DND says name not inclusive enough
October 2, 2012: Members of Surrey's South Asian community have united to put together a petition in an effort to fight for their Sikh Cadet Corps.
"The community is really upset," said Pargat Singh Bhurji, director of the Friends of the Sikh Cadet Corps Society.
In a Sept. 13 meeting, the Department of National Defence and the Army Cadet League of Canada opposed the Surrey cadet corps' name - the 3300 British Columbian Royal Army Cadet (Surrey Sikhs) - which halted its Sept. 19 launch.
According to Kimberley Caron, a DND spokeswoman for cadet organizations, officials agreed the word "Sikh" was not inclusive of all youths age 12 to 18 because it may deter non-Sikhs from joining.
"The name Sikh [means] student and it includes everybody," said Bhurji. "It's not like segregating, that other faiths or other believers could not come."
Numerous community members visited Bhurji on Monday after the story broke on Vancouver Desi.com, The Province news-room's new South Asian website.
"The community wants the process to be solved with the name," he said. "The reason everybody wanted their kids in it was because of the name."
Bhurji insisted they're creating the new group for the "bright future of Canada."
"We are not doing any harm. We are maintaining future leaders here," he said.
But petition or not, Caron said DND stands firm by its decision.
"That's our stance on it - that the word 'Sikh' has not been approved in the name of the Surrey 3300," she said.
The original story garnered a lot of attention and some of those from the community agreed with Caron.
"My brother was enrolled in cadets growing up - he had a turban - never had a problem," one reader, Gina commented on VancouverDesi.com. A Sikh-specific cadet group is not necessary, she said.
Another reader, Kulwant Singh, commented, "it's only fair the military says no, due to the fact the military and cadets are supposed to be accommodating to all race, religions and cultures - non-Sikhs may feel unwelcome."
Caron said they've offered a number of alternatives, like naming it after a prominent Sikh leader, veteran or community member.
But Sikh cadet corps founder and publisher of the South Asian Post, Harbinder Singh Sewak, said they weren't familiar with any of the veterans' names that were suggested.
"We don't know any history about this guy, so why put a name that doesn't resonate or anything that has to do with the Sikh cadets at all?" he said. "It doesn't make sense to me."
Sewak and Caron both hope to resolve the issue soon, but according to Sewak, he's had "zero" communication from officials since their Sept. 13 meeting.
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