Meet DARPAN Extraordinary Achievements Award Winners 2017

DARPAN Magazine, hosted its 8th Annual Awards in the company of esteemed social, business and political elites. This spectacular red carpet event took place at Aria Convention Centre in Surrey on September 15.

Ten amazing individuals from the South Asian community were recognized for their extraordinary achievements and for reflecting their heritage in a remarkable way.

These 10 South Asians, identified as leaders, who embody the spirit of community and give back to greater Canadian society, were honoured with the prestigious Darpan Extraordinary Achievement Award. These recipients were:

1. International Sensation Award: Ravi Singh

Ravi Singh is the CEO and Founder of international humanitarian charity Khalsa Aid which was founded in 1999. Khalsa Aid is an international non-profit aid and relief organization founded on the Sikh principles of selfless service and universal love.

It has provided relief assistance to victims of disasters, wars, and other tragic events around the world. Singh has dedicated his life to providing humanitarian aid in disaster and war zones since Khalsa Aid’s inception which has led him to the frontline in countries such as Kosovo, DR Congo, Somalia, Syria and Iraq. Khаlѕа Aіd hаѕ lаunсhеd оvеr 25 Intеrnаtіоnаl Emеrgеnсу Rеlіеf Mіѕѕіоnѕ оvеr thе lаѕt 16 уеаrѕ аnd rаіѕеѕ the awareness of Sіkhѕ bеlіеfѕ аnd vаluеѕ wоrldwіdе.

Singh is a recognised advocate and speaker on humanitarian causes and has spoken regularly on national and international media on topics from the importance and dangers of field work to being a voice for oppressed minorities. He is also a recognised TEDx speaker. Singh’s rеlіеf wоrk wаѕ rесоgnіsеd оn thе UK nаtіоnаl tеlеvіѕіоn show “Surрrіѕе Surрrіѕе”.

He wаѕ rеwаrdеd fоr his еxtrаоrdіnаrу соmmіtmеnt towards рrоvіdіng thе rеlіеf аіd tо Burrоwbrіdgе, Sоmеrѕеt, durіng thе flооdіng thеrе. In 2016, BBC made a documentary around Singh’s work in Northern Iraq titled The Selfless Sikh: Faith on the Frontlines. The film follows Singh’s journey as he provides aid to Yazidi families who have fled their homes to escape the brutality of Islamic State.

2. Young Wonder Award: Ali Janjiana

Ali Janjiana, a graduate from Frank Hurt Secondary, was awarded the prestigious 2017 Schulich Leader Scholarship of $100,000 to study engineering at UBC. He was among just 50 teens selected nationwide to receive the scholarship.

Janjiana was chosen from a pool of more than 1,300 nominees for their outstanding academic and extra-curricular achievements. The scholarship is awarded to study science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) at participating universities in Canada.

3. Artistic Visionary Award: Vic Sarin

Vic Sarin’s career includes award-winning feature films, documentaries and television movies. Sarin began his career in Australia making documentaries that he produced, wrote, directed and shot, while working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a cameraman. He then emigrated to Canada and went on to become one of Canada's most celebrated Directors of Photography, receiving numerous accolades including Genie, Gemini and Emmy nominations and awards among others.

Sarin is the recipient of the prestigious Kodak Lifetime Achievement Award for having created some of Canadian cinema’s most moving and memorable images. He wrote his first feature film screenplay Partition, a story of love set against the turmoil at the end of the British reign of India in 1947, based on events he had heard about and witnessed growing up in Kashmir.

Sarin has recently completed Desert Riders, a feature documentary exploring the world of children camel jockeys in the Middle East; the globally-shot feature documentary Hue: A Matter of Colour, an exploration of colourism in various cultures through Sarin’s perspective; and The Boy From Geita, following the journey of a young Tanzanian boy with albinism.

He is currently filming Keepers of the Magic, a documentary delving into the hearts and minds of the world’s master cinematographers, and is also co-writing and will direct the epic feature film Jack of Diamonds, celebrating the journey of maverick Canadian geologist Jack Williamson.

4. Industry Marvel Award: Dr. Nemy Banthia

Dr. Nemkumar Banthia is a Professor of Civil Engineering, Distinguished University Scholar and a Canada Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Dr. Banthia obtained his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 1987 on Impact Resistance of Concrete, and since then he has been actively pursuing research in the areas of cement-based and polymer-based fiber reinforced composites.

He has edited/co-edited fifteen volumes, published over 250 technical papers, and holds three international patents. A professional engineer in the province of BC, Dr. Banthia serves on the technical committees of various professional societies including the American Concrete Institute where he chairs the committee on fiber reinforced concrete, RILEM where he chairs the Technical Committee on FRP-Concrete Bond, and the Canadian Standards Association where he chairs the Durability Committee of the Highway Bridge Design Code. He also serves on the Editorial Boards of four international journals.

Dr. Banthia has received various honours and awards worldwide including the WG Hislop Award of the ACI-BC Chapter, four Best Paper Awards, and the Wason Medal from the American Concrete Institute.

