By Gurmukh Singh
TORONTO: Ujjal Dosanjh is one among the most prominent NRIs today. He created a record in the western world by becoming the first non-white head of a government when he elected premier of Canada’s British Columbia province in Feb 2000.
Later, Dosanjh went on to become the health minister of Canada.
Born at Dosanjh Kalan in 1947 into a patriotic and politically active family, Dosanjh left for England in 1965 and then reached Vancouver in 1968 to pursue his law degree even as he worked in lumber mills to pay his bills.
A successful lawyer and social activist before he entered politics in British Columbia the early 1980s, he became the foremost opponent of the Khalistani movement in Canada for which he paid a very heavy price as he was badly beaten with iron roads in Feb 1985.
Dosanjh has just come out with his autography – Journey After Midnight: India, Canada and the Road Beyond – in which he makes startling revelations about how he and his family could have been the victims of the Air India Kanishka bombing in June 1985. He has devoted a major portion of his book to the Khalistan movement and its proponents in Canada.
Excerpts from an interview with Dosanjh.
Q: First things first. As someone who has been known for his opposition to the Khalistan movement in Canada, what do you think about Capt Amarinder Singh’s recent allegations that some minsters in the Canadian government are Khalistan supporters?
A: I have nothing to say about what Amarinder Singh said. I am not entering the partisan debate in India.
Q: There have also been reports about Khalistani training camps in Canada. Do you believe these reports?
A: Frankly, I don’t know if there are any Khalistani training camps on Canadian soil. I have no idea.
Q: Do you think there is still any Khalistan movement in Canada?
A: Yes, the Khalistan movement is well and alive in Canada, as also in the US and the UK. But I believe it is the strongest in Canada.
Q: Who are involved in this movement?
A: I would say that there is some sentiment (in some sections), not the majority of the community. Those who used to be at the head of pro-Khalistan parades in the 80s and 90s are now denying that these parades existed back then. The Khalistanis have become very sophisticated now.
Q: Who is funding them?
A: The CIA and Pakistan’s ISI. The CIA has changed its position as the US seeks better relations with India. But the ISI of Pakistan is actively supporting the Khalistani movement in Canada. The BJP government in Delhi seems to be quite ambivalent about this issue.
Q: In your book, you have singled out prominent Indo-Canadians for their dubious role in the Khalistani movement. But you have the harshest words for the late Punjabi journalist Tara Singh Hayer and you have described his Indo-Canadian Times as the `mouthpiece of hatred’ against India.
A: Actually, there was a Khalistani movement here even before 1984 as Jagjit Singh Chauhan used to visit Canada quite often. Tara Singh Hayer, editor of the Indo-Canadian Times (Punjabi weekly from Vancouver), used to write openly about Khalistan. His paper was the `mouthpiece of terrorists.’ You could get the `Khalistan passport’ from Tara Singh Hayer before 1984.
Hayer glorified Talwinder Singh Parmar (the mastermind of the Air India Kanishka bombing who was killed in Punjab in 1992 ) for a long time in his weekly.
Hayer had no qualms about insulting his male enemies’ daughters, sisters and wives, etc., in a language which bordered on the pornographic. He had written nasty things about the mother of Harkirat Singh Bagga who shot (and paralyzed) him 1988.
Later, Hayer even fell out with supporters of Talwinder Singh Parmar over a book deal gone sour. [Hayer was shot dead in Nov 1998, allegedly to prevent him from testifying in the upcoming Air India bombing trial]
Q: Speaking about the Air India Kanishka bombing of June 1985, you have revealed in your book that you and your family could also have been among the victims. Why have you never spoken about it?
A: Yes, we had reserved the tickets for the doomed Air India flight, but two weeks before it we cancelled reservation as my elder brother was opposed to the idea of taking our kids to India in the heat of the summer. As Khalistanis considered me their enemy number, we reserved the tickets under the names of U. Singh and R. Kaur. I never spoke about it till now because I never wanted to divert attention from the real issue.
When the news of the Air India bombing on June 23, 1985, broke, I was at home. I was left numb because it could have been our family.
Q: Speaking about the Air India bombing trial, no suspect was found guilty for the massacre of 331 people. Why?
A: The judge found no Indian witness `credible’.
Q: Any plans to release the book in India?
A: Yes. A publisher in Delhi will launch the Indian version next month with two-three extra chapters. I will be there in September for its formal launch. After its English launch, I will think about its Punjabi and Hindi versions. (The story appeared in the Times of India om Monday, July 18)
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