Current Events
Is The Sikh-Canadian Electorate Coming of Age?
by RAVEENA AULAKH
Political parties, political philosophy and promises be damned.
Prominent Sikh-Canadian leaders are urging their community to vote for candidates who will best protect and represent their interests.
"It's not about the party any longer," said Pritpal Singh of Guru Nanak Mission, a gurdwara in Brampton, Ontario. "We don't want just turbaned MPs, but MPs who will best represent interests of the Sikhs."
In the three adjoining ridings of Brampton-West, Brampton-Springdale and Bramalea-Gore-Malton - all with large Sikh populations - the community is being encouraged to vote Liberal, Conservative and NDP respectively.
Yes, red, blue and orange.
Although issues such as immigration are of concern to the community, much of this endorsement of three candidates from different parties has to do with what happened last spring when an Indian cabinet minister with a criminal past of mass-murders - Kamal Nath - visited Canada and hundreds of angry Sikhs took to downtown Toronto streets in protest.
Kamal Nath is accused of helping organize pogroms against Sikhs in New Delhi, India in November 1984.
More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in four days in India'a capital alone. Many more were massacred in villages, towns and cities across the country.
Andrew Kania, the Liberal incumbent from Brampton-West who won by 231 votes in 2008, openly questioned Kamal Nath's visit, making many, many new friends in the Sikh community.
"In the past 27 years, no one has stood with the Sikhs," said Balkaranjit Singh, also of the Guru Nanak Mission Gurdwara. "Kania spoke out against Kamal Nath's visit. He took the genocide petition to the Parliament Hill. It didn't go anywhere, but at least he tried."
The petition was read in the House of Commons in June by Sukh Singh Dhaliwal, Liberal MP from the riding of Newton-North Delta near Vancouver, British Columbia, which asked Ottawa to formally recognize the 1984 pogroms in India as "genocide." It also asked Ottawa to call upon the Indian government to take necessary measures to bring those responsible to justice.
But Balkaranjit Singh says that's not the only reason Sikhs are being asked to vote for Kania. "He has a vision. He knows what he is talking about."
A few miles away in Bramalea-Gore-Malton, Liberal incumbent Gurbax Singh Malhi seems to have fallen out of favour with some Sikh-Canadians, in favour of NDPer Jagmeet Singh.
"(Sikhs) were expecting Gurbax Singh to read the genocide petition," said Jagdish Singh Grewal, editor of the Brampton newspaper Punjabi Post and host of a popular radio show. "Even though Gurbax Singh gave a good statement, Sikh leaders are angry he didn't take a stronger stand," he said.
It's almost the same case in the riding of Brampton-Springdale, where Ruby Kaur Dhalla is fighting for her political career. Ruby, too, didn't condemn Kamal Nath's visit and is on the receiving end from some Sikh leaders.
Parm Singh Gill, her Conservative opponent, has been endorsed by some Sikh groups and leaders.
Ruby won the riding over Parm in 2008 by roughly 700 votes.
Three federal candidates turned up at a Sikh Genocide Conference organized by Sikhs for Justice on April 9: Andrew Kania, Parm Singh Gill and Jagmeet Singh.
On his radio show, Jagdish Singh asked a spokesperson for one of the groups that manage gurdwaras in the GTA about other election issues in the community. "He admitted the genocide petition was the most important one in these elections," Jagdish Singh said.
It is, Balkaranjit Singh acknowledged. "Sikhs are scared of talking about the 1984 pogroms because there are repercussions. But we can't stay like that always," said the Kania campaign volunteer, who lives in Brampton-West.
[Courtesy: Toronto Star. Edited for sikhchic.com]
April 29, 2011
Conversation about this article
1: Preeti Kaur (Ottawa, Canada), April 29, 2011, 4:54 PM.
Yes, it is time for the Sikh-Canadian electorate to become more sophisticated. And for the people we elect to be more sophisticated too. Gone are the days when the intellectual light-weights like Gurbax Singh Malhi, or ethical-lightweights like Ujjal Dosanjh or Ruby Dhalla would suffice. They've done their bit by opening doors. Now, we must insist on higher standards: people who will serve Sikh and Canadian interests - they coincide without any difficulty! - and not compromise on their intellectual and ethical prowess. Hope some of the dead-weight will be thrown out this time around, and some new blood brought in.
2: N. Singh (Canada), April 29, 2011, 8:55 PM.
