NEW DELHI: Canada's Indian-origin Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan today said he "faced discrimination" in that country's military because he "looked different".
Sajjan, who moved to Canada as a young boy, said this in the presence of Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, currently on a week-long visit to India.
"I was born in India and moved to Canada, when I was five.When I was 18 and joined the military there, I faced discrimination, even though I am a Canadian, because I looked different," he said, during the Asia launch of the global campaign -- 'She Will Grow Into It' here.
Sajjan is travelling along with Trudeau and his wife, and yesterday they visited Amritsar and even offered 'sewa' (volunteer service). "I hail from a small village and lived a very simple life, before migrating to Canada," he said.
Sajjan, who became the defence minister in 2015, also shared an anecdote from his youth days to underline the message of equality. "I was 12, and I came across a girl in India, with round, beautiful eyes, who came towards me begging for money and I asked her to go away. Years later in Canada, when I faced discrimination, her face flashed in front of my eyes, and I realised she was begging because she was hungry," he said.
The Canadian minister said that then he realised how it felt to be treated unequal. "Sixty per cent of the world's malnourished people are women, and this campaign seeks to fill the gap," Sajjan said.
During his interaction with young women from high schools, he described them as "powerful agents of change". "Every child has a gift and endeavour to accomplish your inner potential and realise what you dream to become," he said, adding, that "But, when you find you dream and success, go back and serve people".
The campaign, led by Canada-based non-profit organisation Nutrition International, was launched globally in Ottawa on the International Day of the Girl Child.