Indo-Canadian minister gets embroiled in fresh controversy over Diljit Dosanjh tour

Sajjan, the Minister for Emergency Preparedness, forwarded the request for the presence of the soldiers for the Vancouver show from Dosanjh’s manager Sonali Singh, according to the news outlet Globe and Mail.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) “determined that meeting this request would not be feasible due to the tight timeline and personnel availability”, the outlet quoted a spokesperson as saying. She added, “Additionally, it is crucial that participation in such events does not impact domestic and international operations, and our operational readiness must be sustained at all times.”

A spokesperson for Sajjan defended the request, saying, “Minister Sajjan agreed the concert would be a good opportunity for the Canadian Armed Forces to engage with and expand connections to a diverse community of young Canadians, along the lines of the CAF outreach and recruiting events at professional sporting events.”

She also said, “Diljit Dosanjh is the biggest Punjabi artist in the world and was on the verge of making history as the first Punjabi artist at a sellout concert at one of the largest stadiums in Vancouver.”

Sajjan was enmeshed in another controversy recently, when the same news outlet revealed that following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, as the then Minister of National Defence, he “instructed” special forces undertaking evacuation of Canadians and others, to make the rescue of 225 Sikhs a “priority”.

In an editorial in early July, the Globe and Mail said, “Mr Sajjan’s actions hampered efforts to evacuate Canadians and people who risked their lives to help Canada, and who should have come before anyone else. It was his mission to get those people to safety. He compromised that mission.”

Sajjan’s office stated he had not ordered the forces to shift their priority but to also take into account vulnerable groups like the Sikhs. He also accused the outlet of racism, as he said, “”I can only surmise that if I did not wear a turban, no one would question whether my actions were appropriate.”

Sajjan was appointed Canada’s Defence Minister when the Liberal Party Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first came into power in 2015. He remained in the post till 2021 when he was replaced by another Indo-Canadian Anita Anand, after a sexual misconduct crisis came to the fore during his tenure. The current Defence Minister is Bill Blair.

Dosanjh’s Canadian shows, part of his Dil-Luminati tour, started at the BC Place venue in Vancouver on April 27, and attracted a crowd of over 50,000, a record for a Punjabi performer. It concluded on July 13 at Toronto’s Rogers Center where Trudeau appeared with him backstage prior to the show. Trudeau was criticised in India for only identifying as “a guy from Punjab” without mentioning his nationality or country of origin.