Travels with Balbir Sahni

Barbara black

There was a time when Concordia University wasn’t overly concerned with attracting students from abroad — but that was before Balbir Sahni.

The emeritus economics professor, who was until recently Director of the Centre for International Academic Co-operation (CIAC), was the guest of honour with his family at a reception May 29.

While his international activities were initially focused on promoting relations between Canada, particularly Concordia, with his home country of India, Sahni realized in recent years that China was at least as important. This gave former president Frederick Lowy an opportunity to talk about the fun of “travelling with Bir.”

“It was an experience,” Lowy recalled. “Here was a handsome man, elegantly dressed, probably the first Sikh many Chinese people had seen. On the Great Wall or wherever we went, he was the centre of attention.”

Sahni has won many honours for his commitment to international relations, including the 2002 Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce 2001 Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement Award, the 1999 Award of the National Indo-Canadian Council, the 1995 Award of Merit for contributions to Canadian Studies in India, and the 1993 Bhai Vir Singh Award, presented by the Indian Finance Minister.

He has been at Concordia for 41 years, and said he “will still be around” the university. He has also been asked to join the Canada-India Educational Working Group, one of many public organizations to which he has lent his talents and enthusiasm.

These include the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, the board of the Canadian Bureau for Inter-national Education (CBIE), the Canadian International Develop-ment Agency (CIDA), and Canada’s National Committee on Economic Co-operation, to which he was appointed in 1988.