A Brief History of Kenya's Sikh Gurdwaras

Lecture on the history of Kenya’s Sikh Gurdwaras, honouring the legend of Kala Singh (b. 1878) who first arrived in East Africa (Kenya did not exist as a country until 1920) in 1894 and because of whom all turbaned and bearded Sikhs in Kenya are known as Kalasingha, thanks to the Maasai tribesmen who mistook his name for his tribe.
Then followed the floodgates of the arrival by dhows in 1895 of indentured Sikh labourers (along with Muslims, Hindus and Goans) brought in by the British colonists to build their highly ambitious 1000km long railway line from Mombasa to Port Florence (now Kisumu) from 1896 to 1901.
With them came their Sikhi, which they put before self, leading to their success in not only overcoming great odds and immense personal losses (even to life) in completing the railway but also in establishing Gurdwaras connected to their history, one of which was Hall Gurdwara (est. 1931), the very spot where I delivered this lecture today, as the Gurudwara was replaced by a commercial building owing to decades of disuse, weakening structure and eventual closure.
The lecture, delivered in Punjabi, was just a ten minute summary of over 100 years of Gurdwara history in Kenya, and where Hall Gurdwara features in the timeline, named after Fort Hall Road where it was located.
Recorded Live on 21 February 2021, Nairobi, Kenya.
My sincere appreciation to East African Ramgarhia Board who accorded me the humble opportunity and space to present this lecture to the Guru-ki-Sangat of Nairobi.

[@SarbjitSingh72]

Wahaguru ji

[@SatnamSingh-ol9ql]

ਰਾਜ ਕਰੇਗਾ ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ

[@gurnaaztv]

Waheguru

[@rajinderbhogal9280]

Pioneering spirit of sikhs.

[@yogichohan7220]

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਰਾ ਸ਼ੁਕਰ ਹੈ

[@Truckawale336]

Waheguru ji

[@SatnamSingh-ol9ql]

Singh is king

[@SukhrajSingh-xj9li]

Good work Singh. Very informative.

[@KhalsaLS]

asante sana, kalasingha. more detailed ones will follow this one which was much of an off the cuff presentation and spontaneous.

[@coldmansach1738]

Hey

[@chardalehnda4070]

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