Eight months back, Dr. Gulzar Singh Cheema a family physician spent most of his time in the three story building, popularly known as McPhillips Medical Centre at McPhillips Street in Winnipeg a capital city in the province of Manitoba in Canada.
Soft spoken 34 years old Dr. Cheema always remained crowded by the patients most of them clamored to seek his healing touch. Hardly a night passed when he did not attend a call from a comer of the Maples area, where he lives.
The general election to the Manitoba Legislature came in April 1988. Dr. Cheema’s friends pushed him to jump into the election fray. Though Dr. Cheema belongs to a family of Akali and Congress activists back in his native state of Punjab, but initially he was reluctant to contest the nomination election for the Liberal party in his Kildonan Constituency.
But they counted on his overwhelming support and enthusiasm from the grassroots of the community.
Dr. Cheema says that despite his family background he was least interested in politics during and after his student life in Punjab. His uncles (both his father’s cousins) Randhir Singh Cheema and Deyinder Singh Bajwa were Minister for two terms during the Akali Ministry in Punjab province.
But Dr. Cheema’s active participation in social and community life here made him a changed person. As close friend Jaswant Brar put it, since politically aware members of the community had begun to realize that they had to. Have an interaction with the mainstream. “Self-imposed inhibitions and isolation” would only serve to complicate the problems being faced by the ethnic communities all ‘over the world. Against this background Jaswant Brar and his friead Dr. Cheema studied cross-cultural problems and ways to overcome them.
Despite the lukewarm response to some of the community leaders, Dr. Cheema and Jaswant, a social worker student, decided to ‘shun inhibition: and emerge out of the community shell and for the first time to participate in the Canadian political process.
Born in a tiny village Bariar, in the suburbs of GURDASPUR in Punjab, Dr. Cheema achieved a care distinction of being the first Punjab immigrant to be elected to the legislature in the western world.
Above all, it comes out of a unique attainment when a Sikh steps in the Legislative Building, whose community has been branded by the local and national media as “violent”, “antisocial” and “terrorist.” But Dr. Cheema is out to disprove this stereotypical attitude. In the last week of December 1988, Dr. Cheema, accompanied by Mr. Brar and a turbaned reporter drove to the legislative building. While parking his vehicle, this newly elected official aptly remarked that “we are proud of doing this great service to the community. We have shed our inhibitions. Now the mainstream communities know us for the people we are … democrats, peace loving and hard working.
Sitting in his office in this solem and spacious building, Dr. Cheema recounted his past. He had been a student at Mahatama Gandhi High School, Gurdaspur, he did his medical degree from Dayan and Medical College, Ludhiana.
His family migrated to Gurdaspur after partition of British India in 1947 from the village of Sajoke in (Teh Deska) now in Pakistan. He has taken his family’s inspiration, from the determination and hard work of his mother, Ajit Kaur Cheema and his father, Ajinder Singh Cheema, who recently retired as a police officer in Punjab.
After immigrating to Canada in December 1979, Dr. Cheema married Harinder, a school teacher whose father, Inderjit Singh Claire, a teacher, and family immigrated twenty-five years previously.
Dr. Cheema proudly speaks of his family members who have held Senior positions in the Civil Service and the Armed Forces of India. His uncle Narinder Singh Cheema is an Indian Administrative Service Officer. (I,A.S).
Dr. Cheemais the first colored man in the 57 member Legislature who took his oath of office on
“Japji Sahib” a sacred Sikh scripture. Working 18 hours a day, Dr, Cheema occupies a first row seat in the official opposition benches as the “Health Critic”, watchdogging a department which consumes 1/3 of the province’s budget. Dr. Cheema, who takes life as a challenge, spent a couple of days to prepare his first public speech. His 45 minute maiden speech, though made him nervous initially, left a good feeling in his party and the other opposition members. Most of the members had presumed that this person representing minorities with no public experience would falter and fail. He not only proved himself to understand and use the nuances of political speech but continued to gain knowledge and experience quickly to criticize the Minister of Health and his abilities.
Mrs, Sharon Carstairs the first leader in the Manitoba Legislative Assembly feels that the Liberal party nomination of Dr. G. Cheema was presented negatively in the media. Carstairs states, “Cheema did the same thing as other candidates and followed in the same democratic tradition as others, however being a Sikh and a member of a visible minority community Gulzar should not have been singled out.” She continues to women elected as the official opposition speaks well of Dr. Cheema and states, “he is extremely hardworking and intelligent and has a tremendous potential not only to be a provincial leader but a federal politician too.
”Dr. Cheema has to work doubly hard, as I had to when I was the only member of the liberal party in the assembly. He is aware as 1am that the performance as the first woman leader or first visible minority will make it easier for others to get elected in the future. As Gulzar performs well it will reflect well not only on his community but all others too,” states the leader of the Liberal party of Manitoba. The congregation of the Sikh Gurdwara of North Carolina at its weekly service on Sunday January 15, 1989 has resolved unanimously by a voice of approval the following:
- We unhesitatingly condemn the Government of India for its hasty, unfair and unlawful execution of S. Satwant Singh and S. Kehar Singh for their alleged involvement in the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1984.
- That the President of India failed to carry out his lawful authority to adequately review these cases as required by law and ultimately did it unwillingly at the orders of the Supreme Court of India. His decision to uphold the punishment was most likely influenced by the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, son of Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
- The Indian Government continues to treat Sikhs in a discriminating manner, reducing their status to that of slaves, passing special laws to Govern them and their residential State of Punjab. Their Human Rights are being constantly violated and a reign of terror has been let loose on the brave Sikhs of Punjab so as to weaken their resolve to achieve freedom and justice.
- Double standards in carrying ‘out laws are being practiced while alleged assassins of Indira Gandhi have been put to death in a great hurry without adequately proving their guilt, no arrests or trials have been ordered for the perpetrators of mob killings of thousands of Sikh men women and children following her death. In fact some of the alleged leaders of these gangs hold offices in Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet.
- The Indian Government failed to protect the life and property of Sikhs living outside Punjab and in fact collaborated with the hoodlums of Bidar in Karnataka by covering up and failing to reveal the truth to the world for days, Even till now no accurate account of events has been released by the Indian government and none of the guilty have been apprehended and charged.
- That the survival of Sikhs in India as a distinct religion is at stake and the Sikhs living overseas are gravely concerned about the developing events in India.
- The congregation urges the International agencies such as Amnesty International, International Human Rights Organizations, World Religious Organizations and other Governments to exert pressure on the Indian Government to treat their own nationals i.e., the Sikhs fairly and with decency or allow them to be free and decide their own affairs.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 3, 1989
