Manjodh Singh and fellow Sikhs in uniform at the Vaisakhi 2022 event in Toronto
By Manjodh Singh | Canada |
April 24th 2022. #KhalsaDay #Toronto
Grew up attending this event every year and this past weekend, I filled the shoes of law enforcement and witnessed the great joy of officers in uniform.
Every year across Ontario, Sikh Canadians celebrate Vaisakhi (Baisakhi) – also known as Khalsa Day.
I was extremely fortunate to volunteer and do seva (selfless service) by complying #lawenforcement and #corrections duties on a such an auspicious day.
This was a great opportunity to remember, celebrate and educate communities about Sikh Canadians and the important contributions they have made and continue to make to Ontario’s social, economic, political and cultural fabric.
Photo taken by: Amy Fernandes.
Adapted from Manjodh Singh’s entry at hus LinkedIn page. He is a correctional officer at Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Prof. Sukhmander Singh with students from Santa Clara University – Photo: SCU website
By Deborah Lohse | United States |
Each year, graduates of Santa Clara University’s civil engineering program receive a personally signed paperback book, Monkey Wisdom, from the elder statesman of that department— Sukhmander Singh, who has been teaching at SCU for 36 years.
The book contains fable-like stories—most featuring monkeys—that Singh has told to his students over the years whenever he thought they needed a reminder about the merits of focus, perseverance, or personal values. A story about a donkey stuck in a well with dirt being shoveled on him, for instance, turns into a lesson about being able to rise above challenges that rain down in every life. Having grown up in a Sikh Indian farming family which never expected him to go to college—much less get a Ph.D. and become a beloved professor—it’s a lesson Singh feels deeply, and wants to pass on to students.
“I describe him as a ball of sunshine,” said Vanessa De La Rosa, a junior civil engineering student and assistant to Singh. “He can really tell when students are going through a hard time, or when they are stressed out. He knows what they need to hear.”
That unceasing care for his students by Singh—who teaches geology and geotechnical engineering—touched one family so much that they recently donated $3 million to create the Sukhmander Singh Endowed Professorship in Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering. The professorship will be awarded to a Santa Clara educator who—like Singh—has distinguished themselves academically and exemplifies the highest ideals and values of a Jesuit education, among other qualifiers.
Santa Clara currently has over 50 endowed professorships, including the Wilmot J. Nicholson Family Professorship, which Singh held for 25 years. Most endowed professorships are named in honor of generous donors or former professors—not typically for professors living and working at SCU.
“It’s extremely rare for a professor to be honored in this way,” said Elaine Scott, dean of the School of Engineering. “It goes to show the impact of our profession on students can be very long lasting and profound.”
“An endowed professorship is a tremendous validation of the quality of education our students are receiving,” said Ed Ryan, acting provost of Santa Clara University. “It will help ensure continuity of excellence in civil, environmental, and sustainable engineering course offerings for generations to come.”
Among his peers, Singh is known as the consummate faculty “connector” on campus—championing new professors, especially those from other countries, and advocating for engagement and cultural awareness between U.S.- and foreign-born professors.
Nam Ling, who now chairs the computer science and engineering department, became friends with Singh when both were younger professors in relatively small departments. Singh would actively support his friend, including nominating him for awards, and would encourage all new faculty members, especially foreign-born, to engage with their peers and get noticed for their work.
“Many foreign-born professors are low-key, soft-spoken, and may not speak up if something is wrong or not quite right,” says Ling, whose department now has the largest enrollment in the School of Engineering. “Sukhi is a bit different— more outspoken, willing to speak up.”
For instance, Singh would regularly point out when a qualified person was being overlooked for professional opportunities, and raised concerns if those denied promotions, awards or leadership opportunities don’t receive the honest feedback they need to improve.
“We should be truthful, but also diplomatic and kind,” reasoned Singh. “It will help people.”
Read the full story, ‘An Endowed Honor’ (Santa Clara University website), here.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Ravneet Nandra’s first presenting stint at ITV Central on 27 April 2022 – Photo: Videograb, IVT Central
By Asia Samachar | Britain|
Award-winning British journalist Ravneet Nandra is full of excitement after accomplishing her latest target. And she shares the feeling in an update at her LinkedIn profile.
