This
is a confession. Despite my every effort to rise above ethnic
identity, there is still a bit of a tribal instinct residing deep
inside my soul.
Notwithstanding my concerns about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who I indeed felt was “just not ready” to lead Canada emerging from last month’s election, I was overjoyed seeing a fellow Punjabi, Lt. Col (Retd.) Harjit Singh Sajjan, become Canada’s Minister of National Defence.
I have never met the man, described by CBC News as Canada’s new “badass” defence minister.
But a fellow Punjabi being responsible for the management and direction of all matters relating to the national defence of Canada did fill me with a sense of pride that surprised me.
One cannot help but recognize the immense accomplishments of Canada’s Sikhs as evidenced by Trudeau’s decision to elevate four of them to cabinet.
The first time Punjabis made a mark on Canada was in April, 1914 when the SS Komagata Maru arrived in Vancouver from Hong Kong.
On board were 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, but all were collectively referred to as “Hindus” by Canadians of the time.
British Columbia wasn’t hospitable to these “Hindus”, they were forced back to India and the tragic story the Komagata Maru is a part of our history no one is proud of today.
But we have changed.
Ujjal Dosanjh, a Sikh immigrant, rose to become the premier of British Columbia.
The sight of red-turbaned Navdeep Bains as Canada’s new Minister of Science reminded me of an earlier era where turbans were banned in the RCMP and in some Royal Canadian Legion halls in the 1990s.
Who could’ve imagined that two decades later, Canadian cabinet ministers would be wearing turbans?
What is it about the Sikhs that has made them such a driving force in Canada’s multitude of communities?
It’s certainly not vote bank politics, since almost every Sikh elected to parliament was battling a fellow Sikh from a different party.
Perhaps it is their strong work ethic and a refusal to play the victim card that is part of their success story in Canada, one that all other racial minority communities should embrace.
My father suggested the Sikhs had embraced the “Protestant work ethic” of serving “King and Country”, never asking others for handouts. He was right.
Even in the face of discrimination, the Sikh answer is to excel, not whine.
Their Punjabi sense of humour gets them over their worst tribulations, their houses of worship are open to all and no one is left behind.
Much of the credit goes to Guru Nanak Dev (b. 1469), founder of the Sikh religion and one of the world’s great symbols of pluralism and tolerance.
On Nov. 25, Sikh Canadians and millions in India and around the world will celebrate “Gurpurab” the birthday of Guru Nanak.
This time I’ll be at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, to thank the Guru himself for gifting us with the best of men and women in Canada, including Toronto Sun Editor Adrienne Batra.