A Khukhrain?: Lost in Four Continents : Amarjit Chadha Autobiography

By Amarjit Chadha

As I reassess my life journey after my retirement from work, I remain confused because my mind carries the memory of my heritage, culture, family and past. My wife and my mother came from India, my father and I were born in Kenya, my son was born in England and daughter in Canada. My family originated from the Khukhrain clan, having roots in the Jhelum area now in Pakistan, roots that are being forgotten as time moves on, with my family moving from India, Kenya, and England, and settled now in Canada. I see myself as "A Khukhrain: Lost in Four Continents."

Perhaps my journey is similar to all who lost their homes, land, family and friends due to circumstances beyond their control (wars, racial conflicts, religious conflicts, colonial authoritarian policies, racism, etc.) and who then, through their desire to live to serve humanity and society, have put their lives together in a different country and environment and succeeded in making this world a better place. These people's lives, like those of my family and mine, were made better and secured by the warm welcome and assistance of wonderful citizens of the countries where these dislocated people located to.

To reach in time where I am now, my family and I have gone though major family, social and economic changes. The socio-geopolitical changes—largely caused by the British colonial policies and the weakness of my community and our leaders—has profoundly unrooted, re-established and settled my families with security and hope. This has dearly cost my family, retaining personal identify and culture as I moved and settled in four different countries and continents.
At the end of the reassessment of my life, I ask, "Does it really not matter where one's family originated from, or what the future holds for you, or what race you belong to, or what colour your skin is, or what language you speak, or whether you are a vegetarian or a meat eater? At the end of life, everyone's body will decompose into five elements and the soul will seek for God or nature for sanctuary.

Would one be reborn again in a different location? Thus I wonder, if we look at our evolution of cumulative birth and death, do we all belong to this shared universe with no countries and boundaries created artificially by human beings?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Jan 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9780228859543

Amarjit Chadha

Amar(jit) Chadha, P.Eng. (Ret.) FEC is a professional engineer with more than fifty years of diversified experience in transportation, municipal and industrial engineering, policy, strategic and functional planning, design and construction projects. Mr. Chadha has been responsible for the management and delivery of numerous projects throughout Central Canada and the United Kingdom. He has worked for the Manitoba government, engineering consultants, international engineering and construction companies, and for the City of Portage La Prairie in senior management positions. Mr. Chadha is a well-established member of the Canadian engineering industry.Amar has been recognized for providing public service excellence by the Manitoba government and is the recipient of Premier's Career Achievement Award, Partnership Award and Innovation Award. He has also received community service merit certificates from the Indo-Canadian community for his outstanding contributions and service to the community. Amar has served on the boards of the India Association, the National Association of Canadians of Indian Origin and the National Indio Council. He has also served as the president of Singh Sabha, Winnipeg. Mr. Chadha was the vice-president of the Manitoba Sikh Association and the building chairperson for the construction of the Punjab Cultural and Senior Centre project in Winnipeg.Amar is a Registered Professional Engineer with the Province of Manitoba, with a Master of Engineering Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Manitoba. He is a graduate of Plymouth University (UK) and was a Chartered Civil Engineer registered with the European Engineering Council. From 1987 to 1992 he was a visiting lecturer with the University of Manitoba, teaching Urban and Rural Transportation. Amar has participated in several Canadian and international technical and engineering committees and task-forces during his career.Amar did his junior school education in Kenya in a segregated/apartheid environment and took his mid-school education in India attending the Allen Memorial School in Mussoorie, India. In 1963 he went to England, where he completed his A Levels attending the Oxford College for Further Studies. Following that he completed his Civil Engineering Diploma with the University of Plymouth. After his university education, he worked in the United Kingdom till 1976. After 1976, Amar and his family immigrated to Canada.

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A Khukhrain?

- Lost in Four Continents

Amarjit Chadha Autobiography

Amarjit S. Chadha

A Khukhrain? - Lost in Four Continents

Copyright © 2021 by Amarjit S. Chadha

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-0-2288-5953-6 (Hardcover)

978-0-2288-5952-9 (Paperback)

978-0-2288-5954-3 (eBook)

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Khukhrain And Khatri Identity

Pioneer Family Of Kenya

Partition Of India

My Education In Mussoorie, India.