“I thought I’d share my first presenting stint at ITV Central!…I presented the lunchtime bulletin after weeks of pestering the newsroom to practice before and after shifts. Thanks to everyone who helped me make it happen and I hope to present more in the near future,” says the ITV News Central senior production journalist.
Nandra is the winner of the Outstanding Young Journalist at the Asian Media Awards 2020.
Rav, as she calls her herself in her blog entry, said she studied in West London at the first state Sikh School in the UK-Guru Nanak Sikh Academy– for seven years. She found her love for journalism when she joined Birmingham City University‘s student TV and Radio society- ScratchTV.
Whilst living in Birmingham, she began writing articles for Naujawani.com – an opinion website about Sikh and Punjabi current affairs, culture and society.
It was in her undergraduate degree of English Literature where she was certain of fulfilling a career in journalism. In 2015 she began a Masters in Broadcast Journalism at City, University of London. At the same time, she freelanced at BBC Asian Network as a reporter.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Gurbax Singh Malhi (right) earned the distinction of being Canada’s first turbaned Sikh MP in 1993. Other turban-bearing MPs to follow suit (L-R) Randeep Sarai, Darshan Singh Kang and Iqwinder Singh Gaheer
By Prabhjot Paul Singh | Opinion |
October 25, 1993 would go down in the annals of history of the Canadian House of Commons as a golden letter day. It was on this day that Canada earned the distinction of electing its first turbaned Sikh MP. The honor went to Gurbax Singh Malhi as he was declared successful from Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding.
Though two more MPs of Indian origin – Harbance (Herb) Singh Dhaliwal and Jagdish Bhaduria – also made their debut in the Canadian House of Commons simultaneously, but the spotlight was on Gurbax Singh Malhi. Since then, no Canadian Parliament has been complete without a turbaned Sikh represented on it.
Starting with three MPs in 1993, now the Indo-Canadian community has grown six times in its strength in the House of Commons. It represents all three major parties – the ruling Liberals, the main Opposition party the Conservatives, and the third major party NDP headed by an Indo-Canadian Jagmeet Singh. Incidentally, Jagmeet Singh is the lone Indo-Canadian NDP in the current House of Commons.
Of 42 MPs of Indian origin elected to House of Commons since 1993, Navdeep Singh Bains, Tim Uppal, Jagmeet Singh, Randeep Sarai, Harjit Singh Sajjan, Darshan Singh Kang, Raj Grewal, Jasraj Singh Hallan and Iqwinder Singh Gaheer, are among those who earned special limelight because of their colorful turbans.
Incidentally, Gurbax Singh Malhi has till date remained the longest serving Sikh MP representing the Liberals. He was elected five times starting in 1993 till he lost the 2011 elections. Otherwise, Deepak Obhrai, who was born in Tanzania, earned the distinction of longest serving Canadian MP of Indian origin. He retained his House of Commons seat for seven consecutive terms mostly as a nominee of Conservatives.
While Gurbax Singh Malhi, Jag Bhaduria and Herb Dhaliwal were the first representatives of Liberals in Canadian Parliament, the honor for giving representation to Indo-Canadians in the House of Commons on behalf of Conservatives went to Deepak Obhrai and Gurmant Grewal. Subsequently, Jasbir Singh Sandhu and Jinny Jogindera Sims were the first Indo Canadians to represent NDP in the Canadian Parliament.
Women of Indo-Canadian descent did not take along to reach Ottawa’s Parliament Hill. Ruby Dhalla (Liberal from Ontario) and Nina Grewal (Conservative from British Columbia) became the torch bearers. They were followed by Jinny Jogindera Sims (NDP).
Sonia Sidhu, Ruby Sahota, Kamal Khera, Bardish Chagger and Anju Dhillon created ripples when they all made their entry into the 42nd Parliament and are all continuing in the current 44th Parliament. In the 43rd Parliament they were joined by Anita Anand, the first Indo-Canadian woman politician to hold the important portfolio of Defense. Also a new entrant was Jag Sahota, the ninth woman of Indian origin to enter Canadian Parliament.
These Canadian MPs of Indian origins have several other firsts to their credit. For example, Gurmant Singh Grewal and Nina Grewal were the first couple to sit in the same House. Herb Dhaliwal was the first from the group to be inducted in the Canadian Cabinet as a Minister for Oceans. Many of them have remained Parliamentary Secretaries attached with important ministries.
