[Photograph of Charan Gill with a group of individuals at the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination event in Surrey]

Photograph of Charan Gill with a group of unidentified individuals at the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination event, called Eracism, held in Surrey, British Columbia (B.C.).

Charan Pal Gill (June 17, 1936 - February 2, 2021), born in Hong Kong, was a social worker, social activist, labour organizer, anti-racism pioneer and a South Asian community leader in British Columbia. Gill relocated to Vancouver, Canada in 1967, where he briefly worked as a berry picker before finding employment in a sawmill in Williams Lake, British Columbia. Due to an injury to his wrist, Gill left the sawmill and after some training began working as a social worker in Prince Rupert. After working for five years as a social worker, Gill became a registered social worker after obtaining his bachelor's degree from the University of British Columbia in 1970. Gill was involved with the Indian People's Association in North America (IPANA) in Vancouver. Founded in Montreal in June 1975, IPANA was a left-wing social group initially focused on generating support for the Naxalite movement in India. In 1979, Gill with IPANA in Vancouver played significant roles in the formation of the Farm Workers Organizing Committee (FWOC). On 6 April 1980, the FWOC transformed into the Canadian Farmworkers Union (CFU). The CFU became the first union in Canada's history centred on farmworkers. Gill was elected CFU founding secretary (by 2004 he also served as secretary and treasurer). He also became the editor of the Farmworker, the CFU's newspaper (published in English and Panjabi). While contributing towards the CFU, Gill pursued postgraduate studies and earned his master's degree in social work in 1983. For much of his professional career he worked for the BC Ministry of Human Resources and Ministry of Social Services and Housing. In November 1980, Gill co-founded the volunteer organization British Columbia Organization to Fight Racism (BCOFR). In 1985 Gill established a new service provider catering to the immediate needs of the South Asian community in British Columbia. The charitable organization was originally known as the Progressive Indo-Canadian Community Services Society and later became the Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS). Gill served as the organization's chief executive officer until 2017. Gill gradually retired from social work while working with PICS. He also served on the boards of various organizations, including the agriculture cooperative AgSafe (formerly FARSHA) since 1993; Rainbow Community Health Co-operative since 1998; Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) since 2011; and the BC Non-Profit Housing Association from 2008 to 2012. Gill was the recipient of numerous awards and honours in recognition of his activism and contributions to human rights and workers' rights, such as, the Order of British Columbia (1999) and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is guided by the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and recognizes that the injustices and prejudices fueled by racial discrimination take place every day. Observed annually on March 21, it commemorates the day police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960. This day serves as a call to action for individuals, organizations, and all levels of government to actively work to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, injustice, systemic racism and hate.