Very rarely do we radio talk show hosts establish a personal bond with our callers, but some participants leave an indelible impression in our minds with their extraordinary views often compelling us to discover more about them.

Mehtab Singh was one of those whose secular and humanist views often delighted me and impressed many of my listeners. I always wished to meet him. However, he passed away last year following a stroke at his Coquitlam home.

The shocking news was passed along by a friend of Singh, who called my radio station to inform us that one of our regular callers had died. I had a chance to attend his funeral in Surrey. That was the only time I had a glimpse of this wonderful man. Ironically, I couldn’t meet him in his lifetime, but there he was lying in a coffin.

Last week was his first death anniversary. I missed him throughout the year, especially whenever we discussed current and political issues. Singh used to speak Hindi. He was a well-read man and politically astute. On issues, like racism and discrimination, he always took a progressive position. He was opposed to religious extremism and systematic discrimination against minorities, including women and the so-called lower caste people in India.

He spoke passionately on these issues, yet he loved his home country very much. He was an advocate of the unity of India and disliked separatism. A member of the minority Christian community himself, he was born in 1947, the year India got its idependence from British occupation. Singh immigrated to Canada in 1998 after spending 17 years in the Middle East. He ran a video store in Coquitlam and often called our radio station from there. His family tells me that he used to spend a lot of time reading newspapers to update himself on current affairs.

Last year, when anti-Christian violence rocked the Indian province of Orissa, Singh was missed by us. Likewise, we missed his progressive thoughts on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He would have been a happier person had he lived to see Barack Obama becoming the first black President of the United States.

I feel that society has a responsibility to speak up against any kind of injustice and Singh sensed this responsibility. He was not among the mute spectators or those indulging in living room discussions rather than venting out their views in public, and that made him an important person.