In the previous Liberal Government, Harjit Singh Sajjan, became the toast of not only the Indo-Canadian community but also of the rapidly growing Indian Diaspora after he was named the Defence Minister of Canada.
Bardish Chagger hawked media headlines on becoming the first woman leader of the House of Commons. And late last year, Anita Anand stole the limelight as the first Indo-Canadian woman to hold the portfolio of Defence Minister. Incidentally, the last two Liberal Governments had an Indo-Canadian as Defence Minister.
There have been Indo-Canadians who created history both in provincial and federal politics. The shining example has been of Ujjal Dosanjh who after his phenomenal rise as the first Indo-Canadian Premier of British Columbia later held the portfolio of the Canadian Health Minister.
A couple of MPs, including Jinny Jogendra Sims and Parm Gill, later made their debut in provincial politics and held positions as Cabinet Ministers in British Columbia and Ontario, respectively.
Amarjit Sohi, who held an important cabinet portfolio in the previous Justin Trudeau government is now a Mayor of Edmonton in Alberta since last year.
Left ro right: Harjit Singh Sajjan, Bardish Kaur Chagger, Navdeep Singh Bains and Anita Anand.
MPs OF INDIAN ORIGIN
Gurbax Singh Malhi
Harbance (Herb) Singh Dhaliwal
Jag Bhaduria
Deepak Obhrai
Gurmant Grewal
Rahim Jaffer
Nina Grewal
Ruby Dhalla
Ujjal Dosanjh
Navdeep Bains
Sukh Dhaliwal
Tim Uppal
Jinny Jogindera Sims
Devinder Shory
Jasbir Sandhu
Bal Gosal
Parm Gill
Joe Daniel
Amarjit Sohi
Jagmeet Singh
Gagan Sikand
Sonia Sidhu
Jati Sidhu
Bob Saroya
Randeep Singh Sarai
Ramesh Sangha
Harjit Singh Sajjan
Raj Saini
Ruby Sahota
Kamal Khera
Darshan Singh Kang
Raj Grewal
Anju Dhillon
Bardish Chagger
Chandra Arya
Maninder Sidhu
Jag Sahota
Jasraj Sigh Hallan
Anita Anand
Iqwinder Singh Gaheer
George Chahal
Parm Bains
To be concluded.
Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows. For more in-depth analysis please visit probingeye.com or follow him on Twitter.com/probingeye
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Like father, like daughter. Pria Sawhney emerged gold winner of the 2022 Young Edison Challenge for inventing verifiable hand sanitizer called Vizuell.
The award celebrates student innovators who bring to life Edison’s values by providing innovative solutions to problems displayed within their communities.
Pria’s invention is an alcohol-based, verifiable hand-sanitizer that decolorizes after initial application. Through temporary visual cues, health care workers can ensure total hand coverage, and the casual observer can verify proper sanitization. Vizuell works to tackle healthcare-associated infections and transmission of COVID-19, according to an entry at the award website.
She comes from Lexington High School in Massachusetts, US.
Her father, Amarpreet Sawhney, is a founder of a number of health technology related companies, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He is the chairman and CEO of Instylla Inc which is developing new liquid embolics for tumor embolization and hemostasis. He is also CEO of Rejoni Inc which is developing products to prevent adhesions following gynecological interventions. At the same time, he is also the founding partner and CEO of Pramand LLC, which is developing products for surgical sealing and hemostasis.
Amarpreet had also been selected as the five most innovative medical device CEOs’ by MassDevice.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
Indian-born are the largest overseas migrants to have moved to Australia in the last decade, overtaking the numbers coming from China.
India and China continue provide the highest number of permanent migrants to Australia. From 2011 to 2021, Indian-born migrants rose by 373,000, followed by 208,000 from China and 118,000 from the Philippines, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Tuesday. In the same period, 38,000 Malaysian-born moved to Australia.
England continued to be the birthplace of the largest group of overseas-born living in Australia, constituting 3.8% (967,000) of the population. They are followed by Indians (2.8%), China (2.3%), New Zealand 2.2% (600,000) and the Philippines 1.2% (311,000). Malaysian-born are at the eight spot (172,000).
Latest statistics show that 7.5 million people resident in Australia in 2021 were born overseas, making up 29.1% of the Australian population.