Preeti Kaur: I mostly agree with what you are saying. However, as a point of principle, I would question the statement "ethical light-weights". Ruby Dhalla has been photographed holding hands with Narendra Modi and referred to him as 'her friend'. He has been accused of behind behind the anti-Muslim pogroms in Gujarat in 2002 when unborn babies were ripped from their mothers wombs. As a woman, I am repulsed and offended by his degenerate and animal-like actions. Ujjal Dosanjh has used the cloak of 'non-violence' to promote hate speech against second and third generation Sikhs by accusing them of being Khalistani terrorists without any proof, other than his own personal grudge. He has attempted to create a 'poisoned environment' for future generations of Sikhs with a high risk that they will be ostracized by the majority community when it comes to educational and job prospects. He is not opening any doors, just closing them, as well as attempting to silence the voice of human rights activists in the Sikh community ... These two are certainly not mere light-weights; not even a whiff of ethics appear in their actions or thinking!
3: Raj (Canada), April 29, 2011, 11:39 PM.
David Kilgour, a M.P. from Edmonton South stood by Sikhs during 80s. He even wrote a book about the Indian government's involvement in defaming Sikhs. I'd rather vote for a non-Sikh with guts than for a Sikh with no spine.
4: Sandeep Singh Brar (Canada), April 30, 2011, 3:41 AM.
Some interesting history: In June 1984 following the horrors of Operations Bluestar by the Indian Army, a little 10 year old Canadian Sikh girl wrote to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi - not to condemn the attack and the murder of Sikhs en masse, but to support Indira Gandhi's actions. She wrote: "Dear Prime Minister: I am writing to you since I am worried about India because there are so many fights, especially in Punjab state." and "I don't know why they want a separate state and so many other desires ... I don't know why Indian people don't think about their betterment and their part of share for India ... You will settle all of these things, I hope as soon as possible", she said. "If I can help in any way please let me know." Indira Gandhi was so delighted to receive this letter as she saw it as a vindication of her attack on Sikhs at Darbar Sahib and support for it by the Sikh community worldwide. Indira Gandhi personally wrote a letter back to the little girl and showcased the little girl's letter with much fanfare to the Indian and international news media as an example of support for her military attack. Indira Gandhi then went further in order to maximize this great propoganda coup by inviting the little girl and her family to come visit her in India for further photo opportunities and propaganda in front of the media. The little girl and her family jumped at the opportunity to support Indira Gandhi's policies and have their pictures taken with the Prime Minister. The little girl and her family were on their way to India to meet the Prime Minister, having stopped in England when they found out that Indra Gandhi had been killed by her Sikh body guards and so they returned to Canada disappointed that their great photo opportunity would never be. That little girl was Ruby Dhalla and thus began her interest and career in politics at a young age. A newspaper article dated June 17, 1984 about the little girl's letter in the Toronto Star can be found here: http://www.sikhmuseum.com/bluestar/newsreports/840617_1.html. This letter was her sole claim to fame when she entered politics!
5: N. Singh (Canada), April 30, 2011, 12:27 PM.
Sandeep Singh ji: I have already read and know that story. Unfortunately, that little girl went on to become the Ruby Dhalla that we know now. Here is what she has become: "In an email leaked to the Sikh Activist Network, Conservative MP Patrick Brown of Barrie alleges that Ruby Dhalla orchestrated Kamal Nath's Parliamentary dinner, while referring to the alleged mass-murderer of Sikhs during the 1984 Sikh Genocide as a 'close friend'. Further, the Sikh Activist Network has gained access to two new images of Ruby Dhalla posing with two Indian Politicians accused of genocide against Sikhs and Muslims: Kamal Nath and Narendra Modi. This recent development has now placed Ruby Dhalla as an admirer of three of India's mass-murderers: 1) Indira Gandhi; 2) Kamal Nath; 3) Narendra Modi. As well as in the company of scoundrels like Parkash and Sukhbir Badal. The Sikhs and the anti-Sikh pogroms aside, on a more embracing level, when on a visit to India, her purse was stolen by two little beggar children. These kids were apprehended and brutally assaulted by the Indian police. Her words were that they had gotten what they had deserved! I, as well as the rest of the world, were shocked at the callousness of her words. She was also implicated in the assault on her 'immigrant' house-keeper and accused of treating her like a slave. There is enough smoke around Ruby Dhalla to know that there is a fire! I would urge people to think twice before voting for Ruby Dhalla and question whether she is interested in herself only or the Canadian public and its concerns.