Defence Minister Visits Number 5 Road Gurdwara

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By Balwant Sanghera

It was an honour for members of the Management Committee of India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas (8600 #5 Road, Richmond) to welcome Canada’s Minister of National Defence, Harjit Singh Sajjan.  Harjit is avery busy person. As such, it wasvery kind of him to take the time to visit us. Since his appointment to the cabinet in 2015, Mr. Sajjan has been travelling all over the world representing Canada atvarious top level meetings ,conferences and forums with his counterparts and other decision makers. The meeting on Saturday, January 14 was very informal and friendly.

Historically, Sikhs are respected as great soldiers and fighters for justice and human rights. In the modern era, people like Dr. Manmohan Singh, as the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, have created excellent awareness about Sikhs. There are a large number of Sikhs around the globe in prominent positions who are a great credit to their communities. They are serving as role models and trailblazers for the younger generation. However, whensomeone like Dr. Manmohan Singh comes on the world stage it is a big boost not only to their individual countries but also to the Sikh community at large. Harjit Singh Sajjan has picked up where people like Dr. Manmohan Singh had left. He briefly glanced over this aspect at his meeting with us. Harjit emphasized that when he gets a chance to meet the presidents, primeministers, kings and rulers individually and collectively, his being a turbaned Sikh and the respect Sikhs have world-wide often comes up.

A lot has already been written and said about our Minister of National Defence. At this get together, we were able to see a different aspect of Harjit‘s contribution to Canada and our community. Of course, his missions to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan are well known. However, he is too modest to take credit for being a trailblazer in many ways. While on the Afghanistan Mission Harjit mentioned that at one point he almost gave up and was ready to return home when his father’s words served as an encouragement. He stated that his father, Mr. Kundan Singh Sajjan,advised him to never give up in the face of adversity. “Those words of my dad have always been an inspiration to me.” He said.

Harjit‘s personalised and patented mask is reported to be very popular especially for Sikh soldiers. He mentioned that whenever he meets high ranking officials, they always admire the Sikhs as great fighters and warriors. In his missions to Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia as a soldier,Harjit displayed  exceptional skills, commitment and dedication and gained the respect of his colleagues and seniors alike. He was admired by some of the top American generals with whom he served in Afghanistan. Being a Sikh gave an added advantage to him to connect with the tribal chiefsand gain their confidence and trust. Historically, Sikhs under Maharaja Ranjit Singh had established themselves well in Afghanistan as trustworthy, honest and fearless fighters. This gave Harjit an opportunity to gain their trust and help his comrades.

Harjit Singh Sajjan has established his reputation as a humble,determined, dedicated, level headed and professional leader. He is a trailblazers opening the doors for younger generations. The recent opening up of allowing Sikh soldiers to wear turbans in the U.S. Armed forces seems to be due to the commendable job being done by Harjit both as a soldier andas Minister of National Defence. He is a great role model and credit for all Canadians in general and the South Asian and Sikh communities in particular. The India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas Management Committee lead by Chairman Asa Singh Johal thanked Harjit for taking the time to visit and wished him well.

Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.