Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Cycling4Diversity presenting Hatzic Secondary principal Larry Jepsen with a C4D t-shirt.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Sikhs have a long outstanding military tradition
Sikhs Have A Distinguished Military Tradition And Will Make Canadian Forces Proud With “Sikh Cadets”
The Sikh military tradition dates back to
the time of the founders of their religion with the 6th Sikh Guru, Guru
Hargobind (1595 to 1644) when Sikhs fought their first battles against
Mughal oppression. Highly skilled Sikh soldiers were quickly integrated
into the British Indian Army and proved invaluable and loyal. Sikh
regiments have served in the British army in battlefields around the
world including: Sudan, fighting slave traders in Central Africa, in
Persia and the Middle East.
By Ken Herar
Having a cadet group called the (Surrey Sikhs) would fit into a history of loyal military service. Sikhs have had a long proud military tradition and using the word ‘Sikh’ to identify a regiment within the Canadian military would prove to be an asset for the forces. Doing some research on the Sikh military it becomes very obvious that the Sikh military has existed for centuries and has stood proud in many wars including, “Battle of Sargarhi”. The Sikh military tradition dates back to the time of the founders of their religion with the 6th Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind (1595 to 1644) when Sikhs fought their first battles against Mughal oppression. Highly skilled Sikh soldiers were quickly integrated into the British Indian Army and proved invaluable and loyal. Sikh regiments have served in the British army in battlefields around the world including: Sudan, fighting slave traders in Central Africa, in Persia and the Middle East.
Over 65,000 Sikh soldiers fought in WWI as part of the British Army and over 300,000 Sikhs fought against German and Japanese tyranny in WWII.
The Gurkhas who reside from the Nepal region of India have been part of the Indian contingent of the British Army for over two centuries and have proven that defending a multicultural nation can come from a particular ethnic regiment of soldiers. The Canadian Forces have also proven this with at least 15 regiments that reflect ethnic diversity.
For example: Seaforth Highlanders, Canadian Scottish Regiment and Sudbury’s Irish Regiment of Canada just to name a few.
Building an inclusive, diverse community can be very complex. By allowing cadets from a particular religious faith to form their own unit to hopefully one-day serving and protecting our nation would definitely be a Canadian thing to do. I see nothing wrong with their name being called ‘Surrey Sikhs’ or with this group to exist for that fact.
Looking at some of the past history of the Sikh military, Canada would be a fortunate country to have such a fighting force on its side. As one letter writer put it: “ These people are willing to put their religion on the line for Canada. Particularly when you consider that they would rather wear a turban instead of a steel helmet on the battlefield.” At times unfortunately I believe the Sikh community in Canada struggles with a perceived image problem. With encouraging Sikh youth to join the cadets and be passionate about their commitment towards Canada we will hopefully see positive changes on how this sect is viewed.
Where I identify a larger issue in all of this is when one of the organizers spearheading this discussion commented that, “without Sikh in the name the cadet corp wouldn’t have drawn as much interest.” This directly points us to a greater issue within the South Asian community. Our diverse communities need to become more involved in activities that not only pertain to their own culture or religion. To support initiatives such as this should not limit us to reach out to mainstream causes. In this case I honestly believe diversity can work in isolation and in partnership with the Canadian Forces for the betterment of our nation and keeping with British tradition. Let us not allow a name/religion to become a stumbling block for the greater good.
Ken “Kulwinder” Herar is a Mission-based writer and a winner of the champions of diversity award for his columns in the LINK newspaper and other Fraser Valley newspapers. Herar can be reached at kenherar@gmail.com or view his blog at http://www.kenherar.blogspot.com
By Ken Herar
Having a cadet group called the (Surrey Sikhs) would fit into a history of loyal military service. Sikhs have had a long proud military tradition and using the word ‘Sikh’ to identify a regiment within the Canadian military would prove to be an asset for the forces. Doing some research on the Sikh military it becomes very obvious that the Sikh military has existed for centuries and has stood proud in many wars including, “Battle of Sargarhi”. The Sikh military tradition dates back to the time of the founders of their religion with the 6th Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind (1595 to 1644) when Sikhs fought their first battles against Mughal oppression. Highly skilled Sikh soldiers were quickly integrated into the British Indian Army and proved invaluable and loyal. Sikh regiments have served in the British army in battlefields around the world including: Sudan, fighting slave traders in Central Africa, in Persia and the Middle East.
Over 65,000 Sikh soldiers fought in WWI as part of the British Army and over 300,000 Sikhs fought against German and Japanese tyranny in WWII.
The Gurkhas who reside from the Nepal region of India have been part of the Indian contingent of the British Army for over two centuries and have proven that defending a multicultural nation can come from a particular ethnic regiment of soldiers. The Canadian Forces have also proven this with at least 15 regiments that reflect ethnic diversity.
For example: Seaforth Highlanders, Canadian Scottish Regiment and Sudbury’s Irish Regiment of Canada just to name a few.
Building an inclusive, diverse community can be very complex. By allowing cadets from a particular religious faith to form their own unit to hopefully one-day serving and protecting our nation would definitely be a Canadian thing to do. I see nothing wrong with their name being called ‘Surrey Sikhs’ or with this group to exist for that fact.
Looking at some of the past history of the Sikh military, Canada would be a fortunate country to have such a fighting force on its side. As one letter writer put it: “ These people are willing to put their religion on the line for Canada. Particularly when you consider that they would rather wear a turban instead of a steel helmet on the battlefield.” At times unfortunately I believe the Sikh community in Canada struggles with a perceived image problem. With encouraging Sikh youth to join the cadets and be passionate about their commitment towards Canada we will hopefully see positive changes on how this sect is viewed.
