-
Born in Dhahan village of Punjab near Banga, Barj Dhahan left for Canada at the age of 10 in 1967
-
He finished his schooling from the John Oliver High School at Vancouver
-
Graduated from the University of British Columbia as did his sisters and cousins
Barj Dhahan is a Punjabi-Canadian businessman who is passionate about philanthropy, reported indianexpress.com. Owner of the Sandhurst group, a conglomerate, the Vancouver-based Dhahan has instituted the richest prize for promoting Punjabi literature in South Asia. He is also the man behind the influential Canada-India Education Society and a Canada-India-aboriginal research organization called IC-Impacts.
Born in Dhahan village of Punjab near Banga, Barj Dhahan left for Canada at the age of 10 in 1967.
After finishing his schooling from the John Oliver High School at Vancouver, he graduated from the University of British Columbia as did his sisters and cousins.
When his parents returned to India in the early 1980s, he was still in university. But after graduating, he decided to set up his own building and construction business. “Today I employ 300-plus people,’’ Dhahan, who also holds the Tim Hortons franchise for the British Columbia, told indianexpress.com. “We acquire and develop land. We construct buildings, both commercial and residential,’’ Dhahan said.
The family made a conscious decision to take up social causes when Dhahan’s father returned to Punjab in the early 1980s to set up a charitable hospital near his village. The Guru Nanak Mission Charitable Hospital Dhahan, which started with 40 beds in 1984, is now a multi-speciality facility with 200 beds and a nursing college, set up in partnership with the University of BC school of nursing in 1998.
The family also set up an English-medium school there, which now has a student strength of over 1600 from over 130 villages. Dhahan says it’s these institutes that bring him to India every year. “I was associated with them right from the beginning, I still remember how we raised 62000 dollars at a fundraising in 1981.’’
Dhahan takes great pride in the fact that nurses from the college are serving all across the globe. “Between 250 and 300 live and work in Canada, others are spread across the UK, US and Middle East.’’
-
Dhahan plans to set up a medical college around Dhahan in the next few years
-
He founded a not-for-profit Canada-India Education Society in 1991
-
Co-founder and donor at Canada India Centre for Excellence at the Carlton University in Ottawa
He founded a not-for-profit Canada-India Education Society in 1991. Now he plans to set up a medical college around Dhahan in the next few years. He is also a co-founder and donor at Canada India Centre for Excellence at the Carlton University in Ottawa. “The varsity hosts an annual Dhahan lecture named after my parents. The first speaker was then President Abdul Kalam came in 2011.’
Dhahan founded a not-for-profit Canada-India Education Society in 1991. Now he plans to set up a medical college around Dhahan in the next few years. He is also a co-founder and donor at Canada India Centre for Excellence at the Carlton University in Ottawa. “The varsity hosts an annual Dhahan lecture named after my parents. The first speaker was then President Abdul Kalam came in 2011.’’
Dhahan is closely associated with IC-IMPACTS (the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability), which was announced by then Canadian president and Indian Prime Minister in 2012. “It’s the only trade centre funded by the two governments and I serve as its chair.’’ The focus, he says, is to look at real life needs in the area of safe water, food security and ag-tech et al.
Punjab, Dhahan says, needs better governance, more policy-driven initiatives, greater support for academic institutes, better standards of healthcare and universal education for everyone
In 2013, the industrialist instituted the Dhahan prize, which he claims is the richest literary prize in all of South Asia’s indigenous languages. Launched in Vancouver, it carries a prize money of 45000 Canadian dollars for three Punjabi books written in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi.
“We are into our 10th year and the submissions close at the end of this month. The finalists are announced towards the end of September or October. The ceremony is held in Vancouver in November and the province of BC declares that week as a Punjabi literature week.’’
Dhahan misses Punjab. “I miss its colours, its scent, the energy and excitement that comes from the crush of people here. Canada is more sanitised, it’s very peaceful and quiet.’’
“Punjab,” Dhahan said, “can take several leaves out of Canada.’’ “Why do so many Punjabis want to go to Canada? It’s because it’s a county of freedom, of rule of law, of equality, publicly-funded education and health care, and a progressive income tax. People go there for a better quality of life and more equal treatment so that they can work and contribute to their families.”
Punjab, he says, needs better governance, more policy-driven initiatives, greater support for academic institutes, better standards of healthcare and universal education for everyone.
Dhahan dismisses the perception that there is widespread support for Khalistan among the Punjabi diaspora in Canada. “It’s a misnomer, there is no such movement among the Sikhs here. But yes, there is a very small and very vocal element that espouses this demand, and media whips up their activities. The majority does not want a separate homeland. In fact, most Punjabis are concerned about it. They may have legitimate concerns about the way things are done here but they certainly don’t want a separate homeland.’’
**************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com
