Rashpal Singh Bhardwaj was born in India and graduated from Government Secondary School Mahilpur (Punjab, India). After graduating, he joined the Pandit Jagat Ram Polytechnic College in Hoshairpur, Punjab (India) and completed a three-year Diploma in Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering. He then joined the Punjab State Electricity Department as a supervisor in Powerline Carrier Communication. In 1989 he migrated to Abbotsford Canada, with his wife Neelam; their older son is a Doctor, daughter is a speech therapist, and younger son is a lawyer. He is currently working as a Canadian Immigration Consultant.
Mr. Bhardwaj has a long-standing commitment to fighting against caste-based discrimination and addressing atrocities against Dalits in India. He has organized protests against such atrocities in India, and in the year 2016, created a Society named the “Ambedkar International Social Reform Organization” (AISRO). This organization instituted for the first time a program in the Canadian Parliament House to pay tribute to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, nationalist leader and leader of the Dalit community of India, who wrote the Constitution of India.
Short Promotional Video: How has caste shaped your life?
Full interview:
Banner image: Collage of photographs, from left to right, interview of Surjit and Manjit Bains with Dr. Anne Murphy (courtesy of Jai Birdi); the Guru Ravidas Sabha Vancouver (courtesy of Anita Lal); Kamaljit, participant in the project; portrait of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar by Raghavendra Rao Karkala, now in the collection of the University of the Fraser Valley Library (acrylic on canvas); Mohan Lal Karimpuri, author and activist; Vipasna Nanal, project participant and video interview editor.