Burnaby-based Spice Radio created a history of sorts by honouring an Indigenous activist on the martyrdom day of three Indian revolutionaries who were executed for waging war against British occupation of India.

Cecilia Point from the Musqueam Band was given Spice Radio’s annual anti-Racism award at an event held on Saturday, March 23 at Surrey City Hall.

The event was held to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and celebrate Holi—the Indian festival of colours. Spice Radio’s campaign Hands Against Racism started in 2015 tries to link the fight against racism with Holi.

The March 23 event coincided with the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru who were executed in British India in 1931. The three men were part of the radical movement that believed in an armed rebellion against colonialism and wanted to establish an egalitarian and just society.

Spice Radio CEO Shushma Datt opened the event with a moment of silence in memory of the victims of recent Christchurch mass shootings and the martyrdom of these three heroes. 

On March 15, a white supremacist had killed 50 innocent people in a shooting spree at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Later, a song dedicated to the three martyrs was sung by Vishaljeet Kaur.

Like every year, this time two people were honoured by Spice Radio for standing up against racism. The other award recipient, Niki Sharma, is of Indian origin and is a former Vancouver park board commissioner.

Point has been actively involved in grassroots campaigns, including the one for justice to the missing and murdered Indigenous women. Point has also been vocal against repression of Indigenous peoples and other visible minority groups in Canada.

The award that was given to Point on such an important day in the history of India became meaningful for another reason. The nephew of Bhagat Singh had visited the site of the protest that was staged by members of the Musqueam First Nation on Marine Drive in Vancouver in September, 2012. 

Prof. Jagmohan Singh, a social-justice activist, was here to attend series of events organized by progressive groups within the Indo Canadian community. As general secretary of the Association For Democratic Rights (AFDR), he has been consistently raising his voice against oppression of the so-called untouchables and tribal population in India, as well as against human-rights violations and state repression against religious minorities.

The Musqueam activists were opposing a real-estate development on their 3,000-year-old ancient burial site. Prof. Singh met Point's sister Mary Point at the picket and expressed his solidarity with the protesters. He had said that colonization has devastated the lives of both the First Nations in Canada and people back in India.He never forgets to mention that his uncle encouraged everyone to continue to fight for a just society and never stop, even in post-British India. 

But that isn’t the only connection Point has with the Indian community. She was also instrumental behind organizing an event at the Musqueam Band to mark the 100th anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident in 2014. The Japanese vessel carrying more than 300 South Asian passengers was forced to return under then discriminatory immigration law in 1914. She later participated in rallies against racism and discrimination against immigrants.

On Saturday, she told the gathering how colonization and the controversial residential school system had killed Indigenous identity and culture and how racism continues to affect both the Indigenous communities and other minority groups, emphasizing the need to fight back. 

Among the elected officials present were Labour Minister Harry Bains, parliamentary secretary for Multiculturalism Ravi Kahlon, and Surrey–Green Timbers MLA Rachna Singh.