It seems Canadian politicians will go to any lengths to curry favour with ethno-religious communities, who they treat as vote banks. First it was Jack Layton with his now famous call to Muslims "to renew the spirit and faith in Islam,"� and now it is Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
If Mr. Layton was bending over backward to win the Muslim vote, Prime Minister Harper went the extra yard -- all the way to the northern Indian city of Amritsar to cater to the Sikh vote in Canada by visiting the sacred Golden Temple.
One may argue that a visit to the Golden Temple by Mr. Harper, and before him Jean Chretien, is equivalent to meeting the Pope while visiting the Vatican or paying homage at the Yad Vashem while visiting Israel.
However, there is a huge difference. The Vatican is a Catholic state on its own, not a part of Italy, while the Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial for the victims of the Holocaust, not a synagogue. Had the Golden Temple been an official Indian national symbol, it would have been Indian officials who would want foreign dignitaries and heads of governments to pay homage there.
In this case it has been Canadian PMs and our Foreign Office that asks the Indians to include a visit to the Temple on the itinerary.
In India's 60 years as a country, numerous world leaders have visited that country, but other than Canadian prime ministers and one British, no one includes the Golden Temple on their itinerary. Bill Clinton did not visit the Temple nor did Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev or former Chinese Premier Zhou en-Lai. The leaders of India's neighbouring countries Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka too have visited India, but none of them has felt the need to pay a visit to Amritsar. Why then do Canadian leaders have to go through this exercise?
It is worth noting that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, himself a Sikh, was not with Harper during the chaotic visit on Wednesday.
And if the visit to the Golden Temple was an act to show respect to the religions of Indo-Canadians, then why did PM Harper not visit the city of Banaras that is holy to Hindus or to the shrine in Ajmer that is sacred to Muslim Indians? Perhaps he could have visited the southern state of Kerala where the first Christians are said to have arrived in India. Do Indian Christians not deserve some recognition and respect?
The fact is Mr. Harper's visit to the Temple had little to do with religion or business. In fact, it has all the hallmarks of Canada's ethnic politics, which is an insult to those of us who are from that part of the world and who came to Canada to get away from the mixing of religion and politics.
Bhagat Taggar, a prominent Sikh community activist currently visiting India told me on the phone, "Everyone in the Sikh community understands the visit to the Golden Temple is aimed at Sikh Canadians in a few crucial tight ridings in B.C. and the Peel Region. Jean Chretien did it in 2003 and now Stephen Harper is using the same Liberal playbook to chip away at the Liberal Party ethnic vote. As a Sikh I feel insulted when my faith is used to gain political advantage. We Canadians should keep religion and politics separate. All Canadian politicians should stop visiting temples to garner the support of the Sikh community. The gurdwara is a place of worship, not politics."�
India deserves the respect of all Canadians for what it has accomplished in the six decades as a free country, and kudos to Mr. Harper to have taken the initiative to build stronger links with New Delhi. Compared to the oil-rich countries of the region, flush with petrodollars and low density of population, India with few natural resources and a massive population has outstripped all. One aspect of India is its secularism, which guarantees religious freedom, but keeps religion and politics separate as best as it can.
It is this secularism that PM Harper should have embraced as an Indian value.
However, it seems the same doctrine of ethnic politics that tainted the last Liberal Party leadership race in Montreal is being employed by his staff to use an overseas trip to influence voters back home. Buying and selling votes as if the ethnic groups were some sort of sheep to be traded in bulk is demeaning to most of us, but who will convey this to the folks who surround Canadian politicians.
Without doubt the visit to the Temple was to help in the fight for a few tight seats. It does not matter whether it is the Liberals, Conservatives or the NDP, all of them will sink to the lowest level of ethnic politics to curry favour with Indo-Canadian votes. What they all seem not to recognize is that they are insulting us by treating us like imbeciles and as B-grade Canadians who would be swept off our feet by the sight of a Canadian leader in an orange, white or green headscarf putting his palms together and saying "Sat Sri Akal, Namaste or Salaam-alaikum."�
National Post
Tarek Fatah is a Toronto writer and broadcaster. He is the author of Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State (Wiley 2008).
photo: Stephen Harper and Punjab state Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal visit the Sikh shrine the Golden Temple on Nov. 18, 2009. (Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images)
"Ethnic politics"---the Liberals would never have stooped to such shenanigans.
Why is it that the Liberals feel that they should hold a monopoly where 'new' Canadians are concerned?
'New' Canadians come in all political stripes ranging from the 'liberal' to the 'conservative'---they should vote according to their political tastes rather than to one party alone out of some misplaced gratitude for having allowed them in.
It's bs politics in the world of bs politics. It means nothing either way...and history and voting patterns have proven that 'ethnic' voters are like any voter...they like to be pandered too.
Ask yourself why we've had so many successive liberal governments despite them being corrupt etc....
Tarek Fatah's thesis falls down entirely when he himself asks:
"And if the visit to the Golden Temple was an act to show respect to the religions of Indo-Canadians, then why did PM Harper not visit the city of Banaras that is holy to Hindus or to the shrine in Ajmer that is sacred to Muslim Indians?"
But the reverse question is equally valid: If the PM were primarily interested in currying favour with Indo-Canadian voters, why not visit those places as well?
Fatah's conclusion that the PM wants to impress Sikhs but cares not a whit about about the millions of other Indo-Canadian voters is too preposterous to be taken seriously.
As a born Caucasian Canadian I thought it strange Harper would visit the Golden Temple, when I know there are different religions with in India of whom many immigrated to Canada. They should not visit any temples, but once again Chretien is to blame for starting these stupid moves. I agree with the author of this article, stay away from religion in Politics.
I am no fan of Harper but his visit to India, one of the emerging powerful economies, is absolutely essential to the economic interests of Canada. Canadian business could use more of such visits. Not making such a visit would have been simply malpractice. What is wrong with going to Golden Temple or seeking ethnic votes? They pay their taxes, unlike you, and have the same rights as anyone else. Tarek look yourself in the mirror and see who you are? You are ethnic and may be you may ashamed of the color of your skin and if so that is your problem. Most ethnic minorities are who they are and proud of themselves and want to be judged by their actions and not the color of their skin. You should be ashamed of yourself for continuously badmouthing your own people or other minorities. Obviously you have a chip on your shoulder, get over it and get a job and stop being a leach on the society, or else you can simply go to hell, you are one of the most disgusting things, I won't call you a person because you are not.
Who cares. Don't make things out of nothing.
Maybe he was asked to visit there and not asked to visit the other locations.
As the USA goes down the tubes and places barriers between itself and Canada such as the 'Buy America' policy---the PM is doing the right thing in beating the global bushes for trade agreements to mitigate the damage caused by the financial buffoonery to our South.
Read Full Article »