South Asian Spartans - 1930s

In the 1930s, South Asia looked very different. India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were not separate countries. They were all 'India', a British dominion. Mahatma Gandhi's peaceful dissent against British rule was sweeping across the subcontinent. Sri Lanka and Maldives were also under British rule. Some families from British India had arrived on the west coast of the United States and Canada for better opportunities. Children of these families began to study in California schools and colleges. One such family, the Bagais, sent their eldest son, Ram, to SJSU, then known as San José State Junior College. Other students followed. Both the campus and the city of San José have also changed dramatically since the 1930s, and images of the library and Santa Clara street give a sense of the smaller city where students like Ram Bagai lived and studied.