As the community has grown over the years, so has the Centennial Gala event.

Originally starting as a management trainee, Dilprit took on increasing responsibilities, and prior to leaving was the Senior Vice President of International Mergers and Acquisitions.

Dilprit obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Western Ontario, and subsequently returned to UWO to obtain his MBA, graduating on the Dean’s List.

General Walt Natynczyk is originally from Winnipeg and joined the Canadian Forces in 1975 after spending 5 years as an Air Cadet. He has served in numerous regimental command positions at all levels from tank troop leader up to commanding officer of the Royal Canadian Dragoons.

General Natynczyk’s operational experience consists of 4 years on NATO duty in Germany; six months of UN peacekeeping duties in Cyprus (1984); a one-year-long mission with the United Nations in the Former Yugoslavia as Sector South-West Chief of Operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994) with British forces, then as the Chief of Land Operations, UNPROFOR HQ in Zagreb, Croatia. He commanded the Royal Canadian Dragoons in domestic operations during the Winnipeg floods of 1997 as well as in the Ottawa region during the 1998 Ice Storm, and he served as the Canadian Contingent Commander in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1998.

He became the third Canadian to serve as Deputy Commanding General, III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas and deployed with III Corps to Baghdad, Iraq in 2004 serving first as the Deputy Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans and subsequently as the Deputy Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps. Upon his return to Canada, he assumed command of the Land Force Doctrine and Training System. He was subsequently appointed Chief of Transformation where he was responsible for implementation of the force restructuring and the enabling processes and policies.

He has fulfilled various staff appointments including serving as Squadron Commander at the Royal Military College (Kingston, Ont.), on the Army Headquarters staff (St. Hubert, Quebec), and in Ottawa as Assistant Director to the National Defence Headquarters Secretariat, J3 Plans and Operations during the period of CF deployments to Kosovo, Bosnia, East Timor and Ethiopia-Eritrea, and most recently as the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. General Natynczyk was promoted to his present rank on 2 July 2008, when he assumed his duties as Chief of the Defence Staff.

General Natynczyk holds a Business Administration Degree from Royal Roads Military College and Collège militaire royal and is a graduate of the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, the U.K. All Arms Tactics Course and the U.S. Army War College.

Born in Punjab, India. Pavi Binning was six months old when his family moved to the UK, where he was raised.  After college, Pavi obtained a sponsorship program to study for his professional accounting examinations.

His first role in business was with Electrolux. After this, he joined Diageo plc. which is one the world’s leading consumer goods companies. Pavi’s career at Diageo spanned 17 years and he became the number two in Finance for the Group before he left the company.  Following Diageo Pavi held CFO positions at Marconi, a major international supplier of telecoms equipment, and at Hanson plc, one of the largest building materials and construction companies in the world.

In 2007, Pavi relocated to Toronto with his family to take the position of CFO and subsequently Chief Restructuring Officer at Nortel Networks.

In addition to a very successful and eventful career, Pavi has also been very involved in community work from an early age.  In the UK, he participated on Executive Committees at the Gurdwara and held various advisory roles to leaders of Councils, local authorities and the police. Currently, Pavi also sits on the Board of Governors of Crescent School in Toronto.

The goal of this organization is to make tutoring and mentorship affordable to students. Math4me pledges to give a percentage of its income to various initiatives run by young people that aim to provide a platform for youth and raise awareness about social and democratic issues.

Ivneet has excelled academically; achieving 100% in several of his high school courses and receiving over $100,000 in scholarship awards. He has participated in various mathematics competitions, including the prestigious Euclid Math Contest where he was the top scorer in British Columbia and the Book prize winner in 2009. He also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal for Excellence in 2009. In 2011, he was named one of the Top 20 Under 20 by Youth in Motion for the creation of Math4me.

Currently, Ivneet is pursuing his Bachelor of Commerce at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. His future plans include focusing on philanthropic work and integrating Math4Me with his passion for finance and economics.

He has served as a research scholar with many French embassies, including the French embassy in New Delhi. Jean-Marie is a fellow of the Asiatic Society, Paris and the Royal Asiatic Society, London. He is also a distinguished Membre de la Société française d’histoire d’Outre-mer, Paris, and has received the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite from the French Government.

Jean-Marie has published over a dozen books on the history of the French in India and their influence on the Punjab Kingdom, including Maharaja Ranjit Singh – Lord of the Five Rivers, Oxford University Press, 2000. He has also curated several cultural exhibitions in Paris, Amritsar, Mumbai and New Delhi on the life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Jean-Marie has been recognized by prominent universities and cultural bodies in India for his contributions. The Sikh community honoured him with a Saropa in Gurudwra Rakaab Ganj, New Delhi, in 1996; and honoured him once again with a Saropa in the Golden Temple, Amritsar, 1997.