Where I identify a larger issue in all of this is when one of the organizers spearheading this discussion commented that, “without Sikh in the name the cadet corp wouldn’t have drawn as much interest.” This directly points us to a greater issue within the South Asian community. Our diverse communities need to become more involved in activities that not only pertain to their own culture or religion. To support initiatives such as this should not limit us to reach out to mainstream causes. In this case I honestly believe diversity can work in isolation and in partnership with the Canadian Forces for the betterment of our nation and keeping with British tradition. Let us not allow a name/religion to become a stumbling block for the greater good.
Ken “Kulwinder” Herar is a Mission-based writer and a winner of the champions of diversity award for his columns in the LINK newspaper and other Fraser Valley newspapers. Herar can be reached at kenherar@gmail.com or view his blog at http://www.kenherar.blogspot.com
Cycling4Diversity support grows around the province
Hi Ken & Sarina,
I want to thank you for the great presentation you gave to Learning
Plus a few weeks ago. Sarina, thanks for all your work in preparing
and sorry we couldn't change the date to accommodate your schedule. The
audience appreciated all the information and one person wrote, "They
are greatly to be applauded for starting this movement. It is surely
needed. It is interesting to see that they have so much support around
the province."
Kudos to you and thanks again!
Wanda
Thursday, October 11, 2012
2010 Abbotsford Times Essay Contest
Flipping through old articles. I came across this interesting piece by a young girl named Hailey Connor from Mouat Secondary. She finished in first place with her response in the Abbotsford Times 2010 essay question:" How can we build an inclusive, diverse community." Her response was fantastic and I will be sharing some of her brilliant ideas on the upcoming Cycling4Diversity ride. I remember when I told her she had won; she responded that she had been waiting by the phone for days to see if I would call . I have never forgotten that. She sums it up perfectly and how we need to be more inclusive. Thank you Hailey.
First Place - Youth Category: Hailey Conner, Abbotsford
We
live in an apparently multicultural society; a closer look will tell
you that our community may be more aptly described as geographically
divided.
Our multicultural groups tend to exist beside each other and often need not interact to go about their daily lives. This is reflected in the fact that there are defined areas which provide stores, restaurants and religious locations specific to one culture. This division, although convenient, also serves as a barrier between different cultures in our community communicating, living and learning together.
I think that this geographical division is the key to the solution to increasing multiculturalism in our community. In fact, there are several things that we can do to create a more multicultural society. In addition to having spaces where people of different cultures can be in the same place at the same time, we also need to provide reasons and create a willingness to do so.
How do we begin this process? We need to continue our efforts at increasing people's awareness and understanding of cultures other than their own. We understandably fear what we do not know so understanding more about other cultures may increase people's willingness to connect with those around us of different cultures.
The last and final thing we need is space. If we don't have anywhere to meet, wanting to meet and having a reason to meet are pointless. We could create or better utilize community spaces where members of different cultural groups are able to interact.
We already have places like this, but I believe that we need to have more of them and we need to make them more accessible to diverse groups. We need to find somewhere that people feel comfortable and more importantly like to go. We need to convince people that meeting, interacting and spending time with other cultures is worth the effort.
- - -
OUR JUDGES
Rick Rake is an intrepid Abbotsford writer and editor who works with Click Media Works (www.rickrake.com). He is an active volunteer who now engages community through social media. The father of three has championed diversity issues for years.
Summer Dhillon's dynamic personality and contagious energy contributes to a low boredom threshold. Her primary passion is her role as one of Vancouver's top public relations professionals, specializing in branding strategies, guerilla marketing, media relations and event management.
Charn Kingra is currently employed as a member of the Abbotsford Police Department and serving in the Patrol Section. Charn has completed his doctorate degree and is also a faculty member with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley.
Our multicultural groups tend to exist beside each other and often need not interact to go about their daily lives. This is reflected in the fact that there are defined areas which provide stores, restaurants and religious locations specific to one culture. This division, although convenient, also serves as a barrier between different cultures in our community communicating, living and learning together.
I think that this geographical division is the key to the solution to increasing multiculturalism in our community. In fact, there are several things that we can do to create a more multicultural society. In addition to having spaces where people of different cultures can be in the same place at the same time, we also need to provide reasons and create a willingness to do so.
How do we begin this process? We need to continue our efforts at increasing people's awareness and understanding of cultures other than their own. We understandably fear what we do not know so understanding more about other cultures may increase people's willingness to connect with those around us of different cultures.
The last and final thing we need is space. If we don't have anywhere to meet, wanting to meet and having a reason to meet are pointless. We could create or better utilize community spaces where members of different cultural groups are able to interact.
We already have places like this, but I believe that we need to have more of them and we need to make them more accessible to diverse groups. We need to find somewhere that people feel comfortable and more importantly like to go. We need to convince people that meeting, interacting and spending time with other cultures is worth the effort.
- - -
OUR JUDGES
Rick Rake is an intrepid Abbotsford writer and editor who works with Click Media Works (www.rickrake.com). He is an active volunteer who now engages community through social media. The father of three has championed diversity issues for years.
Summer Dhillon's dynamic personality and contagious energy contributes to a low boredom threshold. Her primary passion is her role as one of Vancouver's top public relations professionals, specializing in branding strategies, guerilla marketing, media relations and event management.
Charn Kingra is currently employed as a member of the Abbotsford Police Department and serving in the Patrol Section. Charn has completed his doctorate degree and is also a faculty member with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley.
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