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Photo of Bhagat Singh Thind, a Brown man wearing a turban, holding a gun and looking into the camera.
Bhagat Singh Thind in his U.S. Army Uniform (1918).

U.S. Supreme Court rules that South Asians do not qualify for naturalization.

1923

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Bhagat Singh Thind in his U.S. Army Uniform (1918).

After the U.S. Supreme Court rejects a North Indian man's claim that he is "caucasian" and therefore eligible for citizenship in the case of United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, South Asians/Indians who are already naturalized have their citizenship rescinded.

The ruling also means that the Alien Land Law applies to the many Indian immigrants who have already purchased or leased land. After this ruling, some landowners will lose their property.