A member of the Sikh community is the first to join the legion in Oliver. And as Remembrance Day approaches, there’s nothing but pride coming for Oliver’s newest legion member.
When Jagmel Singh Sira served in the Indian army to work in telecommunication he had a reputation as being one of the best.
Now the 82-year-old holds another honour — the first Sikh to join the Royal Canadian Legion in Oliver.
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“By accepting my membership, I am very proud of this thing. It is not easy to get into the Legion.”
While there are dozens of Sikh Legion members already on the Coast, Sira quite possibly is the first in the Okanagan.
Sira joined the Indian army in 1946, playing a prominent role maintaining and operating radio equipment for the front lines.
He moved to Canada to farm. He also decided he wanted to join the legion — for the comradery.
But there was one thing that was preventing that — turbans weren’t allowed until recently.
“We took the initiative to amend our regulations in Oliver to allow headdress for religious purposes,” says Legion president, Chris Yerburgh.
Sikh turbans have been a source of contention for years but times have changed and Yerburgh says there was no dissent among the executive or the members when it came up.
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