South Asian Post: Mayor Sullivan learns Punjabi language

The Punjabi Push
By Lucy-Claire Saunders
South Asian Post
The South Asian community is rapidly growing and with it, the push to make Punjabi an official language. As British Columbia strengthens its economic ties to India’s Punjab region, greater emphasis is being placed on Punjabi as more public schools offer classes and employers seek applicants with a working knowledge of one of the most spoken languages in the world.
Even politicians are grappling to learn the ancient Indo-Aryan language.
For over three years, Gian Singh Kotli has been teaching Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan how to speak Punjabi.
“Before his Mayoral election, Sam Sullivan expressed his desire to learn Punjabi to get closer to the Punjabi community,” said Kotli. “His friends introduced me as a suitable teacher and so I accepted it as a gesture of service to the community.”
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