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Sikh extremists damage Canada’s interests: Aditya Jha
By Special to the National Post June 10, 2010 – 8:30 am
Indo-Canadians have become one of the largest and most prosperous communities in Canada. Yet Canada’s trade with India is still small — 0.5% percent of our total trade, compared to 6% with China.
Why? One of the factors that have damaged relations between the two nations is the presence of extremist elements within Canada’s Sikh community. This radical fringe has assumed a profile far exceeding the number of people actually associated with it.
This week, for instance, a petition by Liberal MPs Andrew Kania and Sukh Dhaliwal, calling on Canada to declare the 1984 killings of innocent Indian Sikhs to be a genocide, is calculated to inflame anti-India sentiments. The petition fails to reflect the views of those Canadian Sikhs who are proud of their Indian heritage and continue to have and grow their business, family and cultural ties to India.
All right-thinking people deplore the senseless and horrible violence inflicted on innocent members of the Sikh community in 1984, in the aftermath of the assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi. India has been dealing with the aftermath of those tragic events of 1984 through an ongoing democratic and judicial process. Meanwhile, the Sikh community in India continues to be one of the most vibrant ethnic and religious communities in the country, participating in all aspects of Indian public and private life, in harmony with all other Indians.
The most compelling example is, of course, Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India; not to mention economic policy-maker Montek Ahluwalia, the architect of India’s phenomenal growth.
The Kania-Dhaliwal petition has few backers among the prominent members of the Canadian Sikh community. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, as well as the Conservative party, must be complimented for keeping their distance from the petition. They know that the petition is deliberately timed to coincide with the upcoming arrival of the Indian Prime Minister for the G8/G20 summit. It is aimed to embarrass both countries within the context of one of the most important forums for global leadership.
While the market for extremism in the Sikh community is fast closing down in India, the shops of the extremists are still open in Canada, with some opportunist politicians the only browsers. In the meantime, the victims may well be the people of Punjab itself, Sikhs included, who are being deprived of the Canadian investment that might flow if relations were better.
Responsible political decisions and policy positions will help remove the irritants that stand in the way of better relations between these two great multicultural democracies. In the meantime, new Canadians will have to remind themselves, as they start becoming a majority here, about their responsibility to ensure a prosperous and united Canada.
Aditya Jha is national convenor of the Canada India Foundation.
source:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/10/aditya-jha-sikh-extremists-damage-canadas-interests/
By Special to the National Post June 10, 2010 – 8:30 am
Indo-Canadians have become one of the largest and most prosperous communities in Canada. Yet Canada’s trade with India is still small — 0.5% percent of our total trade, compared to 6% with China.
Why? One of the factors that have damaged relations between the two nations is the presence of extremist elements within Canada’s Sikh community. This radical fringe has assumed a profile far exceeding the number of people actually associated with it.
This week, for instance, a petition by Liberal MPs Andrew Kania and Sukh Dhaliwal, calling on Canada to declare the 1984 killings of innocent Indian Sikhs to be a genocide, is calculated to inflame anti-India sentiments. The petition fails to reflect the views of those Canadian Sikhs who are proud of their Indian heritage and continue to have and grow their business, family and cultural ties to India.
All right-thinking people deplore the senseless and horrible violence inflicted on innocent members of the Sikh community in 1984, in the aftermath of the assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi. India has been dealing with the aftermath of those tragic events of 1984 through an ongoing democratic and judicial process. Meanwhile, the Sikh community in India continues to be one of the most vibrant ethnic and religious communities in the country, participating in all aspects of Indian public and private life, in harmony with all other Indians.
The most compelling example is, of course, Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India; not to mention economic policy-maker Montek Ahluwalia, the architect of India’s phenomenal growth.
The Kania-Dhaliwal petition has few backers among the prominent members of the Canadian Sikh community. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, as well as the Conservative party, must be complimented for keeping their distance from the petition. They know that the petition is deliberately timed to coincide with the upcoming arrival of the Indian Prime Minister for the G8/G20 summit. It is aimed to embarrass both countries within the context of one of the most important forums for global leadership.
While the market for extremism in the Sikh community is fast closing down in India, the shops of the extremists are still open in Canada, with some opportunist politicians the only browsers. In the meantime, the victims may well be the people of Punjab itself, Sikhs included, who are being deprived of the Canadian investment that might flow if relations were better.
Responsible political decisions and policy positions will help remove the irritants that stand in the way of better relations between these two great multicultural democracies. In the meantime, new Canadians will have to remind themselves, as they start becoming a majority here, about their responsibility to ensure a prosperous and united Canada.
Aditya Jha is national convenor of the Canada India Foundation.
source:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/10/aditya-jha-sikh-extremists-damage-canadas-interests/
