The following statement on the passing of Dr. Gurdev Singh Gill was submitted to the Record from the Indo-Canadian Friendship Society of BC.
The Indo-Canadian Friendship Society of BC (ICFSBC) mourns the loss of our Founder and Honorary Chairman: New Westminster resident Gurdev Singh Gill, M.D., D.Sc. (Hons.), O.B.C.
Dr. Gill passed away on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, at age 92 while in India for the winter at his Chandigarh home.
Gill was the first Indo-Canadian to graduate from UBC’s medical school (1957), and became the first from his ethnicity to receive the Order of B.C. (1990) in recognition of decades of iconic leadership across his heritage community.
In 1974, he embarked on a philanthropic quest to better the lives and health of rural Punjabis by founding the ICFSBC.
A Canadian NGO, for decades we have been dedicated in Canada to encouraging cordial relations between the Indian diaspora and the mainstream.
Thanks to Gill's inspiration and hard work, especially since his retirement in 1996, our mandate in India has reflected an enduring commitment to village improvement with special reference to water and sewage infrastructure.
This includes clean drinking water, sustainable sewage treatment and disposal systems, sanitary living conditions, concrete-paved streets, solar street lighting and computers in local schools
To date, Gill oversaw the completion of 27 village projects transforming living conditions for more than 100,000 people.
His legacy will endure for generations to come because Gill successfully started a movement that changed thinking regarding village sanitation.
Others now emulate his steadfast rural development approach, designed to improve health and wellbeing while delivering dignity, pride, and empowerment on the ground in villages of Punjab and Haryana States.
