A sense of gratitude and pride was felt by more than 200 delegates from across Canada and the United States who participated in the Dr. Ambedkar Equality Day and Jayanti Celebration hosted by MP Don Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway) and MP Randeep Sarai (Surrey Center) on May 6 and 7 at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
For many delegates, it was their first visit to Canada’s Parliament as they participated in the educational sessions and celebrations of the many accomplishments of Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.
On the opening day of celebrations, Sarai acknowledged the event and all the delegates in his statement in the House of Commons and set the stage for the educational sessions and the celebration on the Parliament Hill. Sarai delivered a statement on Dr. Ambedkar’s contributions.
On May 7, Davies read his statement in the House of Commons and described Dr. Ambedkar as a towering personality. Davies concluded his statement with the salutation, “Jai Bheem”, a history-making moment to hear the salutation in a parliament outside of India for the first time.
The event, planned and organized by Chetna Association of Canada and AICS Canada (Ambedkarite International Coordination Society), was inaugurated by Venerable Bhante Saranpala, Urban Buddhist Monk. Bhante Saranpala, along with four of his colleagues, recited Buddhist prayers. Land acknowledgment and gratitude were expressed on behalf of the organizers by Jasmine Balley.
The event included greetings by dignitaries and community leaders; a presentation on the caste movement across Canada by Professor Jangam of Carleton University; the host MPs Davies and Sarai; former MP Frank Baylis; MP Chandra Arya (Nepean); MP Sukh Dhaliwal (Surrey Newton), and MP Param Bains (Steveston- Richmond East). Manoj Bhangu and Bill Basra were presented with recognition awards for their services.
Manjit Bains, co-chair for the event representing Chetna Association of Canada, described the purpose for hosting the event while Anand Balley described the history and contributions of AICS Canada.
“We applaud MP Davies and MP Sarai for their tremendous support in hosting the celebration and sharing their interest in working across the party lines to consider adding caste as a stand-alone category,” says Jai Birdi, executive director of Chetna Association of Canada and a director for steering the planning of the celebration.
Surjit Bains, a treasurer for the event, along with a prominent researcher, Dr. Smita Pakhale, welcomed the delegates to the celebration.
Harjit Sohpaul (President of Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Vancouver), Ratan Jakhu (President, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Montreal), Kuldeep Kailey (General Secretary, Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha Ontario), Makhan Tut/Deo (Mamta Foundation Canada), Roop Lal Gaddu (ex-president, AISRO), Rashpaul Bhardwaj (President, AISRO), Prof. Arun Gautam (AIM Canada, Toronto), and Gopal Lohia (of Shri 108 Sant Sarwan Dass Charitable Trust Western Canada and Punjabi Mela) represented their organizations and shared their greetings for the occasion. Rajesh Angral of Alberta also participated.
Dr. Paramjit Chumber and Dr. Harjinder Kumar of the U.S. shared their poems.
Santokh Jassi, a journalist based in Montreal, explained the prominence of Dr. Ambedkar and why he should be nominated for the Nobel Prize. Ratan Jakhu also included this sentiment in his message.
(By Chetna Association of Canada and AICS Canada)
