THE Indo Canadian Workers Association of Canada held its annual mela in Surrey, Canada on September 10.  This was the 17th annual mela in row.

This year’s mela was dedicated to the great martyr Ghadar Bhai Balwant Singh Khurdpur, Babu Ram Fatehpur (Hospiarpur), Hafiz Abdullah (Jagraon), Harnam Singh Saini (Fetehgarh), Dr Arud Singh (Sanghwal) and the 100th anniversary of Russian Revolution.

The mela started with an exhibition of Ghadar Heroes followed by releasing a souvenir, which was well received by the participants.  The main speakers on this occasion were Surinder Dhesi, president of ICWA and Surinder Sangha, media co-ordinator.

Suridner Sangha spoke in detail about the background of Ghadar movement and its role in Indian freedom struggle.   He gave a chronological biography of Bhai Balwant Singh and his contribution to Ghadar movement and his role in the Kamagata Maru episode. He asked the people to remain vigilant against the communal forces in India and asked the people to unite to fight these forces which are trying to divide the Indian masses on communal lines.

Speaking about the October Revolution, Surinder Dhesi said October Revolution was the beginning of a new era in the world and asked the people to celebrate the anniversary to create awareness about socialism.

The event was well attended and all ICWA volunteers worked hard to make it a big success and distributed the souvenir while the participants enjoyed the Indian music, songs and cultural programmes.  Indian, Pakistani and US based Punjabi singers performed till late in the evening.

Kulwant Dhesi thanked the volunteers and participants for coming in such a large number.