Sikhism in Panama took its roots when the
Panama Canal was started in 1890.
Construction of the
rail-road link between the
Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans began in 1850. With the boom of labour opportunities, immigrants saw Panama as a place of fortune. Sikhs came first as construction workers for the
transcontinental rail road link. During 1864, among the population of
New Grenada
The Republic of New Granada was a 1831–1858 Centralism, centralist unitary republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. On 9 May 1834, the nati ...
, which contained
Panama City, out of 2.7 million people, 160,000 were Sikh. A large number of Sikhs settled there after the project.
Spread
Sikhs worked on digging the canal as manual labourers, as little machinery was available.
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
and specially Sikh labourers worked in difficult conditions, meeting challenges of
yellow fever. British and American officials preferred Sikh labourers over others because of their perceived work ethic and characteristics that could withstand harsh conditions.
The canal was completed in 1913–14. Sikhs maintained a weekly congregation, reciting
Gurbani path, in houses by rotation. Early Punjabi settlers started working in jobs like watchmen or sold daily use articles as petty businessmen, until they were absorbed in Panama Canal construction work. With the completion of the canal, many of them had earned enough money to set up businesses or became landowners and farmers. One of them was Rattan Singh, who built his financial company, and became a founding father of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Sahib, Panama along with Parkaish Singh and many others from their voluntary contributions. Gurdwara is well established and was inaugurated in 1986.
Gurdwara is managed by Guru Nanak Sahib Civic Society, Panama.
Higher education
One weekly congregation resulted in the formation of Panamanian Medical and Management Corporation of Higher Education (PMMC) which set forth a Medical degree programme in Panama.
Present generation
After the construction and the establishment of American military bases in Panama, many new immigrants, including Sikhs, settled there as permanent residents. Interviews of some fourth generation Panamanian Sikhs revealed settlers engaged in financial businesses, owning financial companies, owning agricultural lands, cultivating bananas and other crops, owning department stores, restaurants, etc. Some of them joined civil and military services. Many, such as Sindhi Sikhs believe, in the ten gurus and attend the
Gurdwara regularly. Only one Gurdwara operates in Panama. Interviews by
Sikh Channel discuss the presence of 4th generation Sikhs in Panama.
References
External links
Sikh Channel interview of Panama Sikh episode 6 in 2019
{{Sikhism
Panama
Religion in Panama
1890s in Panama