Canada to release stamp to honour Sikh soldiers this Sunday

The Canadian government will release a commemorative stamp this Sunday to honour over 100 years of service of Sikh soldiers to the national military.

The stamp, drafted by Canada Post, also pays tributes to the Sikhs currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and will be released at a special ceremony during the Remembrance Day event which the Sikh community marks annually on November 2.

"The Canadian Government has decided to release a commemorative stamp in the honour of the Sikh Canadian Soldiers. Produced by Canada post this will be unveiled in the 18th Annual Sikh Remembrance Day ceremony hosted by the Sikh Community on November 2. The Canada Post stamp honours the service of Sikh soldiers in the Canadian military for over 100 years dating back to the 10 Sikh soldiers accepted in the military during the First World War. The stamp also pays tribute to Sikhs serving in today’s Canadian Armed Forces," said ex-MP Tarlochan Singh today, while hailing the move.

The Remembrance Day ceremony, he said, was the apt occasion to release the stamp for the public for the first time as this is a ceremony which salutes Sikh soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting alongside the allies of Canada in the World Wars as part of the British Indian Army.

The Remembrance Day is annually marked at the grave of Private Bukkan Singh, the only known military grave of a Sikh soldier in Canada from the World Wars.

Historical records show that only 10 Sikh soldiers were accepted when thousands pursued joining the Canadian army at the start of the First World War.

Private Bukkan Singh was one of them and fought with the 20th Canadian Infantry Battalion in France and Belgium. He was wounded and died at a Canadian military hospital in Kitchener Ontario in 1919. Singh was buried with full military honours and his 106-year-old grave now serves as the location for the annual Sikh Remembrance Day ceremony on November 2.

Canada has earlier issued two commemorative stamps in the honour of the Sikh community. On April 19, 1999, André Ouellet, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Canada Post Corporation, announced a commemorative stamp in conjunction with the 300th anniversary of Baisakhi.

The stamp featured the Khanda, a symbol inherent to the Sikh flag and literally meaning double-edged sword. Khanda symbolises divine knowledge.

Historical references say that one of the first Sikhs to arrive in Canada was in 1897 as part of a British Army unit.

In 2014 Komagata Maru stamp was released to mark the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident, when 376 passengers from British India, including Sikhs and Hindus, faced racism and were denied entry to Canada in 1914.