What is a South Asian Museum?

On May 11 Rungh wrote to the Ministry seeking answers to some basic questions: who attended the meeting, and was there a “steering committee” or “advisory group” for the Museum project. The Ministry did not respond. The same email had been sent to Satwinder Bains, Director of the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) at University of the Fraser Valley (UFV). Bains replied on May 11 and referred questions about the event back to the Ministry noting that “the work to set up a Working Group for the South Asian Canadian Museum is in the hands of the Ministry”. The Ministry did not reply to the email of May 11.

On May 30, Rungh again wrote to the Ministry, and to Lana Popham, the Minister responsible. Rungh also asked for an interview with the Minister about the proposed museum.

On June 8, Jill Nessel, a Communications Manager with the Ministry replied to Rungh denying an interview with the Minister, and stating, that the “Government is committed to a broad, robust and transparent engagement process to working closely with the South Asian community. We are still in the planning stages of the engagement process and there is no steering committee at this time.” Rungh’s specific questions were not answered.

On June 8, Rungh followed up with an email to Jill Nessel asking more questions and a part of her response was that “Government is committed to a broad, robust and transparent engagement process” and that “more details” would be shared later.

Rungh has copies of the emails sent to those invited to the “Community Leaders” gathering on April 13. Attendees had been informed that their attendance would be publicly recorded and documented with photographs. The Ministry appears to have dealt with any privacy concerns which might arise from publicly sharing information. None of this documentation from the April 13 meeting was referenced nor offered to Rungh by the Ministry in response to Rungh’s requests for information. Attendees that Rungh has spoken to were unclear about why they were chosen as “Community Leaders” or who was involved with the selection process.

On June 11, Rungh wrote to MLA’s Jinny Sims, Jagrup Brar, and Aman Singh, requesting an interview and asking for specific information about what led to the promise to establish a South Asian Museum in BC, including costing estimates. No MLA replied directly to Rungh.

On June 12, Jill Nessel replied in response to the request sent to MLA Aman Singh noting that Singh was not available for an interview and that the “origin of the museum concept come from the Punjabi Canadian Legacy project (2014-2018) and the South Asian Canadian Legacy Project (2020-2022)” both led by the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley. For the third time, Jill Nessel informed Rungh that the Government was committed to a “broad, robust and transparent” engagement process while not responding to Rungh’s list of questions.

The two projects referred to by Nessel point back to Satwinder Bains and the SASI at UFV. Bains had, in turn, on May 11 referred Rungh to the Ministry for further information about the South Asian Museum.

Rungh has reviewed the two projects that Nessel referred to as being the “origin” of the Museum concept.

There is a reference to Phase One of the Punjabi Canada Legacy Project (PCLP) on the SASI site. The dates of Phase One are not clear and the link on the SASI site to information about Phase One lead to the site of the Royal British Columbia Museum (RBCM). The RBCM link leads to a “Page Not Found” notice.

The SASI site does have information about Phase Two of the Punjabi Canadian Legacy Project (2017-2018). The main focus of Phase Two was “contributions of Punjabi communities”. The overall goal is to enrich “regional and provincial museum and archives collections” with Punjabi historical content. The definition of the term “South Asian” in this report is “encompassing the following countries: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives and Nepal.” There appear to be no references to “South Asian” diasporic communities originating from these countries nor those with hybrid, multi-layered, multi-generational identities based on different geographies.

The Phase Two report makes no explicit recommendation for a South Asian Museum to be created.

The South Asian Canadian Legacy Project (SACLP) includes a digital archive and was launch on April 12, 2022. Many politicians, past and present, from the municipal, provincial and federal level attended. The focus has now pivoted from being “Punjabi” to a “South Asian pan-Canadian digital archive”. There appears to be no specific recommendation to create a South Asian Museum on the SACLP site pages.

NDP politicians, in the midst of an election, pledged to create a South Asian Museum in BC. It appears that the BC NDP led government is establishing a consultation process to justify a political decision which has already been made.

In an article on the Bazz News website dated April 1, 2023, writer Raj Singh Bhandall appears to be one of the “Community Leaders” who attended the April 13 consultation.

Bhandall writes: “The use of ‘South Asian’ as a blanket term is not only insensitive but also harmful to the diverse ethnic groups that reside in the region. We must engage in further discussions to re-evaluate the necessity of this label and acknowledge its potential consequences for the various ethnic minorities classified under it.” He refers to the naming of a museum as “South Asian” as being a “historical blunder” and asks if the title “South Asian Museum” is “set in stone”. Bhandall identifies himself at a member of the Wanjara Nomad Collective which was established to “protect Sikh heritage”.

Who is included in the term “South Asian”?

Rungh has learned that leading cultural institutions in British Columbia are struggling with the term “South Asian” and wondering if more specific terms such as “Indo Canadian”, or “Punjabi” or “Sikh Punjabi” are better suited. Does the inclusive and vague term “South Asian” erase others who have specific heritage claims to the South Asian sub-continent? If the term “South Asian” is utilized to refer to what are predominantly “Punjabi”, or “Sikh Punjabi” communities, will British Columbians with differing roots in the South Asian sub-continent feel erased and marginalized?

Rungh has learned from community members, on background for this story, that there is a pervasive sense that the South Asian Museum project is advancing agendas which are not being transparently expressed nor addressed. The pivoting between the terms “South Asian” and “Punjabi” is a major issue. The other major issues relate to who wants this museum and who is leading the process, the Ministry or others.

If Minister Popham wants to get to the bottom of these complex, multilayered questions, much more than the repeated public relations mantra of a broad, robust and transparent process will be needed.

Note: This article was amended for clarity on August 5, 2023. The last sentence to the paragraph beginning with “Bhandall writes” has been removed from the original version published on June 16, 2023.

This story became the source for coverage by The Vancouver Sun and the Postmedia news group. Here is a downloadable pdf for reference.