January 20, 2008: Regardless of the apparent equality or non discrimination based on caste, color or nationality, there is strong undercurrent of growing feeling that Asians are not welcome in Canada and the immigration should be stopped or at least drastically reduced.
In fact, it is not that lawlessness is something new to western world, but such blatant move by a mob releasing Mr. Singh from the custody of police is something that may be acceptable event in India but not in civilized west.
The incident has contributed a lot to growing frustration with the impotence of immigration authorities and the politicians who treat these mobs with deference, when instead they should be arrested for obstruction of justice. It may be noted that Canada’s neighbor, US denied Visa to Chief Minister of Gujarat province in India, Narender Modi, who is widely suspected to be behind killings of about 2000 innocent Muslims.
In this case, surprisingly, even Chinese joined Indians in their move to save Laibar Singh. Chinese and Indian cultures don’t mix and match. Anyways, the demand by Canadians, especially people of white origin to deport Laibar fast, and charge his supporters to save the rule of law is gaining momentum.
They argue that Canadian citizens dealing with the government at tax time can only dream of being treated with the deference we accord our incoming refugee applicants.
For those, not in touch with the case, thousands of Sikh supporters swarmed the Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 10, successfully preventing Mr. Singh from being deported to India. Singh, a widower, arrived in Toronto from India with a forged passport in November, 2003, intending to find work in Canada and send money home to his four children. The Immigration and Refugee Board investigated his claims that he faced false accusations of being a member of a Sikh extremist group, and concluded that his supposed fear of torture at the hands of Punjabi police was “not credible.”
Now the stage is that the question is over whether the deportation is justified or not, but whether is law would be enforced by law or by mob.
The another issue irking Canadians(sans of Indian origin) that British Columbia has already spent more than one million dollars on his care. They feel this as a case of ultimate absurdity is that in today’s India Mr. Singh could have been receiving medical attention all along at a fraction of the cost — assuming the munificence of his B.C.-based sympathizers followed its recipient to South Asia — with plenty of money left over for the support of his family.
Meanwhile, Singh’s militant friends are turning the informal tradition of treating religious buildings as “sanctuaries” into a sour joke. The whole affair is a complete moral disaster — one that grows worse with every minute the unfortunate gentleman stays on our so