At its regular meeting on May 5, 2014, the Peace and Justice Commission adopted the following recommendation: Adopt a Resolution declaring November 1, 2014 as Ghadar Day in the City of Berkeley. M/S/C: Ayes: Noes: Abstain: Absent: (Lippman/Meola) Halpern (temporary appointee) Kenin, Lippman, Maran, Meola, Peirotes, Sochet Bohn (excused), Nicely (excused) RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATION The Peace and Justice Commission, consistent with its mandate to promote peace and justice, locally, nationally and internationally, recommends that the Council support this Resolution to declare November 1, 2014 as Ghadar Day in the City of Berkeley in recognition of more than 100 years of South Asian American activism for social justice. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS CONSIDERED 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA Tel: (510) TDD: (510) Fax: (510) ebrenman@ci.berkeley.ca.us Website:

2 Ghadar Day: November 1, 2014 CONSENT CALENDAR September 9, 2014 CITY MANAGER The City Manager takes no position on the Commission s recommendations or the contents of its Report. CONTACT PERSON Noah Sochet, Chairperson, Peace and Justice Commission, Mary Nicely, Commissioner, Peace and Justice Commission, Eric Brenman, Secretary, Peace and Justice Commission, Attachments: 1. Resolution 2. Background materials Page 2

3 RESOLUTION NO. ##,###-N.S. DECLARE NOVEMBER 1, 2014 AS GHADAR DAY IN THE CITY OF BERKELEY WHEREAS, the Peace and Justice Commission advises the City Council on all matters relating to the City of Berkeley's role in issues of peace and social justice (Berkeley Municipal Code (BMC) Chapter ; and WHEREAS, in 1992 Congress permanently designated May as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month to celebrate the culture, traditions and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States; and WHEREAS, Berkeley has a long tradition of political activism that has had impact worldwide, which includes a still little known history of South Asian American activism dating back 100 years; and WHEREAS, students from pre-partition India began attending The University of California Berkeley (henceforth referred to as U.C. Berkeley) in 1904, and held their first known public protest against British colonialism in 1908 at Stiles Hall; and WHEREAS, Indian philosopher and political activist Har Dayal moved to Berkeley in 1911, inspiring many Indian students at U.C. Berkeley to work with each other and with immigrant Punjabi Sikh farmers throughout California to overthrow British colonialism; and WHEREAS, the movement that came to be known as the Ghadar Party was established in Astoria, Oregon in April 1913, and its members organized across class, religion, and caste in an internationalist struggle to end colonialism and establish secular, democratic, and egalitarian institutions; and WHEREAS, Ghadar Party members included U.C. Berkeley students like Kartar Singh Sarabha (a young activist and organizer executed by the British at age 19), Gobind Behari Lal (the first Indian to win the Pulitzer Prize), Darisi Chenchiah (activist and chronicler of the movement), and Jitendranath Lahiri (initial organizer of Nalanda House); and WHEREAS, the Ghadar Party met at various Berkeley venues, including Stiles Hall (Dana St and Allston Way), Nalanda House (2026 Center Street, site of the present-day Berkeley City College), Punjabee Hostel (1731 Allston Way), and Shattuck Hotel; and WHEREAS, the Ghadar Party published newsletters in Urdu, Punjabi, and English, which were read in dozens of countries, and were instrumental in spreading its message globally; and

4 WHEREAS, thousands of Ghadar supporters from across the South Asian diaspora returned to their homeland starting in 1914 to overthrow British colonialism, a process which, although not immediately successful, helped set the stage for the end of imperial rule in present-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in 1947; and WHEREAS, the Ghadar Party received support from Berkeley and San Francisco Bay Area community members of many backgrounds, and saw themselves as part of a linked global movement for justice, working with labor and anti-imperial movements in the United States, Ireland, China, Egypt, and beyond, and continuing to inspire future generations of organizers and activists; and WHEREAS, the Ghadar Party established a century-long tradition of South Asian American activism for social, economic, and environmental justice in Berkeley, with community members playing a key role in the development of South Asian American groups such as the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action, Bay Area Solidarity Summer, the Gadar Heritage Foundation, the Hindustan Gadar Memorial Committee, Narika, South Asians for Collective Action, Thimmakka, Trikone, the Women of South Asian Descent Collective, and Yoni Ki Baat. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Berkeley that the Council recognizes the contributions of South Asian American activists to the rich history of Berkeley activism and declare November 1, 2014 as Ghadar Day in the City of Berkeley.

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