B.C.: Surrey proclaims January 4 ‘Nirmal Singh Gill Day’ in memory of victim of racist attack

Surrey, Britsh Columbia, on the 25th anniversary of the hate-crime killing of Nirmal Singh Gill by neo-nazis, declared the 4th of January as ‘Nirmal Singh Gill Day’ in remembrance of the victim of the attack.

The Mayor of Surrey, Brenda Locke, on Saturday announced the news while presenting the proclamation to Gill’s relatives. Gill’s maternal grandson, Paramjit Singh Sandhu, travelled from Toronto to accept the proclamation.

Accounts of the incidents state that Nirmal Singh Gill, the caretaker of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, was killed by neo-nazi white supremacists who had entered the gurdwara premises on January 4, 1998.

Mayor Locke addressed the congregation at an event at very Gurudwara where the incident occurred. While at the event, she was honoured with a robe of honour by the Gurudwara for her opposition to the Quebec bill that prohibits people in public service to sport religious symbols at work.

Those in attendance included Minister of Education and Child Care Rachna Singh, Imtiaz Popat, co-founder of Coalition Against Bigotry, and former Neo-Nazi and anti-hate educator Tony McAleer.