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Where Siddiqui found his Star

Firdaus Ali in Toronto

He started off as a cricket writer, but, ironically, ended up in a country that doesn't play cricket.

Ravaging through wars and political imbroglios, he's seen governments topple, opinions change, peace shatter, and more.

A live witness to the Iranian Revolution, the American hostage crisis, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran-Iraq war -- he's been in the midst of conflicts and crises, envisaging varied emotions, while living out of suitcases for months on end. Always pumping news into Canada's largest national daily, The Toronto Star, a century-old newspaper as cosmopolitan as the city itself.

Haroon Siddiqui is the first South Asian journalist in Canada to have made the big time, the first Muslim, and the first visible minority Canadian in mainstream journalism for over three decades.

Recently promoted to editor emeritus of The Star's editorial page, Siddiqui thinks the world of the print media, which he has fed and nurtured for over 30 years. "I love challenges and a newspaper of the Star's caliber offers them aplenty. Each day is new and exciting and full of hope and promise. And since I have a penchant for fighting clichés wherever I go, I fit in the newsroom perfectly," he says of his profession.

Small stints with news agencies like the Press Trust of India and Reuters in India brought Siddiqui in contact with Roland Michener, then Canadian high commissioner for India, who pushed him to migrate to the land of the lumberjacks.

"I always thought of Canada as too cold and globally isolated a country to live in, but decided to give it a shot anyway," he says. Being a journalist, he was already a rolling stone when he came to Canada in 1967. "I was used to shuffling between Delhi, Bombay and Hyderabad and didn't really suffer any culture shocks when I first set foot on Canadian soil."

While virtually half of Toronto's population today comprises immigrants, Siddiqui knows and understands the dilemmas of a newcomer. In fact, he started with a small-time job in small-town Canada, and smiles away the odds he had to fight in his early days in the country.

Then, he says, Toronto offered less opportunity than it does today. He was offered a job in Brandon, a small town in Manitoba. "I took it instantly. Jobs were scarce those days and Indian journalists were unheard of," he laughs.

In Brandon, he was surprised that many Canadians had never even seen an Indian before. He got a job as junior reporter for the Brandon Sun and still chills with the thought of having to travel by bus, waiting at bus stops in minus 30 temperatures.

A decade later, he quit as managing editor to join The Toronto Star, first as news editor and later as foreign affairs analyst.

In 1985, he was appointed the paper's national editor. Later, when he took over as editor of the editorial page, he was responsible for the editorials, the political cartoon and letters to the editor.

Today as editor emeritus he sits in his plush Toronto office overlooking the lovely Lakeshore Boulevard and sifts through global news to write a weekly column for Canada's most politically correct paper. "The Star is a liberal paper with a small 'L', meaning it is concerned both with Parliament and the man or woman on the street," says Siddiqui. The paper's policies and opinions affect one and all, from the prime minister to the yuppie on Bay Street.

Siddiqui has every reason to look back over his 30 years in Canadian journalism with pride. His thought-provoking columns have included rational pieces on the Indian subcontinent, whether it is India's relationship with Pakistan, its nuclear capability or booming economy.

Though the editorial grindstone keeps him busy all day, a call from home has him reverting from accented English to an enviable Urdu with a Hyderabadi lehza (style). This, of course, comes from his love of the language. "I used to be affiliated to the Urdu Society of Toronto. Now I hardly find time to enjoy the luxury of Urdu poetry. Maybe later in life," he hopes.

Armed with a diploma in journalism from Hyderabad's Osmania University, Siddiqui became a stringer for PTI, BBC and Reuters. "I wrote on cricket back home, but have migrated to a country that doesn't play cricket," he smiles.

That's perhaps one of the few regrets he has for leaving Hyderabad. "This and the warmth and certain 'Indianness' and culture that is so unique. I also miss the old Hyderabad City, but then I guess those living in the new city of Hyderabad today must be missing it too," he reflects.

Having been away from India for so long, Siddiqui says, "I no longer think like an Indian or a Muslim or a Canadian. The West teaches you to think like a global citizen from the world's point-of-view. I am less partisan and can look at both Indian and Pakistani issues from an unbiased angle."

India, today, is a global power to reckon with and "the country is better off having a Hindu nationalist party in power than as an opposition", he says. "India is at a turning point today. What is happening there is both exciting and relevant to countries all over the world. The amount of money, corruption, bureaucracy in India today is almost similar to the US at the turn of the century," he explains.

As for himself, he believes this corner of North America has given him more than he had ever dreamed of. "Yes, it is a Western culture with structured living, but that is a product of industrialization and a global phenomenon," he argues.

Does being an Asian, Muslim or Indo-Canadian pose any problem, like an identity crisis? "No, why should it?" retorts Siddiqui. "My being Canadian doesn't detract from being a Muslim or being originally from India, so there is no conflict of identity or emotions. In fact, that's what multiculturalism is all about: a celebration of everybody's faith, religion, ideas and ideals. All identities are protected here and they are still Canadian," he points out.

While he still spends his summers in Canada and winters in India, Siddiqui continues to write no matter where in the world he is, preferring to ponder on issues like the global village or cultural mixing. "Toronto is like a mini-world, where people of diverse cultures live in harmony. It's a perfect example of an ideal society. What better place to begin than right here?" he remarks.

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