Award in name of Canadian Sikh scribe

Late Tara Singh Hayer of Indo-Canadian Times was murdered in 1998.

The spotlight has once again fallen on Indo-Canadian journalist Tara Singh Hayer, who was murdered in 1998, with applications being invited in Canada for an award named after him.

The annual recognition by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) was originally called the Press Freedom Award but was renamed six years ago to honour Hayer.

HT Image

A journalist and editor of the Vancouver-based Indo-Canadian Times, Hayer was murdered in November 1998. The Order of British Columbia was conferred on him in 1995 to recognise his achievements.

"Aware that discrimination thrives on ignorance, Hayer has worked tirelessly to promote understanding between ethnic and cultural groups," according to his biography posted on the British Columbia government website.

After immigrating to Canada in 1970, he worked as a miner, teacher, truck driver and a manager of a trucking firm before becoming a full-time journalist. In 1978, he established the Punjabi-language community newspaper.

Hayer often wrote against violent Sikh fundamentalists. Some believed that his murder was linked to Sikh temple elections in British Columbia.

The Hayer Award honours such "dedicated and principled" Canadian journalists as risk their lives to get the news out, according to a press release.

The Tara Singh Hayer Award will recognise a journalist who, through his or her work, has made an important contribution to reinforcing and promoting the principle of freedom of the press in this country or elsewhere. In 2003, CJFE honoured photojournalist Zahra Kazemi.

The award includes a framed plaque and cash prize of $3,000, which will be presented to the winner at a ceremony in Toronto on November 1. July 31 is the application deadline.