Teen Years And Growing Up In England

Plymouth

Articling To Become A Civil Engineer

Move To Manitoba

Challenges Faced At Work And Raising A Family

Systematic Discrimination In Canadian Society

Community Involvement

Indian Military Attack On Harmandir Sahib In 1984

Children’s School Years

Kenya Trip In 1990

Children University Years

Retirement From Manitoba Infrastructure And Transportation

2009 Trip To Kenya And India

Premier’s Career Achievement Award

Work After Retirement

Retired In Kelowna

A Khukhrain? - Lost In Four Continents

Appendix 1 – Family Tree

Appendix 2 – Letters To Editor

Appendix 3 – Chronology Of Key Events

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all who lost their homes, land, family, and friends, due to circumstances beyond their control (wars, racial conflicts, religious conflicts, colonial authoritarian policies, racism, etc.) and who then, through their desire to serve humanity and society, have re-put their life together in a different country and environment and succeeded in making this world a better place.

The book is also dedicated to wonderful people in the countries where these dislocated people relocated. These generous and caring human beings accepted and welcomed the newcomers and made the newcomers’ life comfortable and secure, and our world a better place to live in.

Countries and peoples that have accepted the refuges and immigrants are now the countries that are culturally, socially, and economically progressive due to contributions of old and newcomers—it is a wonderful win-win partnership for humanity!

My sincere thanks to the people of Kenya, India, United Kingdom, and lastly, my eventual homeland Canada for supporting my family and me in this journey! Also, l am very thankful that my family has been part of this journey.

Thank you.

Acknowledgements

I am acknowledging my dad, Mohan Singh Chadha; my mom, Satwant Kaur Chadha; and my eldest uncle, Mohinder Singh Chadha, for providing input, information, and written material regrading the family history prior to my birth.

My sincere appreciation goes to my Uncle Balwant Singh Chadha who was instrumental in putting together the family tree in Appendix 1.

Introduction

It has been approximately five years since I decided to retire at the age of 70. Yes, retire from work, so that I may drop unwanted hassles and go to pasture until I am no more… Yes, I now have time for myself. Time to spend with my loved ones if they want. I can play golf and seek peace with myself! These new prospects and having time for myself has raised many fundamental questions about life. Curiosity and reassessment about the beautiful life and vast journey my Creator has given me. To answer these, I sense I should relive my memories and document my thoughts.

My birth and early growing years can be compared to the bliss of fresh morning air during spring blossoms on a fine day. At the start of my life, with my birth, I woke up clueless. As I grew, I was energetic, curious, and wanted to learn. I enjoyed my environment with no worries, as my parents were always there for me. The carefree environment my parents and my Creator provided built my individual character. My mother taught me early that the strength of meditation and uttering God’s name brings peace, truth, and wisdom to an ignorant person like me. She guided me to believe in the teaching of our Gurus and the Granth Sahib Ji. As I grew, I found the path that my Gurus want me to take was exceedingly difficult, as the environment that surrounded me created many distractions. There were many challenges and difficulties I faced that I was unable to control or resolve. I had no choice but to leave these matters alone and hope for the best. The Granth Sahib Ji verses on page 250 (translated in English below) showed me the path to overcoming difficulties by having faith in God:

The Divine Guru (God) is my mother, the Divine Guru is my father; the Divine Guru is my Transcendent Lord and Master. The Divine Guru is my companion, the Destroyer of ignorance; the Divine Guru is my relative and brother; The Divine Guru is the Giver, the Teacher of the Lord’s Name. The Divine Guru is the Mantra which never fails; The Divine Guru is the Image of peace, truth, and wisdom. The Divine Guru is the Philosopher’s Stone - touching it, one is transformed. The Divine Guru is the sacred shrine of pilgrimage, and the pool of divine ambrosia; bathing in the Guru’s wisdom, one experiences the Infinite. The Divine Guru is the Creator, and the Destroyer of all sins; the Divine Guru is the Purifier of sinners. The Divine Guru existed at the primal beginning, throughout the ages, in each and every age. The Divine Guru is the Mantra of the Lord’s Name; chanting it, one is saved. God, please be merciful to me, that I may be with the Divine Guru; I am a foolish sinner, but holding onto Him, I am carried across. The Divine Guru is the True Guru, the Supreme Lord God, the Transcendent Lord; Nanak bows in humble reverence to the Lord, the Divine Guru

