Mr. Speaker, 32 years ago, the Sikh community changed forever. In a deliberate attack ordered by the Indian government at the time, the Indian army stormed the Darbar Sahib complex, better known in the western world as the Golden Temple.
On June 1, 1984, the targeted attack on Sikhism's holiest shrine left a scar in the hearts of Sikhs across the world. Innocent lives were lost, the Sikh reference library was burned down, and the Darbar Sahib complex was destroyed.
As a proud Canadian and as a proud Sikh, the attack on the Darbar Sahib is important to me, because an injustice to a people, whether in the past or in the present, cannot be forgotten.
As Canadians and fellow citizens of the world, we have an obligation to continue the fight for justice for the innocent lives lost in June 1984 and to advocate for reconciliation as the way forward.
In 2016, the Darbar Sahib walls shine as brightly as ever, but the bullet holes that remain remind us that innocent lives were lost and that calls for peace and justice continue.