| Canada | 19 April 2016 | Asia Samachar
Respected Sir:
With due respect, you can surely focus on Canada’s first Sikh Defense Minister, Honorable Harjit Sajjan but do that with respect and know that he is a role model for all Canadians and especially our Punjabi youth. He is a Minister of that Government which apologized for the Komagata Maru episode that had lead to killing of 19 passengers when they landed back at Bajbaj Ghaat, India. He is also the Minister of that Government which celebrates Visakhi in full colors by paring Sikhism’s values of equality and respect with that of Human Rights Act practiced by Canadian Law.
If you as a Chief Minister of Punjab must focus on politics then please realize that people of Punjab demand your first actions in Punjab and not any further political campaign rhetoric. Elections are over you can now start fulfilling your promises to the people who elected you.
If I may suggest, you can start by getting your political party and Punjab government to APOLOGIZE for a few things. In Canada we called it a genocide what took place in 1984. Your party can start by apologizing for mass murders that were funding and planned between 1984-1992. For correcting our history, we went as far back 1914 to offer apology for Komagata Maru tragedy. Once your party is done apologizing for 1984 Sikh genocide, your party can go about to 1947, when the entire India got the independence but it was only Punjab that paid the price for it. Maybe your party can flip though old record books to settle count for the Punjabi blood shed across the border in each street, train and bus. When Punjabis lost lives and lost their financial, emotion and social assets. It was your party that led both of these dark episodes against people of Punjab.
After apologizing, you can open up or maybe finally even register cases of thousands of brutally killed Punjabi men between 1984-1992 and not to mention the misconducts against Punjabi women.
SEE ALSO: Harjit Sajjan to ‘miss’ meeting Capt Amarinder
SEE ALSO: Canada politics changed forever from personal to community perspective
You can also punish and demote government officials who got promotions after killing or covering up these mass murders that his Congress party funded and planned.
If these are past episodes that your memory is rather faded on, then you can start with your most recent promises made to people of Punjab. How about starting with ending the drug distribution that you promised to do within a month of elections by waiving Guru’s bani in your hand. I have yet to hear your government catching a big fish or any known drug lords!
You can start by giving jobs to each household that you promised to do but not sure where you are planning to get funding to pay for their wages.
You can find solutions for farmers’ debt that are amounting to their suicides. You can consider making farming a profitable business again. No, brining GMO farming is not the answer that Punjab is seeking. You can consider investigating and charging the culprits behind disgusting episode of White fly that took away many lives and dragged down financial situations of thousands of households.
It would be also interesting for you to investigate and change those guilty of pushing industries out of Punjab also. They not only impacted GDP of Punjab but also caused high unemployment rate in Punjab leading to drug, and crime.
You can resolve reasons why so many Punjabi youth still wants to come to Canada and not stay in their motherland, Punjab. May be instead of making Punjab a California, but a Vancouver or Toronto would be an idea to explore. These are the cities where Punjabis are respected and given opportunities to make their dreams come true.
If you would have some time left, maybe you can think about mentoring some young faces of Punjab in political leadership that the two ruling parties have not been able to do so for the past 40 years. Punjabi Youth needs representation, direction and you may offer that to them.
You can investigate and charge criminals behind Bargarhi episode, the day light murders where unidentified police officers killed two peaceful protestors.
You can investigate and charge those criminals that were trying to instigate religious riots by desecration of Guru Granth Sahib.
You can investigate attack on Dhadrian wala, a religious preacher and a murder of his associate in public causing fear and unlawful atmosphere.
You can file criminal cases against the previous government’s officials because of whom the Punjab govt. is in huge deficit that the electricity bills of jails and other public facilities are being cut.
You can cancel illegal private licenses e.g. bus licenses and put Punjab’s public transport back in the driver seat so that Orbit bus episodes can be stopped from being repeated.
You can go visit public schools and maybe get your grand kids admitted in one of these schools. You may then start considering a stop to privatization of education in Punjab so that right to a decent education to all Punjabi children can be restored.
You can maybe spend some budget on getting decent safety gears and equipment for Punjab police so that they can defend Punjab as well as themselves better in attaches such as the one happened in Pathankot.
Oh, maybe you can bring some money that is stashed off shore (maybe his own too) back in Punjab and declare names of all who stole it from people of Punjab.
You can stop the insecticide and pesticide business that is sinking in drinking water each day and causing medical epidemic for the generation to come.