As I grew into my teens, I learned that to survive, one had to establish and have a vital position in the society in which one lives. To achieve this, I tried to make myself popular and known in the society and friends through various means. Success and winning was the goal in my teens! Sadly, sometimes to achieve this success, I competed and many times overshadowed other’s achievements, including those of loved ones. I learned to do this ethically and sometimes by cheating! All these desires to compete and do better were good if done ethically but not by means that put others unfairly at a disadvantage. As time passed, with the ever-changing environment around me, I developed skills for my own survival and learned there were better long-term rewards through hard work and trust. However, as I became physically strong and mentally mature, good life blinded me. I became engrossed in pride and lust, and I assumed my youth would be endless.

I grew up as a child with my parents, three younger brothers, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends in Kericho, Kenya. I went to Mussoorie, India, at the age of 12 for my high school education at a Christian boarding school. After finishing high school at the age of 16, I departed to England for a university education. On completing my education in 1967, I worked in England until 1973. After that, my family and I immigrated to Canada. I was 27 years old when I got married. Lord gifted me my wife, Narveen, and two lovely children (Narjit and Neelam), one boy and a girl. This was perhaps the best aspect of my life, along with being born and having the best parents in the world. My wife, a true friend and a lifetime true companion, assisted me in dealing with the loss of my parents in the early part of my life. She is a person I relied on and who really keeps on taking good care of me devotedly and selflessly—she is a true angel!

Now with my aging, I am losing contact with most of the people I knew. They are not in my life because of their natural demise, my relocation to new countries, and because of disagreements with some. Time makes you realize that youth wears out and old age wins. My body is now weak. My memory and intelligence have diminished. My eyesight is wearing out. I have started losing my hearing ability. I am losing my hair and greying. I am becoming more dependant as I am aging. I am taking more medications to stabilize my health. Looks like I am heading toward being dependant on my loved ones, as I was at birth. Guess what? It is my wife who is now looking after me as much as my mother did when I was born! A major emptiness in my life is that God has not yet blessed my wife and I with grandchildren. I hope our prayers reach the almighty so that he gives us and our children this valuable gift. Because without God’s Command, no one is blessed. I thus trying to find peace and understanding through five hymns of Japji Sahib (below), which comfort me.

By thinking and thinking again a hundred thousand times, one cannot find a solution. By being quiet, peace cannot be found even if poised deep in meditation forever. The hunger of the hungry cannot be quenched if food is carried as baggage. One may possess a hundred thousand clever ideas, but even one will not accompany one. Then, how can one be purified? How can one throw away the falsehood? Says Nanak, By Abiding by the Command of God, which is written along with everyone! ||1||

By Your Command entities are formed. Your Command cannot be predicted. With your Command one obtains respect and is praised. By Your Command Ups and Downs occur. With Your Command is written suffering and happiness. Without Your Command, no one is blessed. With your Command one lives in perpetual migrations. Everyone in Within Your Command, none is outside God’s Order. Says Nanak, Whosoever realizes Your Command, never speaks in ego. ||2||

Many sing of God’s power, who has that power. Many sing of the Gift, who knows the sign. Many sing of virtues, praises, and greatness. Many sing of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. Many sing about how God creates and destroys. Many sings about how God takes life and then restores it. Many sing, chant, and see far. Many sings that God watches, is ever-present one-on-one. There is no shortage of those who preach and teach. Millions upon millions offer millions of sermons and stories. The Great Giver keeps on giving, the receivers grow weary of receiving. Throughout the ages, the consumers keep on consuming.

