28 THE CARAVAN
model minority · reportage
The Indian government’s decision to bar Jag-
meet’s entry in 2013 was historic—he became the
first Western legislator ever to be denied a visa
to the country—and made news in both Canada
and India. It was particularly surprising because
Jagmeet had visited the country earlier that same
year. In an op-ed for the Ottawa Citizen, Jagmeet
argued that, by this act of exclusion, India had
jeopardised its ties with Canada. “It is my belief
that the relationship is now in question and the
international community must defend Canada’s
place as a country whose law-abiding citizens are
welcomed by the world.”
When asked to explain why Jagmeet’s visa
application was denied, India’s consul-general
in Canada at the time tersely told reporters that
people “who seek to undermine” Indian political
institutions and “foment contempt to the country”
were only “misusing the pretext of human rights
to pursue their insidious agenda of disrupting
the social fabric of India.” Although there was no
official statement on why Jagmeet was suddenly
persona non grata with the Indian government,
many concluded that it had to do with his activism
around the 1984 Sikh massacre and his perceived
ties with Sikh separatists.
To the likely consternation of Indian officials,
less than four years later, in October 2017, Jagmeet
was elected to head Canada’s New DemocraticParty—becoming the first non-white, non-aborig-
inal member of a minority to lead one of Canada’s
three main political parties. His achievement
made international headlines, and prompted
celebration from socially conscious Canadians in
general and the country’s young, progressive Sikhs
in particular.jagmeet singh’s meteoric rise in Canadian poli-
tics is seen as a triumph of multiculturalism and
an advertisement for Canada’s much touted toler-
ance and celebration of difference, which stands
in contrast to the rising xenophobia in the United
States and many other Western countries. Jagmeet
knows how to play the part of poster boy. Over the
past years, his stylish appearance and progressive
activism, combined with formidable social-media
savvy, have won him numerous accolades from the
media. A 2015 BuzzFeed article took readers on
a tour of his Instagram account and proclaimed
him “the most stylish politician in Canada by like
a million kilometres.” The men’s magazine GQ
praised his outreach to young voters, his support
for a bevy of liberal causes and his “sharp as hell”
suits, describing Jagmeet as “the incredibly well-
dressed rising star in Canadian politics.”
Canada is home to the world’s largest Sikh
population outside of India. Its 454,965 Sikhs com-
prise roughly 1.5 percent of the country’s popula-this spread:
The Sikh diaspora
has mobilised
most significantly
around the 1984
Sikh massacre, in
which government-
backed mobs killed
thousands of Sikhs,
and burned their
vehicles, homes and
shops.
rick eglinton / toronto star / getty images