The Nameless Collective Podcast

On January 9th, 1915 - just two days before his execution - Bhai Mewa Singh wrote a letter to the community in Stockton. With the help of community researchers and archivists, this letter has been digitized, interpreted, and made accessible to the public for the first time on thenamelesscollective.ca. In this episode, the team discusses the nuances of the letter, some of the indications it gives us about time period, and what it means to hear Mewa Singh's own voice for the first time.

The first challenge to Canada’s discriminatory “Continuous Journey” regulation took place on February 14, 1908, less than a month after the regulation was put on the books. Six South Asian passengers onboard the S.S. Aorangi made their voyage to Canada via Fiji but were denied entry because they did not come to Canada via their country of origin. In this episode, Milan, Paneet and Naveen – with special guest Anita Singh – share insight into Fiji and the indentured labour system, and discuss how South Asians from anywhere in the British Empire were restricted from coming to Canada.

The impact of the Farmer’s protest has reverberated around the world. This week Milan, Paneet and Naveen examine The Trolley Times - a multilingual publication recording the stories of the protest through poetry, editorial, and journalism.

The Indian independence movement was seen as seditious and illegal, and supporting this movement and any anti-British activism from abroad was monitored closely.

We discuss the intriguing life of Teja Singh; from an anti-British activist in a 3-piece suit to the Sant in the 1960s.

Who was the real William C. Hopkinson? We try to demystify the complicated man and his obsession with the local South Asian community. We also discuss what happened to Bibi Harnam Kaur and Bhai Bhag Singh's family, after their untimely deaths.

Described as the "smartest dressed East Indian in Vancouver" Bela Singh was a British informant accused by ghadarites of being a spy and murderer. This is the story of the many assassinations of Bela Singh.

When do South Asians (and many BIPOC) enter the official colonial archive? Hint: It's when we're accused of crimes. This season, we talk about crime & criminality, and what constitutes criminal behaviour amongst early South Asian settlers in and around Vancouver.

Blackface. Model minorities. Bill 21. Racism. It's the Canadian Federal Election, and The Nameless Collective discuss the burden of representation, the country's first racialized candidate for Prime Minister, the repercussions of calling out racism, generational differences in understanding racism, and of course, the Blackface incident.

A federal building in Vancouver is officially un-named, and a mural emerges in its place. This special episode of The Nameless Collective Podcast discusses politics of un-naming the H.H. Stevens federal building in Vancouver, and the Indigenous and South Asian artist collaboration that points to new ways of looking at history in a post-apology world.