I consider myself privileged to have had audience with Her Majesty The Queen

Elizabeth II, on two separate occasions in Canada. During her official visit to
Victoria, British Columbia, for opening XVth Commonwealth Winter Games, I was
pleased to receive an invitation from Hon’ble Mike Harcourt, Premier B C to attend
“Tea with The Queen” on August 20,1994 at the Beacon Hill Park, Victoria.
During the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Year Visit to Vancouver, B C in October of 2002,
I was delighted to receive an invitation from Right Hon’able Jean Chretien, Prime
Minister of Canada and his wife Mrs. Aline Chretien to attend Luncheon in honour
of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, on October
7, 2002 at the Fairmont Hotel.
As luck would have it, I was denied admittance to the Lounge of Newton Legion in
Surrey, B C while the Remembrance Day Ceremony was undergoing on November 11,
1993. Although, I was an invited guest, and had obtained prior clearance to wear
my turban during the Ceremony from Newton Legion officials, I was told to remove
my Turban to enter the Lounge. Being an observant Sikh how could I? I refused to
do so. I tried my utmost with the President of Newton Legion, to reason-out the
significance of “an Invited Guest” and the “symbol of the Turban to a Sikh“. All
my pleas fell on his deaf ears and I was not allowed in.
As the above incident took place in the presence of thousands of members of Newton
Legion, its Guests and the Spectators, I felt insulted, embarrassed and
humiliated, which was hard for me to take and digest. I took a firm stand against
this injustice and discrimination of the Newton Legion President. I wrote letters
detailing the incident and explaining the symbol of a Sikh Turban and significance
of invited Guests to all conceivable related authorities in Canada. The media
helped me enormously. In fact,. it turned out to be my best weapon to fight the
case.
Being, extremely frustrated and disgusted with my public humiliation as a retired
Lieut. Colonel, I also wrote a personal letter to Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth
II at Buckingham Palace, London, giving full details of the incident. I indicated
that my health had been adversely affected due to the incident and that I had been
placed on medications by my Physician.
The Queen wrote back:
“ I understand the concern which prompted you to write. I am sending your letter
to the headquarters of The Royal Canadian Legion at Ottawa, so that they may be
aware of your approach to me”.
Soon afterwards, I received a letter from the Royal Canadian Legion Ottawa,
stating:
“Your letter to Her Majesty The Queen has been referred to the Dominion Command of
the Royal Canadian Legion for a reply. You may not be aware that the Legion’s
Dominion Executives held an “Emergency” meeting in which they reviewed the
requirement for a National Policy governing the wearing of religious headdress.
You can now enter in any of 1720 Legions across Canada with a turban on your head”
I am now a regular member of Cloverdale Legion and have no problem whatsoever.
To have audience with The Queen on August 20, 1994 at Victoria, I put on my best
clothes, consisting of navy blue turban and jacket, grey pants and Corps of
Signals tie. I also wore my 13 hard-earned war and peace shining medals, the glare
of which attracted the attention of the Queen. She, then started chatting with me
face to face. Following is a brief excerpt of the conversation between The Queen
and me:
The Queen: You have many medals. They look really good. Pleased to see them
shining so brightly on your chests.
Me: Five of my 13 medals have your late Dad King George the Vth’s picture engraved
on them.
The Queen: I am delighted to know that. That is really great. Was it you who got
into trouble with the Legion for not allowing you to enter with a turban?
Me: Yes. Your Majesty. It was me who was not allowed to enter Newton Legion with
my turban even though I was an invited guest. I felt humiliated. I, therefore,
wrote a letter to you regarding that incident. I am extremely sorry in case my
letter disturbed you.
The Queen: No. You did a wise thing by writing to me. What is the situation now?
Me: With your kind intervention, the matter was resolved immediately. The Royal
Canadian Legion changed its dress code, allowing Sikhs wearing turbans in all its
1720 Legions across Canada. Many thanks for your intervention.
The Queen: I am glad the Legion amended its dress code. But they should not have
denied you admission in the first place.
After above brief discussion with the Queen, a throng of media-types bombarded me.
As I took the centre stage, I faced a barrage of questions from local, national
and International media. They were in a hurry to know what all had The Queen said
to me. I told them all the above
I also told the media-types that it was a fantastic experience for me to meet the
Queen. I feel proud and honored to have spoken to her face to face for four to
five minutes. It was a dream come true. I admire her immensely. She is an
extremely graceful person. Above all, her intervention in the Newton Legion
debacle proved to be a turning point in ending the injustice and discrimination
against the Sikhs wearing turbans in Canada. It will without an iota of doubt, be
written in gold in the history of Canada. All Sikhs ought to be grateful to her
for that.
Lt Col Pritam S Jauhal (Signals)(Retd)
Founding President Indian Ex-Servicemen Society British Columbia
Phone/Fax: 604 581 9383
E-mail: colpsjauhal@hotmail.com
May 23, 2006