United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind
In 1923, Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind, a Sikh Indian man, sought to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. Naturalization was then open to White or European immigrants.
The case
His lawyer argued that high-caste Indians descended from Aryans and so counted as Caucasian. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Thind was not White as “the common man” understood the word, and so he was racially ineligible for citizenship.
South Asians were barred from naturalization on racial grounds until 1946. Citizenship already granted to Indians was revoked, and Indian and other Asian landowners in California lost land under the California Alien Land Law of 1913. Thind petitioned again in 1936, as a World War I veteran.
The lesson
- Grades 9–12
- One 50-minute class
- Fits U.S. history, civics or an Asian American history unit
- Reading: “The Legal Component” and “So What Are You?” in Chapter 2 of Brown Voices
One of its questions: “Why does a court case from 1923 still matter to Asian Americans today?”
Thind’s argument tried to win citizenship by claiming whiteness, which accepted the idea that only some races deserved it. Students should see that tension, not treat his argument as simply right.
Get the full lesson
The full lesson plan is in the Brown Voices PD Toolkit, along with professional development sessions and staff handouts.
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