Sikh woman from Jalandhar village picked as Canada Supreme Court judge

Source:- indianexpress.com

The Punjabi diaspora in Canada has added yet another feather to its cap with Palbinder Kaur Shergil becoming the first turbaned Sikh woman to be nominated as the judge of Supreme Court there. Already, most of the the 19 Indian-origin members of the Canadian Parliament are Punjabis. Shergill, who originally hails from a village of Jalandhar district, was four year old when her family moved to Canada in mid-70s.

She hails from Rurka Kalan village near Nurmahal and is married at Jagatpur village of Nawanshar district. People of both the villages were delighted. Sarpanch Paramjit Singh of Jagatpur village told The Indian Express, “She had brought the name of our village on the world map and we are going to honour her extended family members here tomorrow.” Singh said they wanted her to visit the village once.

Gurpreet Pal Singh Shergill, a second cousin of Shergill’s husband Amritpal Singh Shergill, said they were proud.

Scene was similar in Palbinder’s parental village of Rurka Kalan. “We have distributed sweets in the village as we are proud of her,” said Gurbinder Singh Sandhu of Rurka Kalan, a family member. Palbinder lives in Surrey with husband and three children. She is a known human rights lawyer.