The Commander, by Command, leads us to walk on the Path. Nanak, only God blossoms forth, carefree and untroubled. ||3||

True Master, True is His Name – Meditate it with utmost humility and deep love. Ask and plead, Give, give - The Giver gives in abundance. What can we place before Him, by which the Darbaar can be seen? What words can our mouth utter, listening to which His Love is gained? In the Ambrosial period, dwell upon His True Name and praises. With good past karmas, this robe is obtained, By His Grace, the Gate of Liberation is found. Nanak, know this well: Everything is in the Righteous Lord! ||4||

He cannot be established; By doing it cannot be done. He Himself is Immaculate and Pure. Whoever serves Him receives honour. Nanak sings - Only Lord has endless Virtues. Sing, listen, and keep your mind humble. For your pains, take home every peace. The Guru’s Word is the Sound-current, wisdom of the Vedas and remains the ultimate protector. The Guru is Shiva, Gorak, and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi. Even knowing Him, I cannot describe Him; He is beyond description in words. The Guru has extinguished this doubt: All creatures have only the one God – May I never forget. ||5||

To reach in time where I am now, my family and I have gone though major family, social, and economic disruptions. The socio-geopolitical changes caused largely by the British colonial policies and the weakness of my community and our leaders to allow that to happen profoundly unrooted and over time re-established my families in different countries. This change has challenged my family to retain personal identity, tradition, dignity, and culture, as I settled at different times in four different countries and continents in my life

My family originated from the Khukhrain clan, having roots in Jhelum area, which is now in Pakistan. My wife and my mother came from India, my father and I were born in Kenya, my son was born in England, and my daughter in Canada. Having lived on four continents, I see myself as A Khukhrain - Lost on Four Continents. Will my cultural roots be forgotten as time moves on, with my family moving from India to Kenya, to England and settled now in Canada? Some even settled in Australia. Am I truly a lost Khukhrain with no definable identity because my family lost their home and land due to the India/Pakistan partition and my family and I moving from Kenya, where I was born, to United Kingdom and now finally in Canada? Who am I? Where do I belong? I am seeking the truth!

Indian religious scriptures mention that our universe is governed by five elements of nature—Sky, Air, Fire, Water, and the Earth. All living bodies are made and powered from these five elements and God has infused souls in these bodies. These bodies are endowed with five sensory organs—Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, and the Skin. They do not create anything new. They merely sense something external to us and relay the information to the brain. These elements help the five sensory organs to sense—like we can feel a cool breeze, hear the sounds through the sky, see and feel fire, taste the sweetness of water, and enjoy all that earth produces, including the fragrance of flowers, vegetables, and the taste of fruits. Without these five elements, there is no life!

The Sikh and Hindu religions mention that there are five fundamental vices that impact the good living. The five cardinal vices are Kam (Lust), Krodh (Anger), Lobh (Greed), Moh (Worldly attachment), Ahankar (Pride). These are the great enemies of man and cause much suffering. To avoid these vices, we must, though our five senses, be able to recognize each vice then develop the will to overcome it. It is with our own will and behaviour that these five vices may be turned into our humble servants. Instead of these vices controlling us, they may do us service at our bidding. Lust (Kam) is sinful and produces nothing but shame and misery. Anger is an excitement of the mind that leads to quarrels and violence. Anger is overcome by patience and forgiveness. Greed is the desire for wealth or the love of gain. Money rightly earned and correctly used is ethical. Objectionable is an excessive love of money—especially money obtained by fraud or other unfair means. All too often, excessive wealth creates an ongoing desire for luxury and the admission to vice. A vice can be overcome by contentment. Attachment is the excessive love of material goods. Regard your near and dear ones as objects of trust and service and not your property. They cannot remain yours for long. Pride is the worst of the five vices. It implies conceit, vanity, jealousy, or arrogance. It is the Ego, thinking aloud. Racism falls into this category. The remedy for pride is humility. Humility, forgiveness, and compassion go together. The true human regards himself as being the dust of the feet of other people.

