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The community’s image tarnished again
April 19, 2010
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The community’s image tarnished again
Well, amidst the controversy and the poor weather, people came out in the thousands to celebrate in the streets of Surrey. There were many happy faces and it was great to meet so many people.
However, the controversy sparked by Inderjit Singh Bains’ comments on Shere-Punjab last week definitely cast a negative shadow on the festivities. Not only were his comments completely inappropriate but they were also unnecessary and unprovoked. Why he felt necessary to say anything is really difficult to comprehend. It’s not like Ujjal Dosanjh and Dave Hayer would ever attend the event, so what was Bains trying to accomplish?
While the committee at Dasmesh Darbar claim that Bains’ comments were taken out of context, the damage has already been done. The only thing accomplished by this whole saga was further destruction of the community’s image amongst the Canadian public. It lingered on and put a stain on the event with criticism from the Mayor of Surrey, the Premier of BC, and the Leader of the Federal Liberal Party. What also doesn’t help is that in Brampton this weekend, there was a bloody fight at the Guru Nanak Sikh Centre that sent five people to hospital. This comes on the heels on a kirpan stabbing in Brampton at the Sikh Lehar Centre a few weeks ago.
It seems as though certain members of the community have specialized in finding ways to inflict damage onto itself and destroying its community’s image on a national scale. The committee at Dasmesh Darbar also never falters in finding new ways of inflicting damage to its own cause at every Vaisakhi. It is mind boggling from a public relations standpoint, how a group year after year sets it own cause further back from where they were. Believe it or not, they do actually have some valid points of contention but the group is unable to find productive ways to educate the mainstream public.
Everyone in the community needs to start paying close attention to how their actions affect the community’s image amongst the Canadian public and the negative impact it’s having. The community is increasingly distancing itself from the Canadian public and if something doesn’t change soon then the situation will only continue to get worse.
Food for thought – The Air India Bombing and the Delhi riots of 1984
The victims of the Air India Bombing and the victims of the riots in Delhi in 1984 share something in common. Both incidents saw innocent civilians lose their lives even though they had absolutely nothing to do with the battle between the Government of India and Khalistani separatists. Another thing they share in common is that the victims’ families are still waiting for justice a quarter century later.
Why has nothing been accomplished? It’s because the factions of the community have created an environment where if you say anything in regards to one of the incidents, you’re automatically categorized as an Indian Government supporter or a Khalistani supporter. Why does standing up for justice for either cause automatically categorize you as Pro-Indian government or Pro-Khalistani? That’s because people with their own political agendas want to make it that way.
Harvinder Singh Phoolka has been fighting court cases on behalf of families of the atrocities in 1984, but when he came to Canada he was categorized as a Khalistani supporter. When he came to OMNI for an interview, he clearly stated he does not stand for Khalistan rather he stands for justice for those who were victimized in 1984.
It shouldn’t be that way because we should all stand for humanity. For example, several Hindus took in Sikhs who were targeted in Delhi in 1984 at the risk of their own family’s safety because it was the humane thing to do, even though it was a Hindu mob that was targeting Sikhs. Those were individuals who rose above the rhetoric and stood for humanity. Anyone in the community should not have a problem with bringing up both of these issues and demanding justice for both the Air India tragedy and the atrocities of 1984. An innocent loss of life is of the same value, no matter what the circumstance or which side of the issue you are on.
This is where the criticism falls on everyone in the community, even Ujjal Dosanjh and Dave Hayer.
For example, Ujjal Dosanjh and Dave Hayer have been strong advocates for the victims of the Air India tragedy and rightly so. However, they have said nothing on the atrocities against Sikhs in 1984, even though innocent people were killed in that incident too.
Also with particular reference to Dosanjh, he is currently the Liberal Defence critic in Ottawa and is doing tremendous work on the treatment of Afghan detainees, most of whom are members of the Taliban, at the hands of Canadian soldiers. On the same note, there have been many published reports of Khalistani separatists being killed without any due process in India, but Dosanjh has been mum on bringing up that issue. At the time of Operation Bluestar, Professor Brahma Chellaney (former award-winning journalist with the Associated Press) had reported that suspected terrorists were shot with their hands tied and without any due process.
Why defend due process of the Taliban but not Khalistani separatists? We aren’t debating whether they are terrorists or not, we are debating whether due process should be afforded to all people accused of serious crimes like terrorism.
While Dosanjh and Hayer have stayed silent on this issue, the people who are opposed to the Indian government give no attention to the Air India Tragedy. They neither condemn the act strongly enough nor memorialize them like the 1984 victims. They should seek justice for the victims of the Air India tragedy so the families can get closure. The supporting of one issue over another, despite them being similar, is simply a case of not seeing beyond one’s own narrow perspective.
If the community stood together for humanity, and strongly condemned events where the innocent were killed, then the families of the victims of the Air India tragedy and the Delhi riots in 1984 would have results to see. Whether you want to believe it or not, the one side needs the other to stand for justice on both incidents in order to obtain justice.
After 25 years, the families of these tragedies continue to wait for justice and unfortunately will continue to wait until people on both sides start representing humanity, instead of their personal political agendas.
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