jugnistyle.com

Growing up, my entry points to religion and spirituality were weekly visits to the gurdwara and nightly (or weekly?) mandatory simran sessions overlooked by my mom. Eyes tracked on the digital clock, waiting for the five or ten minute session to end

The joy always comes in colours. Some days I am a blank canvas or a faded photograph but today my love I am a phulkari

It has been almost fifty years since a person of South Asian descent served on council – V Setty Pendakur still remains the first and only South Asian to be elected to Vancouver city council in 1972. This means that elders and children require ethnoculturally safe care and working age people need jobs with fair wages that can keep up with the rising cost of living. Inspired by youth-led movements such as Jugni Style, the Nameless Collective Podcast, Didihood, and South Asian Arts, my campaign takes the approach of 21st-century creative ideas to the toughest issues in Vancouver. Most importantly, all eligible voters will need to show up at voting stations in large numbers on advanced voting days (October 10-17) and on election day (October 20).

What can we do when the people controlling the public narrative about us and our communities are white male journalists and South Asian community “insiders” who have almost exclusively set the tone and provided analysis of South Asians in the news for the past thirty-five years? It’s been inspiring, moving and invigorating to see the surge of younger South Asian voices across Canada and the USA and UK speak up and offer counter views to who we are, what we stand for, and most importantly, that our communities are diverse, with differing views on faith, social issues, politics and everything else. It’s time this old guard opened up to the idea that there are a multitude of voices and a depth of nuance to how South Asians and Sikhs think, operate, see themselves and see their relationship to India, Pakistan, Punjab, Burma, South Asia and yes, even Khalistan. The Nameless Collective Podcast is hosted by Milan Singh, Naveen Girn and Paneet Singh, and is produced by Jugni Style.com and Manjot Bains, with sound engineering and additional production by Devinder Singh.