Being Targeted for Wearing a Turban: Harjit Singh Sajjan

Citing unnamed sources from the military, The Globe and Mail (G&M) published a story on 20 Jun about the Fall of Kabul in August 2021. The story says, at that time Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan, instead of focusing on evacuating Canadian citizens, relayed information on the location of around 225 Sikhs in Afghanistan asking them to be evacuated. ‘The sources said Afghan Sikhs were not considered an operational priority for the Canadian military as they had no link to Canada. Mr. Sajjan’s intervention, the sources say, impacted the rescue of Canadians and other Afghans on Canada’s priority list,’ reported G&M. Sajjan responded, ‘Let me address The Globe article quite directly, because I will be quite honest with you, it was utter BS. Those who were following on the evacuation missions and the events previously to that, know quite well that there was an approved government policy to safely evacuate as many vulnerable Afghans as possible.’ Sajjan, now the President of the King's Privy Council for Canada, described the policy as one that ‘included obviously Canadians first, those who worked with us like our interpreters and it also included vulnerable Afghans, which included religious minorities like Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.’ G&M says members of the Canadian military were angered by Sajjan’s instructions. The mission was unsuccessful. Sajjan’s media statement says, ‘I can only surmise that if I did not wear a turban, no one would question whether my actions were appropriate.’ Sajjan is the son of former World Sikh Organization (WSO) executive board member Kundan Singh Sajjan and WSO founding president Gian Singh Sandhu’s son, Harjinder Singh Sandhu, is married to Sajjan's sister. That said, this is a story that pits nationalism against humanism and Sajjan acted humanely.