England (967,000) continued to be the birthplace of the largest group of overseas-born living in Australia.
Those born in India (710,000) were the next largest group but had decreased by 13,000 people during the year. Chinese-born (596,000) was the third largest, with an annual decrease of 52,000 people
Almost a third (29.1%) of Australia’s resident population were born overseas (7.5 million people) in 2021, down from 29.8% a year earlier (7.7 million people), according to data.
New Zealand (NZ) citizens also feature highly in the number of settler arrivals, but they are not counted under Australia’s Migration Program unless they apply for (and are granted) a permanent visa.
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India state organised event bringing together 400 raagi on stage at Red Fort, New Delhi, to mark the birth of Guru Tegh Bahadur on 21 April 2022, with PM Narendra Modi as the guest of honour. -Photo: Videograb from video shared at Modi Facebook page
By Gurnam Singh | Opinion|
2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the declaration of war against the Sikh Punjabi nation by the forces of the Indian state. This began with the army assault on the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar and the deaths of thousands of civilians in what is infamously known as Operation Blue Star. This was followed by 10 years of state terror resulting in the extra judicial murders of thousands more of innocent people. The up shot of this oppression was a demand for a separate Sikh state in Northern India called Khalistan and a global Sikh liberation movement.
But tragically 38 years have passed and not only have we progressed little towards this ambition. Indeed, the dream of liberation is as elusive as ever, those guilty of extrajudicial killings of innocent Sikhs remain unpunished, the Sikh genocide of November 1984 remains acknowledged and Sikh political prisoners languish in jails despite having served many years in excess of their sentences. There are many reasons why we appear to have failed in our quest for justice. Sikhs have no shortage of courageous warriors prepared to sacrifice their lives and livelihoods, but I would suggest the most significant reason for our failure is our unique capacity to be co-opted by the opposition.
One such example is the U.K. based self-proclaimed President of Khalistan in exile, Sewa Singh Lalli. Whilst I respect his past contribution to the Sikh liberation struggle, I was extremely disappointed to read a recent Facebook post by him in which he showered praise on Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister and Home Minister Amit Shah for their service to Sikhs.
This praise comes against the background of political manoeuvres by the Indian intelligence agencies where meetings between the so-called Khalistanis and the Indian state have been taking place. I do not doubt the initial intentions of those Khalistani leaders, such as Sewa Singh Lalli and Ripudaman Singh Malik, who have in the past given much to the struggle for justice, but sadly, like a venus fly trap, though I may be wrong, on the surface it seems like, having been enticed with warm words and hospitality from Delhi, they have been become co-opted into the bigger Hindutva project.
This and other recent events surrounding the demise of the Akali Dal, RSS takeover of the SGPC, the closeness of Haryana SGPC President Baljit Singh Daduwaal and the huge BJP sponsored events held at the Red Fort, Delhi and Panipat, Haryana to commemorate the 400 Anniversary of the birth of Guru Tegh Bhadur Ji, have left many Sikhs wondering what their political future is! And the real danger is that fragmentation and factional infighting amongst Sikhs is likely to increase; and this can only benefit the Hindutva Indian state, which, like all imperial powers, thrives on a divide and rule strategy.
But the highly symbolic sight of self-proclaimed Khalistanis praising Modi and the BJP has brought the whole Khalistan movement into disrepute. It has left many wondering if these pronouncements are part of a deeper strategy by the Indian state, as was the case with the British before them, to cement its hegemony within Sikh Panthic circles.
I have no hesitation in speculating that the BJP, facilitated by the discredited former DSGPC President Manjinder Singh Sirsa, has not suddenly become receptive to the demand for Khalistan, but is more concerned with undermining Sikh demands for sovereignty whilst simultaneously extending the reach of the Indian Hindutva nationalist project. It’s worth noting that Panjab and Delhi are two states that have consistently rejected the BJP and, along with Haryana and Western UP, as we saw with the farmer’s movement, have formed the backbone of opposition to the Hindutva project.
So, what lesson can those like me who have and continue to fight for freedom, justice and self-determination in India and elsewhere take from the current maliase? There are many but, in the context of the current political game playing, perhaps we need to reflect on the words of the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero whose political thoughts shaped the formation of the Roman Empire. An important lesson from history for us today: “A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates of the kingdom is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys are heard and shared in the very halls of the government and hearts of the nation itself.”