More recently he was honoured by the British Columbia Innovation Council by its coveted Solutions Through Research Award and jointly by the Seoul National University and the Korea Concrete Institute by their Distinguished Researcher Award. Dr. Banthia is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, the Indian Concrete Institute and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

5. Advancing Philanthropy Award: Sardul S. Gill

Born and raised in Victoria, Sardul Gill is actively involved in the local Sikh community where he is well known as a philanthropist and community elder. He donated $5 million to the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business, establishing a permanent endowment for scholarships and financial awards, international projects, teaching and research.

The Sardul S. Gill Graduate School at UVic marks the first time in Canada that such an institution has been named for a philanthropist of Sikh Indian descent and was the largest gift received from an alumnus to a graduate program at the university.

6. Community Crusader Award: Jag Khosa

Sergeant Jag Khosa has been involved in policing for the past 12 years in both B.C. and Alberta; and originally was member of the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia (OCABC) in 2005, before joining the Edmonton Police Service. He came back to OCABC in 2011.

As an OCABC member working within the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit-BC, Sergeant Khosa has been a part of many investigations relating to homicides, international drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and other activities of organized crime groups in order to disrupt and suppress gangs and organized crime groups across Canada. In 2016, Sergeant Khosa transitioned into the role of Gang Intervention Officer for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit-BC.

In his current role as the Gang Intervention Officer for the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit-BC, Sergeant Khosa is responsible for building stronger relationship with communities and other partner police agencies to develop a wide spectrum of engagement, prevention, education, intervention, suppression, and enforcement strategies.

7. Corporate Engagement Award: Manjit Minhas

Manjit Minhas is a Canadian entrepreneur, television personality and venture capitalist. She is co-founder and CEO of Minhas Breweries & Distillery, manufacturer of beer brands such as Boxer Lager, Lazy Mutt Ale and Huber Bock. Minhas was announced as one of the new dragons on Season 10 of the Canadian reality television series Dragons’ Den in 2015 for its tenth season.

Minhas started her companies at the age of 19, when she launched her beer in Alberta with her partner and brother, Ravinder Minhas. Currently, she has over 90 brands of beers, spirits, liqueurs and wines. Her products are sold in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia, as well as 43 states throughout the USA and 15 other countries in Europe, Asia and South America.

The beer baroness has spoken at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, the Haskayne School of Business at The University of Calgary, at the London Economic Development Conference and many other places. As a keynote speaker, Minhas frequently shares the secrets of her success with aspiring MBA, engineering and other students as well as entrepreneurs and seasoned business people.

8. Breaking Barriers Award: Ken Herar

Ken Herar is the founder of Cycling4Diversity (C4D) Foundation. The organization’s journey started in 2011 to celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development on May 21, a day proclaimed by the United Nations.

The C4D Foundation combines the art of cycling and intercultural dialogue and having the fortunate opportunity through our travels to speak to thousands about our message: Building bridges of dialogue, one city at a time. In 2007, Herar received the “Champion of Diversity” at the Fraser Valley Cultural Diversity Awards and the Arts and Culture Service Award and a Certificate of Accomplishment from the District of Mission.

He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from Her Majesty in 2012 for multiculturalism and public service. In 2014, Herar received the Community/Literary Ambassador Award, from the Writer’s International Network. He has written articles for several publications and been a regular public speaker on topics of race-relation and cultural polarization issues. Herar is an active tennis player and holds a national ranking.

9. Heritage Defender Award: South Asian Arts

South Asian Arts (SAA) was co-founded by Gurpreet Sian and Raakhi Sinha in 2005 with an aim to balance the lives of children and adults and develop their individuality through the arts, creating a passion for life. Since then, the organization has been active in promoting South Asian dance, music, and culture via dance and music classes, professional performances and workshops, guest lectures, as well as children’s cultural summer camps.

The team has travelled across British Columbia and taught over 30,000 students in both Elementary and Secondary schools. In September 2010 and January 2011, SAA offered the first University accredited Bhangra dance class in North America at Simon Fraser University. Over the past six years, SAA has partnered with some amazing organizations including New Works, the PuSh Festival, neworldtheatre, and the Cultural Olympiad just to name a few.

In 2009, the co-founders wrote, created, and produced an outdoor, interactive, dance and live music play called Bollywood Wedding, which was awarded the “Best Outdoor Interactive Theatre Events of 2009” by the Georgia Straight.

With prestigious South Asian dance and music performances ranging from the 2009 Juno Awards to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, SAA has become a premier organization successfully promoting the rich cultural diversity of British Columbian artists to widespread audiences.

10. Spirit of Sport Award: Eric Basran

Eric Basran is an 18-year-old Team Canada boxer and two time silver medalist from Surrey. He won his final match of the Canadian National Boxing Championship, making him the 2017 title holder for elite men in the 56-kg category.

Baran recently won both his matches at the Ken Goff Memorial Boxing Classic in May against Cuba. Up until the beginning of the year, Basran was playing for the Queensborough Boxing Club and represented Team BC and won gold at the 2017 Oregon Golden Gloves boxing tournament.