Canadian MP urges students to trigger change
for a new India
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Canadian Member of Parliament Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh
delivers an address to students of Sanatan Dharma
College and University of the Fraser Valley that
encouraged youth to fight for change in order
to carve out a new India. |
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Ms. Geetinder Shah and Ms. Crystal Sawyer of Canada's
University of the Fraser Valley present a memento of
thanks to Mr. Dosanjh. |
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University of the Fraser Valley student Napreet Parmar
urged Mr. Dosanjh to pressure NRIs to invest in
developing high-quality education in the rural villages. |
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CHANDIGARH, Jan 15, 2009 — Canadian Member of Parliament, the Honourable Mr. Ujjal Dosanjh, took time from his busy schedule this morning to address students of Sanatan Dharma College and the University of the Fraser Valley (which delivers its Canadian BBA degree program in Chandigarh in collaboration with SDCC).
"India has natural and human resources to make it richer," he said, in a talk aimed to empower youth to demand values such as compassion, equality, justice, and courage, in order to build a new India. "The idea of education should not be to produce robots, it should be to make people think, prosper, and flourish. You can't do that with a two- or three-hour exam and rote learning. You can force your surroundings to change."
Mr. Dosanjh hails from Dosanjh Kalan, near Phagwara, and moved to Canada in 1968. During ten years in the British Columbia provincial legislature, he held cabinet portfolios as Minister of Government Services, with additional responsibility for Multiculturalism, Human Rights and Sports, and Attorney General of British Columbia.
In 2000, Mr. Dosanjh was sworn in as the 33rd Premier of the Province of British Columbia and became the first Indo-Canadian to hold the distinguished post. Four years later, he made a leap to federal politics when he was elected Member of Parliament for Vancouver South. He has served as Federal Minister of Health, as the Official Opposition Critic for National Defence, and as the critic for Foreign Affairs. He was re-elected in January 2006, and again in October 2008. Mr. Dosanjh is currently the critic for Public Safety.
"India has had two great struggles in history, but it needs a third struggle, to uplift itself from injustice, poverty, corruption, and a lack of values," said Dosanjh. "This struggle will be far more serious,dangerous, and difficult than the struggles of the past. Previously, we saw the enemy as someone who was not Indian. In this third freedom struggle, the enemy is us, and it is very difficult to struggle against yourself, because it means that we ourselves have to change."
"It is a great honour that Mr. Dosanjh took the time to interact with these young leaders of tomorrow," said Ms. Crystal Sawyer, Communication Manager for the University of the Fraser Valley. "The kind of success he has earned in Canada is very inspirational to our students, and they are extremely excited to have had the opportunity to meet such a dynamic individual. I know today's event will be etched in their minds and hearts for a lifetime."
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