So, does it really matter where you or your family originated from and what the future holds for you? Though one needs to prepare for future, should one be concerned what the future holds for you? What race you belong to? The colour of your skin? What language you speak? Whether you are a vegetarian or a meat eater? At the end of life, every one’s body will discompose into five elements and every soul will seek God for sanctuary or return into another body, depending upon how effectively you have dealt with vices during your life. One will originate again in a different location and thus perhaps if we look at our cumulative birth and death journey, we belong to this universe with no countries and boundaries created artificially by human beings. Is God everything and we are all part of God? Are we all immigrants with temporary, invisible visas on this earth?

Whether one believe in God or not, a good life is one in which a person has effectively dealt with one’s vices and is a valuable, positive, life-sustaining part of our universe.

With my education in India and then studying and working in England and Canada, I gained and learned a lot from other cultures. I can honestly say being born in Kenya, settling in the United Kingdom, and later in Canada, have been among the best gifts the Creator has provided my family and I. In these wonderful countries, I was raised, educated, and always employed for over 48 years as a Civil Engineer in senior positions with the government and within the private sector. I loved my profession with all the innovations, management, technical solutions, and problem-solving opportunities that it gave me. My work and my service were well recognized by my peers, colleagues, and employers when I retired.

My wonderful Canada and its inhabitants have given my family and I a place we truly call ‘home’. This nation has humbly taken major strides in accepting and addressing wrongs that were done to minorities, First Nations, and the natural environment. My Canada is a home for all cultures who immigrated and lived here. My family and children are happy and secure here. I was not secure when I grew up as a second-class citizen under colonial rule and with its upheavals!

My present is my identity, as what matters is now. That defines me. The past reflects gone good or bad experience and seems like a dream. Past events could be compared to a good dream or a bad dream. The past is no more. What matters is now and tomorrow and not yesterday! One can deal with now and plan for tomorrow. The past is gone and is a memory. My present tells me I am happy, and I do have an identity. I am a Canadian, my family are all Canadians. We are from Punjabi origin.

We live in the best country in the world, and that is recognized globally. In Canada, we are all immigrants, and the message to racists, religious bigots, and bigots in this country is that if they do not accept Canadian values then they should go back home to wherever they are from! For tomorrow, my family and I have hope that our Canada will continually make life better here and around the globe for all God’s creatures.

Khukhrain¹ And Khatri Identity

Early in my life, I learned from my parents and grand parents that my family are Sikhs originating from the Khukhrain clan having roots in the Jhelum area, which is now in Pakistan.

Location of Jhelum

The Khukhrain are an ancient group of eight specific clans of the Khatri caste. The names of the eight clans are: Anand, Bhasin, Chadha, Kohli, Sabharwal, Sahni, Sethi, and Suri. Later, three new sub-clans originated, and those were Chandok (Chandhoke, Chandhok, Ghandhok), Chhachi (Chachi, Chhachhi), a sub-section of the Kohli clan, and Ghai.

The Punjabi word Khukhrain splits up to give two different words: KUKH and RAIN. In Punjabi, the word Ksh sounds as ‘kh’. Thus, Sanskrit word Kshatriya is pronounced as ‘Khatri’. Thus, Khukhrain are the descendants of King Kush who was the elder son of Lord Ram. The word kushrayan came into existence around 2,500-3,000 years ago during 322 BC, though it was earlier famous with different names, such as Kaushal Dynasty, sun dynasty (Suryavansh), and many more. The history of Khukhrain was almost silent before 490 BC. They were mentioned in the history of Kaushal Dynasty’s Maha Padam Anand who founded Anand Dynasty (mispronounced as Nanda Dynasty) after defeating Maha Nandin the king of Magdha. Maha Padam Anand was son of Maha Nandin. He was succeeded by his eight sons—the eldest son, called Dhan Anand, Kual Hari, Shoor Sen, Bhuseen, Shesh Shaini, Chamunde, Surath Raj, and the youngest one, Shubharwar.