“Young girl students getting pregnant, violence against our women…it’s so shameful for us as a community,” says Indo-Canadian community leader Kapoor who is a board member of Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women that is fighting the exploitation of girls by human traffickers in the Greater Toronto Area
The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: Indo-Canadian community leader and professional chartered accountant Chand Kapoor says he is pained by reports of sexual exploitation of Indian girl students, boys joining drug gangas, family violence and mistreatment of seniors.
“Young girl students getting pregnant, young boys ending up behind bars, violence against our women and the horrible way in which our seniors are being treated…it’s so shameful for us as a community,” says Kapoor who is a board member of Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women that is fighting the exploitation of girls by human traffickers.
Quoting the teachings of the Gita, he says, “It’s our collective responsibility as an immigrant community in this country is to address the root cause of these problems. I am ready to get them psychologists, sociologists, neurologists and other specialists for a multi-pronged approach to solve these problems. Otherwise we would lose our respect, our identity and our future generations.”
Creating awareness about the root cause of these problems is the key, says Kapoor.
“The problem concerning girl students must be addressed before they board the plane to Canada. They must be mentored and told about do’s and don’ts. We are ready to work with the Indian and Canadian high commission authorities in India. It’s my responsibility to protect these girls,” he says.
Kapoor wants the Indo-Canadian community to adopt the Jewish model of welcoming and helping fellow immigrants and Indian international students.
“Every new Jewish immigrant goes to a synagogue where he/she gets all the help to settle in Canada. Since we now have a very large Indo-Canadian community here, we must follow the Jewish example and our temples and gurdwaras and mosques must extend help to new immigrants, including international students, from India.”
The violence against Indo-Canadian women and seniors too painful, he says.
“The root cause of it is the way we raise our children. In Indo-Canadian families, the man – father – exercises all the power. The child sees the abuse of power by the father and learns that this is the only way to exercise control. When this child grows up, he too starts exercising power over the weak – women and seniors. That’s why we are seeing a lot of violence against our women and seniors. We must stop the way we raise our children.”
Citing the Gita, he says, “You cannot change anybody’s destiny. Raising your hand against a child or a woman in the name of disciplining them is morally wrong. Imposing parental wishes on children is wrong. Becoming good human beings is the solution, and nice things flow.”
Kapoor says he joined the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women because Ms. Sunder Singh, its executive director, is deeply dedicated to its cause. “She has a deep passion for doing good things for fellow human beings.”
He says when he first met her they discussed the abuse of our seniors by their families, child abuse and the problems of new immigrants.
“I found her deeply committed to the community. Under her, the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women is doing a great job of helping women who are being abused and don’t know their rights. Even at the peak of the pandemic, Sunder was out providing help to the needy. She’s a remarkable person.”
He also credits Ms. Sunder Singh with introducing him to Mackenzie Hospital for which he has committed to raising $150,000 over three years.
“People here think why pay when medical facilities are free. But we appealed to them: why don’t we donate to Mackenzie to create facilities for critical illnesses locally when we pay thousands of dollars for treatment across the border.Our appeal worked and we have already raise $50,000.”
As a community builder, Chand Kapoor also serves as chairman of the Gerrard India Bazaar and as president-cum-treasurer of the Sringeri Vidya Bharati Foundation in Etobicoke.
He has also been associated with the Gerrard India Bazaar as its president for many years.
“Gerrard India Bazaar is the oldest and biggest Indian bazaars in Canada. I got associated with it as we wanted to showcase our culture to other communities. This place has helped us spread awareness about us and today our culture, our food, our dress have become very popular,” he says.
Mr. Kapoor also started his own restaurant Sangeet in the bazaar in 1996. “In starting the restaurant, my focus was to spread a new trend of clay over cooked food with milder taste. We also used to have live music from 10 pm to 2 am at the restaurant. People from mainstream and other communities started loving Indian food,” he says.
He also started Pooja Boutique in the bazaar to showcase India’s traditional costumes.
Under his chairmanship, the TD Festival of South Asia in the bazaar has become a huge annual event attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
And at his 25-acre cottage at Campbellcroft near Port Hope, he regularly hosts celebrities and his friends.
“We jus love being at this beautiful place with a two-acre fish pond. It is surrounded by a wooded area. We hosted Indian Consul General Apoorva Srivastava recently. Many celebrities such as Gippy Grewal and Sherry Mann have been to our cottage and Ali Quli picturized his song Bewafai there.”
Kapoor is also associated with the Indian Senior Social Services Group in Brampton. “The idea is to help our seniors and keep them busy through this group. We hold events for them, we help in arranging funerals for those whose families cannot afford it,” he explains.
His generosity of spirit, time and money is lauded in the community.