Dr. Balbinder Bhogal was born in Africa and moved to England at three years of age in 1970, where he was raised. He initially pursued an engineering degree and was an engineer for Rolls Royce for 5 years when he realized he wanted a career change. After some introspection, Dr. Bhogal became increasingly interested in faith and religion (via an interest in Martial Arts). This led him to pursue his BA in religion and eventually a PhD in Sikh studies from London University in 2001. His PhD was titled: Nonduality and Skilful Means in the Hymns of Guru Nanak: Hermeneutics of the Word.

Dr. Bhogal’s primary research interests are South Asian Religions and Cultures specializing in the Sikh tradition, particularly the Guru Granth Sahib, its philosophy and exegesis.

He has taught courses on: Warrior Saints: An Introduction to the Sikh Religion, Sikh Mysticism, Religions of India, Thinking Mysticism in the Academy: Gender and Power, Yoga, Psychology and South Asian Religions, and Buddhist Thought.

In addition to a successful career, Dr. Bhogal has written and contributed to numerous publications and has been involved in a variety of community outreach projects.

She is completing a PhD in Higher Education at the University of Toronto alongside a collaborative doctoral program with The Munk School of Global Affairs in The Dynamics of Global Change. Additionally, Rumeet is teaching three sections of a Leadership course at Humber College in Toronto and currently serves as a member of the UTM Academic Planning Committee. Her mission is to contribute to the field of education in a meaningful way.

Over the past six years, she has contributed to school building initiatives in Africa and South America. In 2010, Rumeet’s vision for enabling education led to the creation, development, and implementation of The Toor Centre for Teacher Education in the rural community of Nzeveni, Kenya. At the age of 25 and again at the age of 28, Rumeet received the honour of being named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the future leaders category. She was selected to represent Canada at the 6th Annual UNESCO International Leadership Programme: A Global Intergenerational Forum, and was a facilitator for the European Regional Forum in Italy. She also served as the Canadian Ambassador for the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign with FIFA World Cup.

For 2012, Rumeet and her husband Kuldeep are contributing to Breakfast for Learning which provides nutritional programs for students across Canada. Her focus is to continue integrating her business and doctoral studies with her passion for creating change through education.

Today, ‘Sonay Gabroo Punjab De’ has a team base of 30+ members and is recognized as the most elite bhangra team in North America, as announced by the Elite 8 Bhangra Championship judges, fans, and leading industry artists.

Rohan began his formal tabla training under the guidance of Ustad Zakir Hussain at the age of eight. Since then, he has performed with musicians spanning from Shujaat khan and Aashish khan to the late ghazal maestro Jagjit SIngh. Rohan has also participated in and won many competitions, including first place at the “Talent Explosion.” At the age of 14, he was invited to perform a tabla solo recital at India’s most prestigious and oldest music festival, Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan. His performance captured the media’s attention due to his young age and the fact that he was the first Canadian born artist to perform there. Rohan has also been the subject of a CBC program, and has been featured on many radio stations in Edmonton.

Currently, Rohan is in the midst of pursuing graduate studies after having completed a Bachelor of Science degree. During his spare time, he continues to give performances and has for the past few years instructed a course at the University of Alberta teaching students the art of Indian classical music. He is also in the process of composing music for a documentary on the life of Master Madan.

He first started playing violin when he was 11 years old. Later in 2004, he became a disciple of a renowned Indian classical artist, Dr. Sisirkana Dhar Choudhury, and has been under her guidance ever since. Being exposed to different types of music, Raginder has brought it upon his violin to experiment and try playing with different genres of music such as Hip-Hop, Punjabi, Indian classical and many more. With lots of talent and potential, Raginder is an artist who will always bring new, intense and interesting types of music for his audience to hear!

For eight years he has been transforming his musical taste into heart stopping rhythms that have captivated crowds across North America. His ultimate goal is to expand the audience for South Asian music, so that people from all backgrounds will enjoy this music as their own.

This former leader of The Dhol Foundation Canada has flourished on the international stage. He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues across the world including: The Sony TV Asia Achievement Awards in New York City; alongside international recording artist Nelly Furtado; with Award winning Pop group Josh at the Quebec City World Music Festival; and the Percpan Music Festival in Rio de Janiero, Brazil to name but a few.

JT has been producing music for many years and worked on many albums for many different artists: Manak E, Josh, Parichay, Surjit Sagar and Debi Maksoospuri to name but a few. Most recently he has produced MC JD’s solo album, entitled Panjabi Boyz released under the Sound Pipe Records in the UK. Incorporating folk/r’n'b/dancehall and bhangra, he fuses elements together to make a sound all his own. His next venture is his solo album, set to hit dancefloors late 2012.

Visit www.jtsaund.com or JT’s Facebook fan page “JT Saund” for more info!

While this art is the common heritage of all communities of Punjab, it is most closely associated with the Sikhs, and its earliest references are found in Sikh texts of the 15th century. Phulkaris remain a feature of Sikh festivals and significant events – notably weddings – to this day. The base fabric of the phulkari is of homespun cotton, and the design is embroidered on the cotton fabric with threads of floss silk.

In cases where the silk embroidery entirely covers the base fabric, it is described as a “baag” – a garden.