Sub-series consists of records arising from Hari Sharma's involvement with the founding of the Indian People's Association in North America (IPANA) in Montréal and his active participation in the Vancouver chapter. Sharma helped to produce IPANA's three publications: quarterly New India Bulletin which came out of Montréal from 1975, India Now, a monthly that was produced in New York from 1976, and Wangar, a Punjabi paper that was produced from Vancouver every two months from 1977. He also supported the focus of IPANA's work (in defense of minority rights and the principles of secular democracy in India through engagement with issues concerning the local South Asian community in their own daily lives) by helping to organize public meetings, demonstrations, lectures, films, educational study groups, and cultural programs. As Chairman of the Vancouver unit, Sharma brought together IPANA and other groups in Vancouver with their own liberation struggles to create a culture of solidarity of people's struggles that eventually led to the formation of the Third World People's Coalition (TWPC). IPANA also intervened successfully in working class struggles and in support of women facing violence within the South Asian community. Through the 1980s, IPANA dedicated its energies to the development of the Canadian Farmworkers Union and the anti-racist work undertaken by the British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism (BCOFR). Collectively, these organizations helped unite multi-ethnic communities, unions, religious groups, First Nations, students, and others in opposition to the spread of racism, hatred, and violence. Sub-series includes memos, notes, articles, correspondence, statements, minutes, press releases, reports, resolutions, contact lists, event announcements, and other publicity materials.
