Punjab-origin lawmaker addresses Canadian legislature in Punjabi

Chandigarh, Nov 2

Rachna Singh, a Punjab-origin Parliamentary Secretary for anti-racism initiatives in Canada's British Columbia, has made history by addressing the legislature in Punjabi.

The MLA from Surrey-Green Timbers who is the daughter of a renowned Punjabi scholar Raghbir Singh Sirjana, made a brief introduction in the house in her mother tongue on Tuesday.

The occasion was the Punjab Day, when the present day state of Punjab came into being on November 1, 1966.

In her address, Rachna Singh recognised the sacrifices made by the supporters of a Punjabi speaking region in India.

She not only thanked the Canadian government for giving opportunities to the Punjabi language to grow in a foreign land, but also expressed her support to the indigenous peoples, who have been struggling to keep their mother languages alive since the time of colonialism in the country.

Rachna Singh, who spent initial years of life in Chandigarh, is the granddaughter of the prominent Punjabi playwright, the late Tera Singh Chann.