Nothing changes, even today, but I can only pray and hope there are enough thinking Sikhs who can see and understand this game. And to those who want to pursue the path of dialogue with the Indian State, I say good luck; there is no harm in talking, our history teachers us to be strategic. However, please only offer praise when you have secured some meaningful concessions, otherwise, you simply disincentivise the Government from giving you anything at all and all our efforts will lead to nothing.
Gurnam Singh is an academic activist dedicated to human rights, liberty, equality, social and environmental justice. He is an Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Warwick, UK. He can be contacted at Gurnam.singh.1@warwick.ac.uk
* This is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here |
The granddaughter of the ’Father of Sabah Sports’ Gurbax Singh Kler is keeping the corporate wheels turning with her board appointment at Asia Digital Engineering Sdn Bhd (ADE), the engineering arm of AirAsia’s parent Capital A Bhd.
Suhnylla Kaur Kler was today (April 25) named as one of the members of the newly-formed board of directors at ADE as it commits to ‘deliver industry leading engineering solutions for AirAsia and other third party airlines in the region’, the company said in the statement.
Her grandfather Gurbax was a sporting legend in Sabah while her dad Jaswant Singh Kler also made his mark in the sporting arena before breaking into the corporate world.
Sabah-born Suhnylla brings extensive experience to ADE with her prior board experience in numerous publicly-listed agriculture, utilities and energy as well as consumer products and manufacturing companies.
The newly crafted ADE board of directors will be led by Hisham Othman, an independent non-executive director at Berjaya Corp Bhd, as well Sreesanthan Eliathamby and Natasha Kamaluddin. The two executive directors on board are AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (AAAGL) group CEO Bo Lingam and ADE CEO Mahesh Kumar.
Suhnylla, 54, is an independent non-executive director at Greenyield Bhd since 2019. The Kajang headquartered Greenyield develops, manufactures and markets agricultural systems, products and services based on agro-technology.
She is also a Capital Markets Services Representative Licence (CMSRL) holder and an executive director of SDB Asset Management Sdn. Bhd.
Suhnylla graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Economics) in Monetary Economics from the London School of Economics (LSE) and subsequently studied Japanese at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) also in London.
She is a Fellow (FCCA) of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) as well as a member of the Global 100 women in Hedge Funds – an association of professional women who have built financial services careers in and around the hedge fund industry. She has previously worked with Rating Agency Malaysia Berhad (RAM) and FTC Kaplan Asia Pacific as Course Director in financial modelling.
She started her career as a senior auditor at KPMG Peat Marwick, Sabah in 1992 before joining AMMB International (L) Ltd, Labuan Offshore Bank in 1996. She also had stints at HSBC Bank Malaysia and ABN Amro Bank Berhad. In 2005, she served Sabah International Petroleum Sdn Bhd Group of Companies for five years.
On his part, Jaswant has served in various capacities including as the chairman of public-listed TSH Resources Bhd and chairman of the East Malaysia Planters’ Association for 16 years from 1985-2000. He currently sits on the board of Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) Sabah.
His elder brother, Balwant Singh Kler, was another sporting personality in Sabah.
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: asia.samachar@gmail.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
It was not easy. The early migrants from South Asia were not welcome to Canada. They not only suffered numerous hardships but were also denied the right for a decent living. They had no voting rights.
In fact, the concept of the nagar kirtan processions, or the Sikh Parades, proved to be an effective tool for the overseas Sikh community to introduce itself as a peaceful and hard-working group that had no qualms of making countries of their present abode as their homes.
The first ever-Sikh parade or nagar kirtan procession was organized on January 19, 1908, along Second Avenue in Vancouver.
It has been this commitment that has helped them to script an unprecedented success story the world over. Though the Punjabis – initially described as Hindus – started reaching Canada in early 1900s, they were denied voting rights in British Columbia from 1907 onwards. They had to wait for 40 long years to win back the right to vote. In 1947, the requirement to be a voter was changed to Canadian citizenship in addition to being a British subject. It was in 1950 that the first Sikh – Naranjan Singh Grewall – was elected to the City Council of Mission in British Columbia.
