By Zile Singh

This Society was registered with the BC government in 1977. It is nearing its Golden Jubilee. Some salient features of the Society are:  It is apolitical, non-profit, non-partisan, multicultural and multi-religious. Financially it is self-sufficient without any grant from the government so far.Its office bearers are chosen unanimously. The members and office bearers are from different professions and backgrounds with varied experience. 

Thursday, Eight of the Eighth, 2024, was a red-letter day in the history of the Society. Keeping in view the changing times and the emergence of new thought and enthusiasm, some major decisions were taken unanimously by all members present in the meeting. 

Since its inception, some office bearers have served for indefinite periods spanning from 5 to 15 years. In some cases, even till death. The Society’s Constitution is silent on this subject. However, for some time, ideas were brewing among members to do away with long tenures and some old Resolutions passed at different times in the past regarding holding of posts in the Executive Committee. Keeping in view the unity, and harmonious relations among members, the following six  office bearers  stepped down voluntarily paving the way for the newcomers. The outgoing office bearers were Mr. Gurpal Singh Pandher, (President); Manjit Singh Dhillon, (Vice President)  Amrik Singh Mann, (General Secretary); Jarnail Singh Sahota, (Treasurer),  Sucha Singh Claire and  Gurcharan Singh Waraich (Directors). The total number of office bearers or the Directors is eleven. The five directors retained from the previous committee are Mr. Raghbir Singh Uppal, Dinesh Malhotra, Gurdarshan Singh Matharoo, Kuldeep Singh Jagpal and Zile Singh. To elect the replacements for the outgoing six Directors, an election committee headed by Mr. Rajinder Singh Pandher, with  Jaswinder Singh Bajwa and Bhupinder Singh Dhillon as members,  was appointed. For six posts, seven nominations came forward. To avoid election, Mr. Sagan Gandhi, one of the nominees, was persuaded to withdraw to facilitate  six vacancies to be filled by  unanimous vote. He withdrew and was applauded by all. The new office bearers of the Society  are as follows: Dr. Gurbax Singh Sidhu,(President); Mukhtiar Singh Boparai, (Vice President);Surjit Singh Manhas, (General Secretary): Ajant Singh Sandhu, (Assistant Secretary): Dinesh Malhotra, (Treasurer); Kuldeep Singh Jagpal, (Assistant Treasurer), and Zile Singh, (Secretary Public Relations). Raghbir Singh Uppal, Gurdarshan Singh Matharoo, Balkar Singh Lalli and Makhan Singh Sandhu (Directors).

Zile Singh is a well respected Columnist, Writer and a Vipassana Meditater. He has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Rights.  He can be reached at zsnirwal@yahoo.ca