You can look into real reasons for cancer in Punjab and put some good medical care in place. You might already know that most Punjabis can’t go to foreign lands to get it cured.
You can ask Mr. Manpreet Badal to explain to you why he came to Canada asking for support under his PPP banner before you objecting other parties for doing the same.
You can question yourself as to why you came to Toronto and Vancouver years ago to get funding and support for your previous elections and stood beside people defending idea of Khalistan. Maybe it was you also feeling the pain of Sikhs who faced 1984 genocide and not that you defended or promoted divide of India.
Maybe you already know that us Canadians do very much care for our Punjabi families living in Punjab and also want to come back to visit our peaceful and prosperous mother land. You can also consider providing a state with decent law and order where Punjabis living across the globe feel brining this children back to keep them connected with their roots and also invest in Punjab’s economy.
You can finally and most importantly get your congress party to rip off agreements made to SPLIT PUNJAB IN SMALL PIECES, return back all the RIGHTS OF PUNJAB ON IT’S OWN WATERS that your party SNACHED, give back FULL CONTROL to PUNJAB ON its CHANDIGARH, admit to STRATEGICALLY REPLACING PUNJABI WITH OTHER LANGUAGES, BRING BACK SIKH LIBRARY TO PUNJAB THAT WAS STOLEN IN 1984, put some measures to bring morality and values back in your own cadre and Public Service and also reverse planting foundation of unrest and disastrous drug infected atmosphere in Punjab.
With faith in you abilities, please understand why people like me would like you to know that we dislike your comments against Mr. Harjit Sajjan. Once you are done with your real work as the head of the state, you can then see if you have time to go through these media wars with the proud son of Punjab and an honorable citizen of Canada. But for now, Punjabis would like you to focus on real issues of Punjab and not the pseudo pride war as the media is currently perpetuating on your behalf.
You saying each word against Honourable Defense minister of Canada, Mr. Harjit Sajjan is being read as an immature and irresponsible politician, which we know that you are not. Honestly, Punjab can’t afford any longer such rhetoric coming from their head of the state. Punjab needs good relationship with Canada and with the world to build better human and trade relationships. Currently Canada is one of the biggest foreign domestic investor for Punjab and we have over 120 years long ties through immigration.
Let me say it to you directly as others might not that knowing what is on stake for Punjabis; your hostile behavior against Mr. Sajjan will be and should be challenged by the public. You not liking Punjabi Canadians who supported change to defend Human Rights to dignity, equality and prosperity in Punjab and also not liking Canadian government that denied your visit prior to elections are your personal issues. At present, a friendly relationship between Punjab and Canada is of utmost importance to all Punjabis. Your personal grudges against him must be put aside for the sake of welfare and better future of Punjabis in general and more importantly for those families who are currently split geographically between the two nations.
You might not have known this but Mr. Harjit Sajjan has served the Canadian people in his police and then his military uniform for enough years to prove to all of us that he is the true solder of this land who’s roots are in Punjab. Punjab, and Punjabis living across the globe are proud of him. I am unsure on the other hand how long you had served the Indian Army and the challenges that you would have accepted during that time for your country or fellow solders. I can only hope that being the true solder you would respect Mr. Sajjan and give him the due respect.
Putting all that aside, on a personal note, I want to say that our youth in Punjab and Canada desperately need role models like Harjit Sajjan and H. S. Phoolka who stood strong on their principles and have lived lives of dignity and respect. I am thankful that Mr. Phoolka has offered his due respect as well as taken responsibility of welcoming Mr. Sajjan to his motherland.
A message with due respect for you is to kindly refrain from trying to take a single shade away from the true glory of Harjit Sajjan. He is a pride of Punjab as well of Canada. Please reconsider your previous stand and offer a warm welcome to him. Punjabis expect more from you knowing your political, professional, religious and cultural up brining. Kindly do not disappoint us.
Though this letter I also ask all Punjabis to welcome Harjit Sajjan with pride and open hearts. Officials should consider asking Mr. Sajjan to speak to school children, our youth, and our men and women in uniform in Punjab. He is a #reallifeHERO that our generations to come will look up to.
With kind regards,
Meera Gill
Meera Gill is a community activist based at Surrey, Canada, with Our Global Village. She can be reached at meera.gill@ourglobalvillage.ca
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. We have a Facebook page, do give it a LIKE! Follow us on Twitter. Visit our website: www.asiasamachar.com
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