User:Satdeep Gill/sandbox/Dhahan

Barj Singh Dhahan is a Canadian Punjabi businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and director of Canada-India Education Society.

Philanthropy
Since 1980s he has been involved in a number of education, health and community development projects in British Colombia as well as India.

Canada-India Education Society has been focusing on health promotion and education in Punjab, India in partnership with Guru Nanak Mission Medical and Educational Trust (GN Trust), which was established by his father Budh Singh Dhahan. By 2005 he completed a project that covered 60 villages in Punjab, with about $ 500,000 funding from CIES, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and other organizations.

CIES has been instrumental in building a clean water and sanitary sewer system in Daulatpur, Punjab with an investment of about $200,000. He has done some projects in rural Orissa and Bihar as well.

Liberal Party Nomination Controversy
A lot of controversy happened over the Nomination of Liberal Party Candidate from Vancouver South. Dhahan claimed that he was being forced by Justin Trudeau to withdraw from the race, as the Liberal Party had another candidate in mind. The other candidate was Harjeet Singh Sajjan who is the current Minister of National Defence of the Canadian Governement. Dhahan was asked to run in Surrey Centre but refused by citing the fact he has no standing in Surrey Centre and Vancouver South has been his home for 6 decades. He also claimed that the Liberal Party told him that his nomination in Surrey Centre would be managed in such a way that he will be the only candidate there.

30 Sikh Liberals had told CBC News that at-least 4000 members of the Sikh Community would tear up their memberships and leave the Liberal Party if Dhahan is forced to withdraw the nomination. But it turned out that only 3 people from Vancouver South left the party.