[Photograph of Dr. Gulzar Cheema and Kuldeep Manak interacting at Bear Creek Park in Surrey]

Photograph of Dr. Gulzar Cheema and Kuldeep Manak interacting at the 8th annual Mela Gadri Babiyan Da. The event was organized by the Prof. Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation and took place at Bear Creek Park in Surrey, British Columbia (B.C.).

Dr. Gulzar Singh Cheema is a family physician in Surrey, British Columbia, and a former member of the Legislative Assembly in Manitoba, 1988-1993. Cheema immigrated to Canada in December, 1979, and was the first Indian-born Canadian doctor to be elected to a legislative assembly in Canada in 1988. Cheema was elected in B.C. in May 2001 to represent the riding of Surrey-Panorama Ridge. On June 05, 2001 Cheema was appointed as a member of the Executive Council for the Government of B.C. as Minister of State for Mental Health. On January 26, 2004, he was appointed as a member of the Executive Council for the Government of B.C. as Minister of State for Immigration and Multicultural Services. He also served as a critic for health. He received his Bachelor of Medicine and surgery from India's Punjab University, interned at the University of Newfoundland and was a resident at Saskatoon's University Hospital. In 1992 he was awarded the Canada 125 Medal for community service. In 2014, Cheema was recognized by the Doctors of British Columbia Medical Association, for an Individual Award of Excellence in Health Promotion for his outstanding and continuing work educating the Indo-Canadian population about disease prevention and promotion.

Kuldeep Manak (November 15, 1949 - November 30, 2011) was born in Jalal, a village in the district of Bathinda in Panjab, India. Manak, born Latif Mohammed Khan, was a renowned Indian singer best known for singing a genre of Panjabi music, known as Kali.

The mela (festival), sponsored by Prof. Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation (Canada), is dedicated to the memory of South Asians on the Komagata Maru ship who were turned away from Vancouver, the Ghadar movement and Indian freedom fighters. The festival also commemorates and celebrates the Gadri Babai, immigrants from Panjab who fought for the end of colonialism in South Asia.

The Professor Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation of Canada is a secular human rights organization based in Greater Vancouver, B.C.. The Professor Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation has advocated to recognize and help address the historic wrongs committed against South Asian migrants who were denied access to Canada over the past century (with particular focus on the Komagata Maru tragedy). In the years since, the Foundation has fought for justice and human rights for all Canadians, and marginalized communities everywhere. The foundation holds 'Mela Gadri Babiyan Da' at Bear Creek Park in Surrey, B.C., the first weekend of August each year. This is the largest event of its kind outside of India.