I had understated extremism in Canada: Dosanjh

Members of the Canadian House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion April 28, condemning the death threats against Liberal lawmaker Ujjal Dosanjh. The motion moved by Liberal Member of Parliament Mauril Belanger (Ottawa-Vanier) stated, 'All members of this House stand united in condemning any form of extremism that incites violence in Canadian society, and re-affirm the right of elected officials to freely express their views without fear or personal intimidation.'

"It was a great message to send not just about extremists in the Sikh community, but extremists of all kinds," Dosanjh told rediff.com. "I was touched and heartened and grateful for the support of my colleagues but it goes beyond that. The MPs are shocked that this can happen in this day and age in Canada. Today it is me; tomorrow it will be someone else. It dawned on everyone that this is not the way to develop a mature and compassionate country."

Dosanjh and Liberal Member of British Columbia Legislature Dave Hayer were warned not to join the Surrey Baisakhi parade. This was followed by threats and hate messages against Dosanjh on Facebook. "I had earlier understated the existence of extremists in Canada," Dosanjh said. "I see now that second and third generation men and women, born and raised here, accept such threats on Facebook and blogs. A new blog has been set up, saying I should apologize to the Sikhs. A couple of hundred people have already signed and then there's some guy who explains how political assassinations can be done without being criminally charged. This was absolutely ghastly."

The lawmaker is concerned about how quickly hordes of young people have latched joined the hate campaign against him on Facebook. "Many of them are from Canada I don't believe it is happening in Canada."

Dosanjh is unsure if "India knows the extent to which it (extremism) is going on here and I don't think even Canada knows what's going on here it is horrible and you have apologists for some of these extremist elements going round saying Dosanjh is being hysterical."

He referred to Haroon Siddiqui's column in the Toronto Star in which he 'attributed extremism to the political correctness of multiculturalism.'

The World Sikh Organization of Canada rejected Dosanjh's claim that extremism in the Sikh community was on the rise. 'Some recent threats against Dosanjh have been made by unknown persons claiming to be Sikh,' the organization's statement said. 'These have been used to support the indictment that extremism is rampant and on the rise in the Canadian Sikh community If an entire community is to be indicted based on anonymous threats made on the Internet, then the hateful comments posted in recent weeks against the Sikh community on several Canadian news sites could arguably be used to show rise in racism in Canada.'

The WSO added, 'There are many Sikhs who support the idea of an independent Sikh State,' comparing it to the Bloc Quebecois' demand for sovereign Quebec. 'Canadian Sikhs should have the same right to peacefully and legally discuss these issues,' it said. "These guys are blowing hot and cold," Dosanjh said. "One day they denounce the threat against me on Facebook and the next day they denounce me."

Though the House of Commons has passed this motion, some politicians continue to attend parades with extremist slogans. "If they go to a parade where you have Khalistani extremists you (media) should write about it," Dosanjh said. "The battle is not over. Those who say there are no pockets of extremism in this society, including some among the Sikhs, are deluding themselves Canada is going to suffer for a long time."