Harjit Singh Sajjan doggedly and humbly faces the Canadian opposition and media attack on a mistake which could have been easily overlooked considering his remarkable track record. His apology is a democratic Canadian tradition and we are happy that this Canadian hero has upheld the ethics and values of responsible governance.

There is no question that it is the duty of the Canadian opposition to pick and prick faults of the ruling party and particularly if the Defence Minister of the country trips on words, they are bound to do what they did. Harjit Singh may not have been the architect of Operation Mesuda in Afghanistan and he has accepted that, but as the letter written by his commander shows, he was not the architect but more than that. He was the hero of the operation. He alongside others provided the works to make the operation a success.

In 2006 Harjit Singh Sajjan served as a Major with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan during Operation Medusa. He was special advisor to American Coalition Forces in Afghanistan and served as an intelligence officer on three different occasions.

“ Harjit Sajjan was the best single Canadian intelligence asset in theatre, and his hard work, personal bravery, and dogged determination undoubtedly saved a multitude of Coalition lives. Through his courage and dedication, Major Sajjan has single-handedly changed the face of intelligence gathering and analysis in Afghanistan.” –Brigadier General David Fraser, Commander of Canada’s Coalition Task Force in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Speaking at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi on April 18, Harjit Singh Sajjan is reported to have said, “On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was kind of thrown in an unforeseen situation and became the architect of an operation… where we removed about 1,500 Taliban fighters off the battlefield.”

On 29 April, when the Opposition parties in Canada called the above statement a lie, the Canadian Ministry of National Defence issued a rejoinder which read,
“Every military operation our forces undertook in Afghanistan, including Operation Medusa, relied on the courage and dedication of many individuals across the Canadian Forces. My comments were in no way intended to diminish the role that my fellow soldiers and my superiors played in Operation Medusa. What I should have said was that our military successes are the result of the leadership, service and sacrifice of the many dedicated women and men in the Canadian forces. I regret that I didn’t say this then, but I want to do so now.”

Chris Vernon – Retired Senior British Army Officer who was Chief of Staff of the Canadian-led HQ in Kandahar – Operation Medusa speaks to the National Post regarding the role of Harjit Singh Sajjan in the operation. – Courtesy: www.om.fy

All doubting Thomases to note this. On 16 September 2006, soon after the engagement in Operation Medusa, Brigadier General David Fraser, Commander of Canada’s Coalition Task Force in Kandahar, Afghanistan wrote a letter to the Chief Constable J. H. Graham, Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police, from where he joined the Coalition Forces, which among other platitudes of bravery and diligence of Harjit Singh Sajjan stated,

“I have had the pleasure of having Constable and Major Harjit Sajjan work for me for the past nine months of OPERATION ARCHER/ATHENA, Canada’s contribution to the global war on terror in Afghanistan. I must say that Major Sajjan is one of the most remarkable people I have worked with, and his contribution to the success of the mission and the safety of Canadian soldiers was nothing short of remarkable.
……..He was the best single Canadian intelligence asset in theatre, and his hard work, personal bravery, and dogged determination undoubtedly saved a multitude of Coalition lives. Through his courage and dedication, Major Sajjan has single-handedly changed the face of intelligence gathering and analysis in Afghanistan.
……..He tirelessly and selflessly devoted himself to piecing together the ground truth on tribal and Taliban networks in the Kandahar area, and his analysis was so compelling that it drove a number of large scale theatre-resourced efforts, including OPERATION MEDUSA, a large scale conventional combat operation that resulted in the defeat of the largest TB insurgent cell yet identified in Afghanistan, with over 1500 Taliban killed or captured. I rate him as one of the best intelligence officer I have ever worked with – fearless, smart, and personable, and I would not hesitate to have him on my staff at any time in the future.

Undoubtedly the Liberal party and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were aware of his contribution which prompted to stand by Sajjan. For the opposition, the words of Sikh MP, Raj Grewal are apt,
“Harjit Sajjan has served his country his entire life and I would highly encourage anyone who wants to criticize this Canadian Hero to walk a day in his shoes.”

After @HarjitSajjan's dispensable apology, he has demonstrated being a good Sikh & a perfect Canadian -an ideal combination of Sikh-Canadian pic.twitter.com/PUqKQd0uVM

— Harjinder S Kukreja (@SinghLions) May 2, 2017

Actually, as a tweet from Harjinder Singh Kukreja said, “Harjit Sajjan’s apology was dispensable”.  Not for Sajjan. The gentleman in him could not have accepted his own lapse and he readily owed up to the “mistake”. How many politicians and leaders in Canada and India do that? Those who live in glass houses should be careful about throwing stones at others, their turn is around the corner.

There is a quip popular among the Sikhs of yore, “Kabul de rehn walyan lahi nitt mohima -for the residents of Kabul, life is a continuing challenge.” Your three forays in Kabul have made you a part-time resident of the mountainous country and like the Sikhs of bygone days, whom you so ably represent, you will face such challenges from time to time.

“ I rate him as one of the best intelligence officer I have ever worked with – fearless, smart, and personable, and I would not hesitate to have him on my staff at any time in the future.” –Brigadier General David Fraser, Commander of Canada’s Coalition Task Force in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Across the globe, the alacrity with which the Indian print and online media, has picked up the words of the Canadian opposition in the Canadian Parliament is a new venture in Indian journalism. It is a surprisingly welcome sign that the Indian media is extensively reporting the happenings in the Canadian parliament.  The Indian state and media is growing beyond its shores, the problems of other countries are no longer their internal problems and via the same logic the problems of India cannot remain the internal affairs of the country.

When Sikh-Canadians and Canadian media talk about human rights violations in India and the biased role of India’s mainstream media, India too should have the guts to stomach that too, howsoever unpalatable that is.

It is time for Sikhs worldwide to express solidarity with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Harjit Singh Sajjan and overwhelm them with goodwill messages, as that is the only way to surpass that section of the Canadian media who has been going hammer and tongs against the Sikh minister now and has been after the Sikhs too in the past.

Join the #OurHeroSajjan campaign.