SOUTH ASIAN OBSERVER

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 01, 2014 2
NEWS
FANDEMONIUM RAGES AT 20TH ANNUAL
COLLINGWOOD ELVIS FESTIVAL!
CONTD FROM PAGE 1
artist award being judged by a panel. Cliff
Wright from Athens, Alabama won the
coveted award of representing the
Collingwood festival at the Ultimate Elvis
Tribute contest in Elvis' hometown
Memphis later in August. Gordon Hendricks
from the UK won the Grand Champion of
Collingwood. Many other winners in
different categories were announced.
Though Elvis never performed outside of
North America, his fame spread worldwide
to every distant corner of the planet and this
was totally reflected in the multi-cultural
audience as people from all different
backgrounds came to enjoy the festival.
Some came from as far as India, South Korea
and Singapore.
The Elvis tribute artists were from all over
North America, even as far away as
Alabama. Some were from the nearby areas
of Kitchener and Milton. They
impersonated Elvis from the early years
with the loose-fitting jacket and trousers
look, his leather look, his karate jacket look
and onto his fabled white suit look in his
later years and sporting his kiss-curl hair
look and heavy sideburns look.
Said the person from Seoul: "there are
many greats- John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix,
Frank Sinatra -but you don't see tribute
festivals to them. There is only one man who
has tribute festivals and that is Elvis- he is
truly THE KING!"
London: A champion wrestler stopped
with three deadly guns in his car has lost
an appeal against his lengthy jail term.
Commonwealth Games bronze
medallist Amarjit Singh was jailed for
six-and-a-half years in April after he
admitted possessing prohibited firearms
and ammunition.
The 43-year-old, of Chilton Drive,
Wolverhampton, finished third at the
1994 Games in Victoria, Canada.
Singh was caught after collecting
three Soviet pistols and bullets from
another man at a Midlands retail park in
April last year.
His Mercedes, which was used in the
offence, was also seized.
Singh's barrister, Michael Wolkind
QC, yesterday argued the sentencing
judge failed to give enough weight to
Singh's previous good character and
passed a sentence that was far too long.
Referring to the current Glasgow
games, Mr Wolkind said: "The
Commonwealth Games are on at the
moment.
"Singh had some glory there in the
past.
"He was a good wrestler, he certainly
could have beaten me."
But two senior judges at London's
Appeal Court rejected Singh's challenge
to the sentence.
They said it was entirely justified,
given the "gravity" of his crimes.
Mr Justice Sweeney, sitting with Sir
Roderick Evans, said: "It seems to us
that, given the gravity of the offending
and the background that we have
indicated, the ultimate sentence of six-
and-a-half years was within the
appropriate range.
"Accordingly, in these circumstances,
this appeal against sentence is
dismissed."
Champion wrestler loses appeal
against guns and ammo jail term
BY BALWANT SANGHERA
L
ast year, in 2013, our community
celebrated the centenary of the
Gadar Movement with a great
deal of enthusiasm. This year marks
the centenary of another major
development for our community. It is
the hundredth anniversary of the ill-
fated journey of Komagata Maru to
Canada. Leased by Hong Kong based
businessman Gurdit Singh, the steam
ship named Komagata Maru, carrying
376 passengers, arrived in the City of
Vancouver's Burrard Inlet on May 23,
1914. As British subjects, all of them
had the right to enter Canada which
was a dominion under the British
Empire. However, the Canadian
government of that time had already
passed legislation barring their entry.
Not only they were refused entry to
Canada but also the passengers were
treated in a very shabby and harsh
manner by the authorities at that time.
Only 24 passengers, who had some prior
connection to Canada, were allowed to
land. The remaining 352 individuals
were forced to return to India on July
23, 1914, under the shadow of two
Canadian warships. It is a black mark
in Canadian history. Such tragedies
should never be allowed to happen
again. Remembering such tragic events
as part of our community's history in
Canada is an effective way of
reminding our younger generations of
the sacrifices made by our ancestors.
Since the advent of 2014, a large
number of community organizations
have been doing a commendable job in
paying tribute to the Komagata Maru
passengers and fondly remembering
them. Hardly any week goes by without
a function or activity devoted to the
Komagata Maru. Nearly every major
event has been dedicated to the memory
of this tragic event. The Komagata
Maru Heritage Foundation and
numerous other community
organizations have gone out of their
way to ensure that we don't forget our
heroes-trailblazers.
The issuing of a postal stamp
dedicated to the Komagata Maru was a
commendable gesture by Canada Post.
Also, the active support by some of the
First Nations people and other
communities must be recognized and
appreciated. The youth participation in
Komagata Maru related
activities/events has been amazing. It
is great to see our community come
together in such a way to commemorate
this tragic chapter of our community
here. The media-both electronic and
print- has also done an amazing job in
making the public aware of what
happened to our ancestors one hundred
years ago.
There is no doubt that remembering
the Komagata Maru tragedy has
created a lot more awareness not only
in our community but also in the
community at large. It has been quite
an experience for all of us. Now we
need to take the next step and lobby the
provincial and federal governments to
incorporate the tragic saga of
Komagata Maru into school
curriculum. Once the authorities agree
to this, well respected local historians
like Sohan Singh Pooni, Dr.Hugh
Johnston and many others should be
requested to take on the task. In a sense,
the Komagata Maru episode is a
landmark for our community. Thus, it is
only appropriate to make it a part of
our children's school curriculum.
Balwant Sanghera is a
retired School Psychologist and
Community Activist.
Komagata Maru Saga Must Become Part Of
Canadian School Curriculum
Amit Goyal Is New
Chairman of Toronto
Chapter of ICAI
SAO NEWS
TORONTO
A
mit Goyal, an accomplished senior finance
executive has been appointed as the
Chairman of Toronto Chapter of the
Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI).
The Toronto Chapter, the first North American
Chapter, is a not-for-profit organization in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada for the Alumni of the ICAI. The
primary objective of the Toronto Chapter is to
provide networking and professional development
opportunities to its members. The Chapter was
inaugurated in 2006 by the then President of the
Institute, Mr. Sunil Talati and since then it has
helped in developing excellent relationship between
the accounting fraternities of India and Canada.
The Chapter continues to enroll new members
regularly and has successfully maintained the
enthusiasm and commitment amongst the members
through various professional and social networking
events. Currently the Chapter has more than 600
members in its data-base with close to 300 members
actively involved and paid as of last year.
Amit is a professionally qualified accountant
from Canada (CPA, CA), USA (CPA) and India (FCA)
and has been with the Chapter since its inception.
In his association with the Chapter for the last 8
years, he has contributed in various capacities and
has been unanimously selected as the Chairman for
the year 2014-15 in recently held Managing
Committee Meeting subsequent to Annual General
Meeting. Amit is the Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer at State Bank of India
(Canada) based in Toronto. Prior to joining SBI
(Canada), he worked with many international
financial institutions in progressively senior
positions leading operations, finance and
compliance functions in the banking and securities
industry.
Other officers appointed along with Amit are
Manny Gauba (Vice-Chair), Minakshi Dalmia
(Secretary) and Seemantini Nigalye (Treasurer).
The Chapter will hold its 8th Annual Gala on
November 22, 2014 at Toscana Banquet, Hilton
Garden Inn, Vaughn/Toronto.
(www.icaitoronto.com)