Yet despite the long history in Canada, Sikhs are still not accepted as Canadians, says Mr. Nagra. That’s why a city with a large South Asian population gets labelled as a ghetto, he says.
“There’s enclaves in Toronto for the Jewish community, the Italian community and even the Asian community,” Mr. Nagra said. “The negative is only associated with brown skin, whether it be blacks or South Asians. There’s only two places outside of Toronto that are labelled as ghettos, and that’s Brampton and Scarborough. It is racism. It’s naive to think race doesn’t play a role in what gets labelled as a ghetto.”
Racism also contributed to why an influx of Sikh immigrants watched white families choosing to leave and other white families opting not to move to Brampton, Mr. Nagra continues. He points to the language in the anti-Sikh flyers and racist comments that surface during City Council meetings on temple permits.
“At what point do I get freed and get to be seen as Canadian?” Mr. Nagra said. “Is it being born here? Is it having citizenship? Is it cheering for the Leafs? Is it playing hockey? Is it having some maple syrup? Doing the Terry Fox Run? Until I am not seen as a Canadian, my existence here offends people because of what I choose to wear. They can’t exist in my space. They’re offended that I exist in their space.”
