The Punjabi Market (/), also known as Little Punjab or Little India, is a commercial district and ethnic enclave in Vancouver, British Columbia. Officially recognized by the city as being primarily a major South Asian, Indo-Canadian and Punjabi population business community and cultural area, the Punjabi District is roughly a six block section of Main Street around 49th Avenue in the Sunset neighbourhood, named after its historically large Punjabi Sikh population. The Market marked its 50th anniversary on May 31, 2020 virtually due to the COVID pandemic. History Early immigration The first Sikh immigrants from Punjab landed in Vancouver in the 1890s. The first Punjabi Sikh settlement is said to have come by the name of Paldi after a village near Hoshiarpur in Punjab. They settled down in Kitsilano near First Avenue and Burrard Street, where many worked in lumber mills and at construction sites throughout the Lower Mainland. Punjabis who later immigrated to Vancouver are believed to have suffered the same treatment given to the Chinese (Chinatown) and Japanese (Japantown). They were subject to the bias and animosities of the predominantly Anglo-Saxon majority and occupied distinct and discrete quarters of the city. Most of the new residents sought established homes and to earn reasonably secure incomes. They settled in the area near 49th Avenue and Main Street and many established restaurants and businesses there and throughout the city to make a living. The settlers brought with them distinctive habits and attitudes that influenced the choice of food, work and recreational activity. Establishment Over time, the neighbourhood had become predominantly Indo-Canadian and on May 31, 1970 Sucha Singh and Harbans Kaur Claire opened the first shop on Main St, which would be joined by dozens more, between 48th and 50th avenues. The Claire's owned and ran Shan Sharees and Drapery. In the 1980s, the neighbourhood was also once recognized by both the RCMP and CSIS as the British Columbia support base for the Khalistan movement and the Insurgency in Punjab, which called for a separate nation for the minority Sikh religion carved out of the majority-Sikh Punjab state in India, during and following the "Sikh Genocide" perpetrated by the Hindu-majority Indian Government. This continued support by the Sikh community is seen every year at the annual Vaisakhi Parade through the Punjabi Market and the Sunset neighbourhood. In recognition of the cultural and business importance of the market, the first bilingual