He became the first “Hindu” (the colloquial term for South Asians at the time) elected to any political position in Canada. Later, he became the first South Asian migrant to become Mayor of the Mission City Council in 1954. Grewall’s run for a seat in the BC Legislature as a member of the CCF surprised no one. He was first and foremost a man of the people. He lost the assembly election in a close battle.
The Indo-Canadian community was waiting for the break Naranjan Singh Grewall had provided. Once the process of its assimilation in mainstream politics started, the Punjabi migrant community set its goals high. And before the turn of the century, it had three of its nominees – Gurbax Malhi, HerbDhaliwal, and Jag Bhaduria – sitting in the House of Commons in Ottawa.
And long before their journey to Ottawa started, the beginning, though unsuccessful, was made in late 60s and early 70s. In 1970, a new party was born. It was headed by an Indo-Canadian. Called Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), it was founded by Hardial Singh Bains, a trained bacteriologist. Born in Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur, Hardial moved to Vancouver when he was 19.
Much before Jagmeet Singh became the President of the NDP, Hardial Singh Bains had earned the distinction of leading a national political party in Canada.
After studying in Canada, England, and Ireland, Hardial Singh Bains returned to Canada and spearheaded the workers movement. Since Elections Canada does not allow the use of the word “communist” in the name of any party, Hardial Singh Bains got his party registered as Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada in 1974. Before his death in 1997, the Marxist-Leninist Party contested the 1974, 1979, 1980, 1993 and 1997 federal elections. Though the party has never succeeded in sending any of its members to the House of Commons, it fielded its largest number of candidates,177, in 1980. Many of these candidates were migrants, including those from India. Amarjit Dhillon, who was the party candidate from Vancouver South, both in 1979 and 1980, polled only 91 and 63 votes. Overall, though the party never aggregated 0.20 per cent of total votes polled, still it never gave up its fight and contested the last federal elections in 2021 by fielding 36 candidates.
It was in 1974 when Hari Singh, a teacher, contested on Liberal ticket from Okanagan-Kootenay. Though it was a Liberal stronghold, but Hari Singh lost. After his defeat, he accused the majority community of Liberals of voting against him. Subsequently, the Liberals retained the seat.
Ten years later in 1984, another teacher, Harkirpal Singh Sora, contested from Vancouver South. He too was unsuccessful.
Deepak Obhrai was the longest serving MP from Calgary East. Long before he emerged on the scene, in 1988 this riding had tried to elect Anil Giga, a Liberal, to the House of Commons. He, however, was defeated by Alex Kindy by 18,227 votes.
The Bramalea-Gore-Malton Riding has always remained a stronghold of the Punjabi migrants. The first attempt by the community to get into the House of Commons was in 1988, when the Liberals put up Gurjit Grewal, who lost by 2,185 votes to Harry Chadwik of the CP.
Palbinder Shergill, a young amritdhari Sikh and a practising lawyer, was one of the first Punjabi women to contest federal elections. She was unsuccessful along with another Punjabi Indo-Canadian candidate from the Surrey Central Riding. The other candidate was Charan Gill who had earlier made an attempt to get into the House of Commons in 1988 but was defeated by Benno Friesen of the PC. He represented the NDP.
To be concluded.
Prabhjot Singh is a veteran journalist with over three decades of experience covering a wide spectrum of subjects and stories. He has covered Punjab and Sikh affairs for more than three decades besides covering seven Olympics and several major sporting events and hosting TV shows. For more in-depth analysis please visit probingeye.com or follow him on Twitter.com/probingeye
ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs / Punjabis in Southeast Asia and beyond.Facebook | WhatsApp +6017-335-1399 | Email: editor@asiasamachar.com | Twitter | Instagram | Obituary announcements, click here
The family of the late Mata Kirpal Kaur Gill and the late Sardar Gurbachan Bakan Singh (Seremban Police), will be having a Jodh Mela in loving memory of our beloved parents on Saturday, 30th April 2022 at Gurdwara Sahib Seremban from 9.30 to 11.30am.
There will be a recital of The Sukhmani Sahib followed by a Sahej Path Da Bhog and Ardaas.
Guru Ka Langgar will be served thereafter. Kindly treat this as a personal invitation.
A gentle reminder to ensure compliance with applicable Covid -19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) while in attendance at the Gurdwara Sahib.
For further information, please contact: Paramijit Singh 012-6759552 or Navjeet Singh 019-2325400
