Source: San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, August 4, 2002: Indian immigrants are often overlooked in the large wave of East Asian immigrants that came through Angel Island in the early 20th century. For the first time, writings from the Punjabi region of India have been found on the walls of the former detention center. Indian-American historians hope that the discovery will encourage members of the Punjabi community in California to come forward and share their stories, reports India-West. From 1910 to 1940, immigrants detained on Angel Island often wrote their names or poems on the barracks’ walls while they waited to see if they would be allowed entry to the United States or sent home. As well as Punjabi, there are other languages that could be Sanskrit or Urdu, according to the experts.