America
Singh vs Singh in Canada polls
By
Gurmukh SinghToronto, Aug 13
Canada, which created history
by electing the western world's first turbaned Sikh - Gurbax Singh Malhi
- as an MP in 1993, may create another record by electing a first white
Sikh MP in the October 19 parliamentary elections.
Martin Singh
'Paaji', 42, who converted to Sikhism in 1991 and got baptised in 1993,
is in the poll fray from Toronto's neighbouring city of Brampton which
has the second largest concentration of Indians - mostly Punjabis - in
Canada.
This fast talking 'gora' or 'white' Sikh is the candidate
from Brampton North for the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) which
is leading in opinion polls.
Married to a Sikh girl from
Amritsar, Martin Singh is pitted against two Sikhs - the sitting MP Parm
Gill of the ruling Conservative Party and Ruby Sahota of the Liberal
Party.
"We are here to win. I am confident that I will be
elected. People are responding very well,'' says the father of three, as
he canvasses from door to door in Canada's most ethnic city.
"There
are 21,000 Punjabis in my riding (constituency) and I am connecting
with each and everyone. They have confidence in me. They know what I can
do for them," says Martin Singh, who runs a pharmacy business that
employs about 500 people.
Recent changes in immigration have
impacted families, Martin Singh says, adding that addressing this issue
will be his top priority. "The Canadian immigration and visa system is
broken, we want to fix it as immigrant families want all their members
to be united. I am a businessman and I want to create jobs which have
vanished.''
Because of his turban, this fast-talking 'gora' or
'white' Sikh made headlines in Canada when he ran for the leadership of
the New Democratic Party in 2012.
Ask him why he converted to
Sikhism, and he says: "Sikhism attracted me because Guru Nanak
emphasised that 'Naam japo, kirat karo, vand chhako' (meditate, earn
honest living by hard work and share) and his vision to pass guruship to
the most deserving, not his kin. So I embraced Sikhism in 1991. In
1993, I got baptised.''
He says his family was very supportive of
his conversion to Sikhism. "My mother says that her son has done many
interesting things in life, but this one (conversion) has lasted the
longest."
Martin Singh says he got baptised in 1993, and thanks
to a Sikh family in Calgary he got introduced to a Sikh girl in Amritsar
who was to become his wife.
"I first went to India in 1997, and
met with the woman librarian of Religious Studies Department at Guru
Nanak Dev University. The librarian was related to the Sikh family in
Calgary. She introduced me to her niece Amandeep Kaur who had just
finished her Masters in Punjabi literature from Punjabi University
Patiala. I liked her and we got married in Amritsar. I came back and she
joined me here in 1998 as her visa took some time.''
Though he
cannot speak much Punjabi, Martin 'Paaji' has acquired enough knowledge
to read Sikh scriptures in the Gurmukhi script. It is quite amusing to
hear him use the word `paaji' (which means elder brother in Punjabi) in
his conversation more frequently than an average Punjabi.
Out of
the eight Indo-Canadian MPs in the outgoing House of Commons of 308
members, six were Sikhs. In the upcoming elections, it is Sikh vs Sikh
in over a dozen ridings or constituencies.
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at [email protected])