Indian-American
Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...
freedom fighter best known as the editor of ''Circular-i-Azadi'', a publication critical of the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
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* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
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or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
, often linked to the early history of the
Ghadar Party
The Ghadar Movement was an early 20th century, international political movement founded by expatriate Indians to overthrow British rule in India. The early movement was created by conspirators who lived and worked on the West Coast of the Unite ...
.
Early life
Puri was born to a Punjabi family on 21 September 1881."California Death Index, 1940-1997," database, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPHG-MHJ : accessed 28 February 2016), Ram N Puri, 21 Sep 1974; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento. His father was Jawala Mul Puri from the village of
Khem Karan
Khem Karan is a town and a nagar panchayat, just 56km from Tarn Taran Sahib in Tarn Taran district of Patti tehsil of the Majha region of Indian state of Punjab. It was the site of a major tank battle in 1965.
The Battle of Asal Uttar was the ...
, in what was then the
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
District of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
.
He started his career as a bank clerk in Lahore, when he published two anti-colonial pamphlets and a political cartoon of an emaciated "Father India" bound in chains. He attracted the attention of British authorities for having published what they termed "objectionable pamphlets" and a "seditious cartoon." The British confiscated Puri's pamphlets, arrested his agent, and harassed him directly. He decided to leave India.
In late 1906, he migrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, as a political exile, according to historian Bipan Chandra.
Activism in the United States
In 1907, he founded the Hindustan Association. According to his own description in ''Circular-i-Azadi'', the association was based in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, and had branches in
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...
and
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. ''Lalkar'' describes "the principal condition for membership of the HA was that the members would rid themselves of prejudice based on caste, colour and creed."
Between 1907 and 1908, he launched and published three issues of ''Circular-i-Azadi'' (also transliterated as ''Circular-e-Azadi'')'','' an
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and
Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, California. The first issue was printed using lithography.
Historian Maia Ramnath described ''Circular-i-Azadi'' as "one of the first significant pieces of anticolonial propaganda circulated on the West Coast." It included original writing, as well as extracts from other publications, including the ''
Gaelic American
''The Gaelic American'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper published in the United States from 1903 to 1951 that was, along with the ''Irish Nation'', owned by John Devoy. It was re-launched as an online news publication in 2021.
History
A week ...
'', and according to Ramnath, most likely the ''Indian Sociologist'' and ''Bande Mataram''. Chandra describes Puri as pledging support to the Swadeshi movement in the publication; Ramnath quotes a 1908 issue that reads, in part, "The king is no longer to us the representative of God in the country. We have come to know that people possess the right of appointing and dethroning kings…Swadeshi is for Indians what Sinn Fein is for Ireland."
''Circular-i-Azadi'' came to the attention of the British Director of Criminal Intelligence, and was prohibited from shipment to India due to its allegedly "seditious" content. In January 1908, a Director of Criminal Intelligence report described the report, which had appeared in India, as having as "frankly revolutionary," working "to organise an Indian national party among Indians who go to America for employment," and "capable of working a great mischief."
Life in the United States
In the United States, Ramnath Puri worked as a hospital watchman, interpreter, mining college student, fruit picker, waiter, entrepreneur, and postal worker.
According to Karen Leonard, Puri "returned for his wife in 1906 and brought her to San Francisco, where he had become a U.S. citizen…the three Puri children were born in the first two decades of the century."
In 1908, the ''
Overland Monthly
The ''Overland Monthly'' was a monthly literary and cultural magazine, based in California, United States. It was founded in 1868 and published between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
History
The '' ...
'' described Puri as a student of English.
In 1910, he acquired land in Oakland, California.
As of 1917, he was described as a naturalized United States citizen, an alumnus of the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
, a well-known author, and a San Francisco area resident of ten years.
In 1917, he launched a new publication called ''Rafiq-i-Hind'' (or "Friend of India") from
Stockton, California
Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...
, with news of interest to the "Hindu" (Indian) community.
In 1947, he published ''How to Conquer Poverty & Famine in India by American Methods''. In it, he describes his choice to leave the United States, and his Californian family, including a son "who is engaged in a business of his own, and a daughter "who is in the Civil Service of the California State Government."
He died in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...