Fifty-two years ago, a class one officer in India, working at the Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited, Calcutta (now Kolkata), saw an advertisement by the US government and found an opportunity to work as an immigrant engineer in the US.
Back then, the US embassy used to charge $10 for immigration applications. Darshan was the first to raise the concern and put forward an appeal to pay in Indian currency, that is Rs100. The rule would change later and Darshan would become a change-maker for other people.
Without a second thought, he boarded the flight to fulfill his dream. A dream to become a lakhpati*!
This high-spirited man came to the US in 1970 with just $70 on him and today he has a widespread and elaborate property he has built for himself now. When most entrepreneurs saw dead elephants, he eyed the ivory and that’s what earned him the stature. Bagga is a name easily spotted on the buildings in the boroughs of New York City – Darshan Singh Bagga made it all possible!
His success story with an impeccable record is a true inspiration for the coming generations of Indo-Americans. “Americas were a different country back then. I’d like to believe my unique turban and unshorn beard look worked in my favor. Though at that time the Vietnam war was going on and the economy was very bad so *Hindi for millionaire.
all the engineers were doing odd jobs; some of them did go back. With the blessings of my Guru and mother, I got my first interview in a month. Also, my degree in electrical engineering was a huge aide to help me find work and a place to stay,” shares Darshan. He worked as an engineer for a few years before he started Darshan Singh Bagga, LLC, a real-estate investment and development company, in 1981.
He has managed to build a fortune and a legacy with his social, religious and cultural contributions. Was it easy?
He has grown up in different places. Born in an undivided India, in Saida, in the part of Punjab that’s now in Pakistan, to Veera Kaur Wali and Sardar Sardar Singh, they made Bir in Madhya Pradesh their home after the partition. He completed his schooling there. He went to college in Pune. After earning his BSc in Electronics Engineering (Honors) from Government Science College, Jabalpur, he moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to work at Heavy Engineering Corporation Limited.
He believes that the unstinting support of his wife, Lovlin Kaur, and his vision have made him the person he is today. They have three children, two sons, Simran Singh, a doctor, and Harpreet Singh, a lawyer, daughter, Heer Kaur, assists him in his work. The couple now enjoys the company of eight grandchildren.
Truly A Son of India!
Everyone dreams but how many dares to live it? He entered the real-estate market in 1980; his acumen and foresight made him sign large lucrative deals. He started placing the Khanda symbol on his buildings which was a new sight in the US. “Yes, there were not many Indians here back then; the ideas of divinity seemed strange in times when people were busy making money – but the Khanda was a way to promote Indianism, Sikhism and unity,” smiles Darshan. His focus was excellence in work. He laid the foundation of Bagga Tower in 1986 and made it a 10-story tower with residential condos – inaugurated in 1999 on the Khalsa 300th anniversary. He sponsored an amendment to the NYC tax abatement law which will be applicable to building above an existing structure, benefitting New York City real-estate taxes and countless other builders. The Unique Bagga Towers was built manually from inside without using any escalators or scaffoldings.
“At that time, The New York Telephone Company was the only employer hiring but they were discriminating against turbans so I, being a Founder and President of Sikh center, wrote Gurudwara Sahib constitution in 1974 that stated that all executive members should be Kesha Dhari Sikhs.” He started the first Plainview Gurudwara in Long island.
“I then heard the name of Trump and I considered him as my mentor; following him and Trump International Realty, I named my building Bagga Tower. I built 300,000 sq-ft for myself, Bagga Towers in Queens, three Bagga Plazas and Bagga Estate in Long island.” He was honored as Indian Trump by the Senior Congressman, John Crowley.
In Flushing, he bought a small shopping center and developed it into a huge shopping and residential complex, Bagga Plaza III. When the American community objected to the project, Darshan fought the judicial system and, seven years and millions of money spent, finally won the case in the New York State Supreme Court.
“I have fought for my rights for 45 years, and have even fought against discrimination in the NY Supreme Court to benefit many minority groups.”
He, in fact, was the first Indian to buy land in Hicksville, becoming ‘The Man Who Envisioned Hicksville as Little India in 2001’ as headlined by a local news media.
Leaving Indelible Stamps Everywhere!
Being an ardent follower of Guru Nanak Dev ji, he has done multiple humanitarian work, such as building four major gurudwaras in New York City and Long Island.
Bagga and others bought an 8,000 sq-ft old church, in 1973 for the gurudwara in Richmond Hill. They invited immigrants to visit the gurudwara on the weekends and helped them with job training, food and accommodation, when no one else took the initiative. The building premises is now 80,000 sq-ft, with God’s blessings, and Darshan was able to get a multimillion-dollar loan on his personal credit line. Richmond hill is now known as Mini Punjab. In 1974, he was the foundingpresident of another gurudwara in Flushing, perhaps the first executive committee of Sikhs in the US. Over the years, it flourished with the Indian community’s growth and Flushing came to be known as Little India. Hicksville’s central Broadway shopping area is now dotted by Indian retail stores, restaurants and other businesses, now known as another Little India. More recently, Darshan constructed the most modern and beautiful Glen Cove Gurudwara. He also started the first Plainview Gurudwara in Long Island.
In the mid of the COVD-19 pandemic, he donated personal protective equipment to all the religious institutions and other places in Nassau County and New York City.
He served as the Executive Committee and Founding Member, Sikh Cultural Society, Richmond Hill in 1973. He was the Founding President of Punjabi Cultural Society 1996; Chairman, Glen Cove Gurudwara in New York; Founding Patron of the World Punjabi Organization in 2006 and Founding President of GOPIO-Long Island Chapter in 2009. He is the Director of Long Island 9/11 Memorial and also the Director of the Building Committee of the Memorial Hall in Nassau County.
Darshan developed an India House to project the identity of Sikhs and promote Indian culture. It includes a Gadar Memorial Hall and an interfaith library. He now hopes to introduce Sikhism as a subject in the public school system.
He has received numerous accolades in India and the US for his extraordinary achievements and services to the community. In 2015, he was honored by the then President of the US, Donald Trump, for his achievements in real estate. Darshan and Lovlin Bagga Charity Foundation gives scholarships to the students of Hicksville High School. It also publishes the interfaith journal, One World Under God. Darshan also published a book, Global Religions, and built the Free Med-Wellness Center as a service to humanity.
In 2006, Bagga Night was declared at the India Association of Long Island (IALI) annual gala, where he received six plaques. Senator Carl L Marcellino presented him with a Proclamation from the State of New York. US Congressman Tim Bishop presented him with the Outstanding Real Estate Developer Award. He was honored with a Punjabi Icon award by Bollywood India. The Government of Punjab honored him as a Real Estate Tycoon.
India’s former Prime Minister, HD Deve Gowda, presented him with the Hind Rattan Award (2001). In 2003, he was honored by India’s former President, KR Narayanan, in New York. The Asian American Society presented him with the Visionary Developer of the Year award in 2006. In 2007, he was invited as the Chief Guest at the Jackson Heights Merchants Association’s First Vaisakhi Mela, where he was later invited as the Chief Guest. He has also been recognized wit Lifetime Achievement Award by Syosset-Woodbury Republican Club and Sikh Role Model award by Hemkunt Foundation.
“Never in my dreams could I have achieved even a bit of what the US has given to me,” says this unique and proud Indo-Ameican Sikh.