By Balwant Sanghera
Simon Fraser University’s Philosopher’s Cafes are an excellent way of discussing issues affecting our communities. This initiative by the Continuing Studies of SFU provides a very valuable forum to members of the community to think outside the box. In this context, I had the privilege of moderating a Philosopher’s Cafe on August 29. It was in done in co-operation with India Cultural Centre of Canada Gurdwara Nanak Niwas in Richmond. The topic was Indo-Canadian Community’s 125 years in Canada- Its Successes and Challenges. About 25 prominentpersons –both males and females – were excited to participate in this discussion. After brief introductory remarks, the participants dived in with their views on this subject.
Our ancestors arrived in this country towards the end of the 19th century. They had very limited skills and resources. Nearly all of them were farmers from the Punjab province of India. Despite all of the odds against them, these valiant souls made their mark through hard work and determination. They did not let their lack of English language skills and resources discourage them. Instead, they became very resilient and adapted to their rather hostile new environment quickly.
Our pioneers worked either on farms or saw mills under very difficult conditions. Through their hard work and determination they succeeded against all odds. They courageously faced racism, discrimination and other odds stacked against them. Thus, it was a great struggle for them at least till the middle of the twentieth century. 1947, the year India gained independence from the British rule, was a turning point for the Indo-Canadian community in Canada. As aresult of a relentless struggle, our community obtained the right to vote that was taken away from it in 1907. This opened the door to a lot of opportunities for our community. Our pioneers began to excel in industry, business, education and many other areas. Thus, after Montreal’s Expo in 1967, celebrating Canada’s centennial, when Canada opened its door to visitors/immigrants, our community took full advantage of this opportunity. This resulted in aninflux of people from Asian countries including India. Consequently, our community also began to grow by leaps and bounds.
As a result of the sacrifices and struggles of our ancestors in early years of the twentieth century, to-day, our community has become one of the most visible, powerful, generous and resilient communities in Canada. The election of more than 20 Indo-Canadians to Canadian Parliament in October, 2015 and elevation of four of them to top cabinet posts can be called the golden era for our communityin Canada. However, this doesn’t mean that we don’t have any challenges.
Yes, we do have a lot of them including youth ad gang violence, domestic violence, excessive spending on weddings etc. and much more. However, our community is very creative and resilient. There is no doubt that by working to-gether we can overcome these challenges as well. The participants in this Café were very optimistic about our community’s future in Canada.This was reflected in a number of very constructive ideas and suggestions at the Café.
In response to the question as to what will the future generations remember about our community, they responded with three key words: Hard Working, Generous and Resilient. Other suggestions included more interaction with other communities and emphasis on positive rather than negatives about our community. Theissue of our youth figured prominently throughout. It was suggested that though a vast majority of our youth aredoing wonders yetthere are some who need guidance and support in staying on the right track. Overall, attendees found this Café to be a very fruitful exercise and recommended more on-going discussions like this.
Balwant Sanghera is a retired School Psychologist and Community Activist.
