Indian-origin Sarabjit Singh Marwah has become the first Sikh to be appointed to the Canadian Senate (upper house). He was appointed to Senate by the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. Speaking on the appointemt, the Canadain PM Trudeau lauded Marwah for his efforts for showcasing the “rich diversity of Sikh and South Asian art and culture”.
He is third Sikh person in the Canadian parliament after Defence Minister Harjeet Sajjan and Science Minister Navdeep Bains.
Sarabjit Singh Marwah Marwah was born in Kolkata, West Bengal. He is an alumnus of Delhi’s St Stephen’s College and the Delhi School of Economics and holds an MBA degree from the University of California. During late 70s, Marwah joined Scotia bank as a financial analyst and later on he went on to become the Chief operating Officer (COO) of the bank. Later, he was appointed as the bank’s senior executive vice president, chief financial officer (CFO), elevated as the vice chairman and chief administrative officer. In 2008, he was re-designated as vice chairman and COO of the bank the positions which he held till his retirement in 2014. Marwah has served on the boards of many famous Canadian institutions such as the Toronto Star daily, the Toronto International Film Festival, the CD Howe Institute, the Royal Ontario Museum, the United Way Campaign, and the Hospital for Sick Children. He is also one of the founders of the Sikh Foundation of Canada that promotes Sikh culture and art among the diaspora community.
While Marwah will be the only Indian-origin member of the Senate (upper house), there are over 20 members of Indian-origin in the House of Commons (lower house).
by Ashwani Srivastava