Subsequently they went as farm labour, construction workers, then moved into transport services and further into owning stores, minimarts or supermarkets.

Today, even in Latin American countries the Sikh community can proudly boast of professionals and entrepreneurs - as well as someone like Chief Justice George Singh (1998) in Belize, Central America.
Argentina, as compared to its neighbouring countries, attracted the largest number of immigrants because of its prosperity in the early 20th century. Interestingly, the Sikh diaspora in these countries rarely married Sikh women from India. Perhaps due to logistics, as South America is one of the furthest continents from their homes in Punjab. Subsequent generations have taken on local first names while retaining the Singh surname - Dante, Carmen, Esther, Leander, and Maria. This perhaps has made assimilation into the local environment easier. It has also helped retain a sense of cohesiveness and communal ties in a strange land. The majority of the 2nd and 3rd generation Singhs are fluent in Spanish but speak neither English nor Punjabi. The translation of the Guru Granth Sahib into Spanish has in a way helped keep it alive with the younger generation.
As is an obvious precedent, here too Gurdwaras have sprung up in towns and cities where a sizable Sikh population settled, with these temples becoming the contact and networking point for the community and new settlers.

Another interesting revelation is the Singh Family Burial Tombs as cremation for the dead was not permitted in these countries earlier but is now allowed. Kahlon in many cases has unwittingly provided the impetus to the younger generation of immigrants wanting to meet more of their kind and learn about their parents and grandparents' roots and country of origin. This alone is a feather in his cap!

One such family is the mother-son duo, Carmen, and Leandra Singh from Cordoba. Almost unbelievably so, Carmen had not seen an Indian for nearly 60 years since the death of her father Muncha Singh in 1943 - till she met the author!

There is an interview with Subagh Kaur Khalsa, a convert to Sikhism who runs the Gurdwara in Brazil, but her regret is that there aren't too many followers of the faith in that country. The lady also teaches yoga.