The recent 100 Year Journey annual gala celebrated past, present, and future Indo Canadian trailblazers. The evening built upon the last two year's historical reflections with an awards program that recognized current and future pillars of the community with six individuals who have opened doors and broken new ground as “Pioneers” and “Navigators” and one individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Indo-Canadian community as an “Ambassador”.

“Our pioneers laid the foundation so that all of us that have followed can enjoy this beautiful country. Honouring them serves as a reminder to us all of the struggles that they faced and of the fight they fought. Our Navigator and Ambassador awards are recognizing people in our community who are charting new territories and breaking new ground - people who will be honoured and recognized for the contributions to society in the decades to come,” said Rana Vig, co founder of the 100 Year Journey Project and former publisher of Mehfil Magazine.

Among those recognized were Harinder Jit Singh Rai - the first Indo-Canadian who qualified for the Olympics when he scored the game winning goal that allowed his team to qualify for the Olympics for the first time ever.

However, just prior to the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Rai was removed from the team by officials who favoured an all-white contingent. Without him the team only won 1 of 7 games and came in 14th place. (full list at end of release).

Award recipients received a specially created metallic gold, orb-like award dubbed “The World”. Carrying a message of inspiration in English, French, Punjabi, Hindu and Urdu, each award presentation symbolized the placing of the world in the recipients’ hands.

The sold out gala at the Fairmont Pacific Rim on October 1st was attended by nearly 500 Indo Canadians and community leaders representing political, business and social sectors.

Special guests included Senator Mobina Jaffer, Member of Parliament Randeep Sarai, and Members of the Legislative Assembly - Minister Suzanne Anton, Peter Fassbender, and Amrik Virk. Event organizers emphasized the “journey experience” by having guests pose for passport photos and placing them inside the commemorative passports upon arrival.

MC’ed by CBC Vancouver’s News Anchor, Andrew Chang, guests were treated to laughs from a UK based comedian, and live music as the evening’s entertainment.

The 100 Year Journey Project launched in 2014 with the creation of a book chronicling the stories of some of the first 100 Indo-Canadians in Canada over the past century. The narratives describe how some provided shelter and support for new immigrants, fought tirelessly for the voting rights of all communities, and spent years away from their loved ones as they built a foundation for their new lives. For further information, visit www.100yearjourney.com.

Pioneer, Navigator & Ambassador Awards - 2016 Results

KULDEEP BAINS, Pioneer

Bains was an exceptional pioneering entrepreneur who created the first Indo-Canadian owned travel agency in Canada - Bains International Travel which he founded in Victoria in 1951 and later expanded to Vancouver. He was also a great agent of change. In the 1940's he played a major national role in achieving the right to vote for Indo-Canadians.

SURJIT BABRA, Navigator

Babra, grew up in East Africa and trained as a travel agent – eventually opening 9 offices throughout North America including New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Becoming one of the largest wholesale consolidators that represented over 80 air lines with yearly sales of more than $400 Million, he sold his SkyLink Travel to the Mondee Group – one of the largest travel consolidators in the world.

He was also co-founder of Skylink Aviation, a company that, on any given day, had up to 120 aircraft bearing SkyLink’s logo. Skylink served the world’s most turbulent and conflicted areas delivering medicines and food, ferry aid workers, evacuate refugees and provide logistical support through air drops.

HARINDER JIT SINGH RAI, Pioneer

Known to his friends as Pandit Rai, he played for UBC during the 1956/57 season and was selected to represent the Canadian National Team against the USA, in Rye, New York, in what was Canada's first official international match taking place in October 1962. In 1964, Rai became the first Indo-Canadian to qualify for an Olympic Games. His stellar skills led him to score the winning goal at the qualifying match enabling Canada's field hockey team entry to the Olympic games for the first time in history.

However, just prior to the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Rai was removed from the team by officials who favoured an all-white contingent.

PAMELA RAI, Navigator

By age 14, she established herself as a champion, holding sixteen Canadian age-group records. In 1981, she won six medals, including gold in the 50m freestyle at the Canada Games.

That same year, at an international meet in Tokyo, she won a silver medal as a member of the 4×100m freestyle relay team. In 1984, her long-time dream of an Olympic competition came true as she represented Canada at the Los Angeles Olympic Games where she and her Canadian teammates stood on the podium to receive an Olympic bronze medal, while setting a new Canadian record in the 4×100m medley relay.

With the Olympic bronze medal, she became the first woman in the world of Indian ancestry, and the first Indo-Canadian to win an Olympic medal.

MALKIT PARHAR, Pioneer

Parhar was one of the first media personalities in the Indo-Canadian community who not only published a newspaper but also became an on air personality through his popular radio program. He came to Canada at the age of 3 in 1927 with his mother and brother, joining his father who had been in the country since 1906. Although he was best known for his newspaper and radio program Malkit Parhar was a trailblazer – someone who opened doors for other Indo Canadians following him.

BELLE PURI, Navigator

Puri is the grand daughter of Sikh Pioneer Bagga Singh who arrived in Canada in 1913. An award winning journalist, she is Canada's first Indo Canadian broadcast journalist. Her career has spanned more than three decades in which she has been a business reporter and a legislative reporter and has been involved with some of the top shows in Canadian television.

PARDEEP SINGH NAGRA, Community Ambassador Award

A Toronto resident, the Sikh boxer is best known for fighting the boxing world outside the ring to win a human rights case to keep his hair and turban while competing. He has gone on to be a renowned speaker, teacher and executive director of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada. This year, his life story will be made into a Hollywood movie with actor Mickey Rourke.