South Asian Studies Institute
The year 2014 is a significant year for the South Asian community in Canada and British Columbia as well as to all Canadians as it marks the Centennial year of the Komagata Maru episode of 1914. On May 23, 1914, a ship from Hong Kong carrying 376 passengers, mostly from Punjab, British India arrived in … Read more
Jagat Singh Uppal, or “Jack” is an example of an individual who came from humble beginnings, and found great success in British Columbia through hard work and dedication. Although Jack Uppal himself was only one year old when he first emigrated to Canada, his family has imbedded pioneer histories in British Columbia as Jack Uppal’s … Read more
Honourable Amrik Virk, the Minister of Advanced Education for the Province of British Columbia visited the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies on his final stop during an all-day tour of the Agriculture Centre of Excellence currently under construction in the Chilliwack, UFV campus. “We are planting the seeds of success for students who want to reap … Read more
UFV President Mark Evered, Vice Provost and Associate VP Academic Peter Geller and Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies director Satwinder Bains, visited India to meet with students, faculty, and administration connected to UFV’s Bachelor of Business Administration program in Chandigarh. Team Peary (George and Sylvia), were also teaching business courses there as UFV business faculty (see photos here). Their itinerary included attending an annual awards … Read more
The Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies was pleased to host the official launch of its first published book A Soldier Remembers based on the memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal. The book was co-authored by Pritam Singh Jauhal, the veteran at the centre of the story, and Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra, coordinator of the CICS at UFV. … Read more
The Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies was pleased to host its annual Ehsaas South Asian Readers and Writers Festival on Thursday, November 21st. This year’s festival featured four writers: Raminder Sidhu, Hugh Johnston, Lieutenant Colonel Pritam Singh Jauhal and Ashok Bhargava. Raminder began the festival by reading from her debut novel Tears of Mehndi, and was followed by … Read more
The atmosphere was jubilant, colourful and full of good spirits as UFV International India students collaborated with the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, SAPNA students to celebrate Diwali on Friday, November 1st. The afternoon included a painting competition, a rangoli competition, free mehndi (henna), games with many prizes and some amazing bhangra and bollywood dance performances. … Read more
On October 17th, 2013, the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley organized and hosted Ghadar Centennial Conference 1913 Interpreting Ghadar: Echoes of Voices Past. The academic conference featured 12 presenters in 3 panels each with a unique perspective on the impacts and significance of the Ghadarites of the early 20th … Read more
“On December 19th, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare 11 October as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.“ –United Nations In honour of this declaration made by the United Nations, Deesh Sekhon, founder of the GirlKind … Read more
Acclaimed author Jaspreet Singh visited the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies on October 10th, 2013 and read from his latest novel Helium. The novel, though a work of fiction encompasses around the very real, tragic and horrific government organized anti-Sikh pogroms which erupted in 1984 in Delhi, India following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by … Read more