South Asian activists came together to show their support to the people of Attawapiskat at Holland Park in Surrey on Sunday evening.

There have been more 100 attempted suicides in the northern Ontario indigenous community during the past seven months.

Under the aegis of Radical Desi publications, progressive South Asian activists participated in a rally for residents of of the town, where an emergency has been declared.

Participants carried placards with slogans, including “South Asians in Solidarity with Attawapiskat”. The Mohawk warrior flag and flag of Ghadar Party were raised alongside each other on the occasion.

The Ghadar Party was established by South Asian radical activists in North America in 1913. It fought against British occupation of India and racism in Canada and the U.S. The party wanted to establish an egalitarian and secular society in post British India. Since the indigenous peoples and South Asians share a history of racism and colonialism, Radical Desi wanted to show its support to First Nations during crisis, which has sparked Canadawide protests.

Speakers were unanimous in their support for aboriginal people and emphasized their willingness to continue raising their voices against structural racism and violence against indigenous communities.

Among those who spoke on the occasion was NDP MLA Harry Bains. He was the only elected official from Surrey who showed up at the event. Other prominent speakers included veteran South Asian journalist Promod Puri, who threw light on the systemic racism against indigenous communities in Canada.

Others who participated included the Indian Rationalist Society leader Gurmail Gill, former Student Federation of India leader Hardev Singh, Fraser Valley Peace Council leader Minakshi Sidhu, Canadian Union of Public Employees representative Rachna Singh, Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians leader Saif Khalid, East Indian Defence Committee member Iqbal Purewal, progressive Punjabi poet Amrit Diwana, and Mewa Singh Cultural and Sports Association leader Santokh Dhesi. Mewa Singh was the first Indian martyr to be hanged in Canada in 1915 for assassinating a controversial immigration inspector William Hopkinson, who spied on supporters of the Ghadar Party.

A moment of silence was also observed in memory of a prominent progressive Punjabi writer and activist, Satnam, who died in India recently. Prior to his death, he conducted a first-hand study of indigenous peoples in India and the ongoing Maoist struggle in the tribal areas. His famous book Junglenama, which was based on his travel to the areas where the Maoist insurgency goes on, was translated into English by Penguin. The speakers noted that issues of land and indigenous rights in Canada and India are related.

Since it was the evening of May Day, slogans in memory of the martyrs of May 1 were also raised on the occasion. The speakers also shared their thoughts on the issues of concern to the working class.