Gian Sandhu - An Uncommon Road: How Canadian Sikhs Struggled Out of the Fringes and Into the Mainstream

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

S ince Gian Singh Sandhu arrived in Canada in 1970, he has found his share of challenges and controversies. These are detailed between the covers of this book, and through them we come to see the measure of not just one man but the broader community he has served for much of his life.

The welcome waiting for him was nothing like the warm embrace that refugees from Syria and other conflict-torn nations find today. Canada, especially before it embraced its policy of multiculturalism, was cautious by nature. Practising Sikhs, with their distinctive turbans and facial hair, have long been an especially noticeable other in this country and many others. The easiest route to assimilation, quickly adopted by newcomer Sikhs around the world, is to jettison what in their appearance distinguishes them. Gian Singh was no exception: like so many, he shaved his beard and unwound his turban before reclaiming his faith, embracing the very difference that defines him.

Other challenges have been much broader. Too many citizens believe that governments are powerful, monolithic entities impervious to persuasion. Yet the author has marshalled credible evidence of external state actors not only engaging in subversive activities in our communities but, to a considerable extent, hijacking Canadas systems of democratic governance, law enforcement, justice, and media.

Some of these interferences will be well known to readers familiar with developments across the Indian subcontinent during the Gandhi familys decades-long dynastic rule. Less well known are the historical and political factors that led to the Indian militarys 1984 attacks in Punjab on the holiest of Sikh worship places and the ensuing massacres of thousands of innocent members of Indias Sikh community. The author relates the historical context of the Sikh genocide, and also brings it back to his adopted homeland to examine what happened to Sikhs in Canada when the New Delhi government dangled the pretty carrot of potential exports in front of a hungry Ottawa.

The most notable matter studied here is the crash of Air India Flight 182 in 1985. In that tragedy, 329 innocents were lost, mostly Canadians. Have we adequately addressed the weaknesses in our system to take effective and timely steps to find the real culprits? Have we implemented sufficient changes to prevent similar disasters in future? Judge for yourself after examining the revelations contained herein.

This book puts us on notice. To how effortlessly outsiders can plant propaganda in our naive media to make themselves look good or to justify oppressive practices back home. To how easily our political leaders can be compromised, tempted, and persuaded to muzzle community leaders. And to how quickly they will turn a blind eye to nefarious and destructive activities by foreign intelligence agencies.

Yet it offers hope as well. It alerts the leaders of some vulnerable minority communities to the potential dangers they may face, but also shows a proven path that can empower them and help get them on track to regain lost ground, move forward, and emerge stronger and more unified than ever. The authors message, and the message of the World Sikh Organization more broadly, is this: the Sikhs have done it. We all can.

DAVID KILGOUR

July 2017

David Kilgour PC is a human rights activist and author, and former lawyer, cabinet minister, and deputy speaker. With David Matas he was nominated in 2010 for the Nobel Peace Prize for their work opposing human organ trafficking in China.