14) REMEMBERING A HERO

By Gurpreet Singh

     Even though terrorism entered the sensibilities of North Americans after 9/11, over 300 leftists lost their lives fighting against this menace in India almost three decades ago. Among them was Comrade Darshan Singh Canadian, a towering communist leader of Punjab state who had spent 10 years in Canada.

     Born as Darshan Singh Sangha, he came to be known as Canadian even after he returned to India in 1947 and lived there until his assassination by religious extremists on September 25, 1986. Canadian, whose 25th martyrdom day falls this month, had challenged the ideology of the Sikh separatists who were seeking a "Khalistan" theocratic homeland in Punjab, close to the Indo-Pak border.

     The insurgency launched by the Sikh militants was being sponsored by the Pakistani spy agency, ISI, which had the patronage of the CIA. Clearly, it was a proxy war against India from across the border, where training camps were organized to turn the Sikh militants into seasoned killers. The US and other Pakistani allies had turned a blind eye to this open subversion.

     Ironically, both Pakistan and the US are now engaged in war with Islamic militants who were also trained on Pakistani soil. While the US establishment acted against terrorism only after the September 11 attack on New York, 300 communists were systematically killed during a decade-long pro-Khalistan movement for opposing religious sectarianism and terrorism.

     Darshan Singh Canadian came to Canada like any other ordinary immigrant for a prosperous life. However, he left shortly after India gained independence from the British rulers in 1947. During his years in Canada, he not only helped fellow Indians in getting a right to vote in BC, but also supported the freedom struggle. After all, his native village in Punjab was a breeding ground of revolutionaries. He also played a significant role in finding recruits from among the Indo-Canadian community for the labour movement. While in Canada, he joined the Young Communist League and the Communist Party. Upon his return to his home country, he joined the Communist Party of India and gradually got elected to the Punjab legislative assembly.

     Darshan's old associates in Canada remember him as a witty and simple hearted human being. Even as an elected official he was very accessible and often raised issues of the common people in the house. But he was also a vocal critic of terrorism, risking his life by travelling across Punjab during the height of bloody militancy and speaking without fear. Some liberal Sikhs feel that his interpretation of the Sikh philosophy was more genuine, whereas the fundamentalist brand of Sikhism had distorted the image of one of the most secular and broadminded religions.

     Canadian also wrote many thought provoking articles that challenged religious fanaticism. He was equally critical of the ultra-leftists and pulled no punches while criticizing them in his essays. He clearly saw imperialistic designs behind the extremist forces that were getting support both from Pakistan and the US.

     If he wished, he could have stayed in Canada to enjoy a much more comfortable life style. Instead he chose to return to a developing nation to serve the poor and downtrodden. He died as a true secular fighter, without compromising his ideals. In a nutshell, he fought a real war against terror by facing an enemy which had international support from the same forces which now wage a full scale "war on terror" only to further their business interests.

(The above article is from the September 16-31, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)