The fight for democracy – Ali Velshi and his father Murad running for the Peterson Liberals

We are posting a wonderful testament Ali Velshi delivered on MSNBC last month to his father, Murad, and for democracy. As many will remember Murad served with distinction as a Liberal MPP in the Ontario Legislature from 1987 to 1990. Ali has also written a book entitled Small Acts of Courage which depicts his father’s and mother’s journey from India to South Africa, then to Kenya and, finally, to Canada. It is a great read and I commend it to everyone. One of the fascinating stories in Ali’s book is that you learn of the connection of Mahatma Gandhi to Murad’s family while they were living in South Africa, a connection that strongly impacted Murad’s values and beliefs. The subtitle of Ali’s book is A Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy which also perfectly describes his segment on MSNBC.

Murad was the first South Asian elected to any Canadian legislative body, federally or provincially. For so many South Asians, of whatever background or faith, his election signalled that anyone from their broad community could run and be elected. If we look at Canadian elected bodies today at any level South Asians are playing a large part in our democratic institutions. The election of Murad Velshi was a critical first step of involvement and acceptance in the Canadian political process.