Tara Singh Hayer - first journalist to be killed in Canada for his work
The title of this posting is, I think, self-explanatory. Tara Singh Hayer was the founder and publisher of the Indo-Canadian Times, a punjabi language weekly based in Greater Vancouver which was established in 1978. Much of his writing focused on the Sikh hardliners in BC whom were attempting to gain control of the Sikh population, through control of the Sikh temples in BC (these same groups are where the Air India bombing suspects were drawn. "In 1988 he was excommunicated by a Sikh high priest in Amritsar, India, in an edict that also forbade all Sikhs from buying or reading the Indo-Canadian Times." He survived an assissination in 1988, though he was paralyzed and forced into a wheelchair - undetered, he continued to voice strong opposition to the hardline - fundamentalist elements of the BC Sikh community.
On Nov. 18, 1998, while getting out of his car and into his wheelchair in the garage of his home, he was shot to death. No one has been charged with his murder...do most Canadians even know whom he is?
In recent years, the Canadian media has presented cases of Canadian journalists killed in the line of duty - trying to bring forward the 'truth'. The name Zahra Kazemi, the Montreal based photo-journalist has been splashed across the headlines, and the Canadian government has made repeated requests for a formal investigation in Iran.
But what of a formal investigation in Canada into Hayer's death? Mind you, Kazemi's son has been available to news media to exhort the government into action. And Hayer's son...well, he'll a Liberal MLA in the BC Provincial government.
What is it about issues tied to sikh/indo-canadian fundamentalism, which eventually lead back to the disenfranchisement of the indo-canadian community resulting from Air India, that are so taboo? Amongst the three stratas, the micro level seems to be fulfilled as most adult indo-canadians in BC know whom Hayer was, and the mass media level know whom he is - a hero to the cause, a journalist whom died trying to share the truth with his readers. And the public commons level...
Mind you, the Indo-Canadian Times is a punjabi language paper - so not necessarily accessible to all. But the story of the Sikh fundamentalists (much like the ones whom blew up Air India) trying to gain control over BC's sikh temples - isn't that note worthy in the mass media? A journalist was murdered - yes. But what was he writing about at the time, what was his work - isn't that a story worth pursuing?
Here is a short synopsis:
- the fundamental groups in the BC Sikh community had for years had members sitting on the boards that govern individual temples (guruwaras);
- in fact, most boards were comprised almost entirely by members from these groups;
- after the Air India bombing, the sikh community in BC turned to their local temples (as had been done through the religion's history) for solace and guidance - the temples for the most part said very little in regard to open action/reaction to the bombings;
- Hayer railed against these groups for not being more vocal with their outrage over the bombings - he also wrote some controversial news stories which commenced rumours of financial irregularaties at several of the biggest sikh temples in BC and possible connections to Sikh terrorist groups in India;
- in the early to mid 90s, a wave of Sikh moderates are elected to the boards of most temples of BC - some promise to explore the financial irregularities;
- at about the same time, the ousted fundamentalist - later re-termed "traditionalist" mount a campaign to have the Tables and Chairs in the communal meal halls of most temples removed - citing Sikhs in India do not afford themselves the same luxuries and sit as equals on the floor;
- violence errupts in Sikh temples throughout BC as the community becomes factionalized into moderate (Tables & Chairs), or traditionalist (sitting on the floor);
- Hayer continues to write on these issues, but tries to focus attention back to the financial irregularites that resulted in the rhetoric of "Tables & Chairs";
- Hayer is murdered in mid-1998;
- an edict in late-1998 from the priest of the Golden Temple orders the removal of Tables and Chairs from all temples - everywhere;
- BC Temples and their elected boards individually vote on the edict: the result is the split of the BC Sikh religion into the moderate and traditionalist factions - each with its own temples across BC.