You could say Ujjal Dosanjh, federal Health Minister and a political trailblazer, is merely living up to his name. You see, 'ujjal' in Punjabi means 'bright'. Indian-born Dosanjh has had many accomplishments worth talking about, not least becoming the first non-white to lead the New Democratic Party and become Premier of a Canadian province (British Columbia).

Dosanjh grew up in Punjab's typical rural settings dominated by the leftist movement, though his father was a staunch Congressman. His moorings as a liberal were so strong that even in the '80s when radical Sikh ideology swept the diaspora, Dosanjh was one of the few expatriates who remained steadfast against pro-Khalistani lobby.

Opportunity came Dosanjh’s way when one of his aunts sponsored his immigration first to England in 1964 and then to Canada. That was the beginning of Dosanjh’s success story -- that of a teenager with a vision, working in saw mills to support higher studies.

Residents of Dosanjh Kalan remember Dosanjh as a soft-spoken, amiable man who always fondly remembers and maintains strong links with his birthplace. Though his entire extended family is now settled in Canada, he has retained the ancestral house and a 20-acre farm in Dosanjh so that they keep in touch with their roots.

Years ago when as a minister he visited the village he was born in, Dosanjh "sat down to chat with the students like any one of them,” recalls the school manager. That visit triggered a beeline by local residents for a glimpse of a moth-eaten, yellowing, black-and-white photograph of 1962, showing a gawky teenaged Dosanjh posing with members of his school hockey team.

Dosanjh's ascent in Canadian politics has inspired pride as well as hope among other Indian immigrants, especially Sikhs who now have a significant presence at various levels of government.

His glory trail can be traced to serious back injury in a Vancouver sawmill where he worked as watchman in his early 20s. That mishap turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Dosanjh.

Temporarily incapacitated and unable to resume work at the sawmill, he turned adversity into opportunity. Instead of confining his education to part-time studies at evening classes, he decided to devote undivided attention to it and enrolled as a full-time college student at Langara College. He acquired a degree in political science at Simon Fraser University. Next, he proceeded to read law at the University of British Columbia. After obtaining a law degree, he commenced practice in Vancouver in 1979.

That decision to seek higher education opened new avenues of achievement for Dosanjh. "I was interested in studying law because I considered it an important tool for social change," says he, as he looks back his academic choice. 

As a lawyer, Dosanjh became a champion of human rights and, inevitably, pursued a political career. Active in the New Democratic Party (NDP), he was elected MLA for Vancouver-Kensington in 1991. Rising rapidly in government, Dosanjh served in several key ministries and was appointed Attorney General in 1995. He held this appointment for five years until he was sworn in as Premier.

Indian origin: Dosanjh was born in India in 1947 - the year of Indian Independence from British colonial rule. He grew up in a national environment where children looked up to Gandhi as the Father of the Nation. Among his heroes were politicians of the calibre of Jawaharlal Nehru and John F. Kennedy, men who reached the pinnacle of achievement as world leaders. Naturally, Dosanjh regarded politics as a noble calling - one that he readily accepted from his adoptive home in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Of Sikh origin, Dosanjh is religious-minded but not fanatical. His soft-spoken, gentle manner conceals an iron will. Should the situation call for it, he has an abundance of inner resources to draw upon. When in straits, as has happened on occasion in his sometimes turbulent career, his strength of character, fearlessness and resolute determination come to the fore.

In the 1970s, he became aware of the plight of Sikh agricultural workers in Canada who were being discriminated against and exploited by callous employers. Ujjal sympathized with his downtrodden countrymen and helped form the first farm workers' legal information service for their guidance and protection. This service crystallized into to a full-fledged union for farm labourers.

In 1985, he discouraged Sikh extremism in the Indo-Canadian community, asking his fellow Sikhs in Canada to refrain from the kind of violence rampant among the extremist Sikh faction in the Punjab seeking an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan. Expressing their disagreement with his stance, extremist elements accosted the young lawyer in a parking lot outside his office in Vancouver and repeatedly struck him on the head with iron rods. He needed up to 80 stitches to keep his scalp together. "I don't care what they do. I'm going to go right back out there and take the same stand," was his reported challenge from his hospital bed.

In his years as Attorney General, Dosanjh earned popular respect as a man of integrity. And it was his personal reputation that helped him ascend the rungs in the NDP.

When BC Premier Glen Clark resigned amid scandal, Dosanjh became leader of British Columbia's New Democratic Party and BC's 33rd Premier on February 24, 2000. This made him Canada's first non-white and first Indo-Canadian provincial premier.

When Dosanjh took office, the NDP government was deeply unpopular, due to the lingering controversy around Clark. Dosanjh proved unable to distance himself from the controversy. Despite pointing out that as Attorney-General, he had been the person who announced the criminal investigation against Clark, which forced the Premier's resignation, the NDP was routed in the next election. Even Dosanjh, whose personal approval ratings remained high throughout, failed to hold on to his seat.

He announced his resignation that same night, and quit politics to return to practising law.

In 2004, Dosanjh re-entered politics as a candidate for Paul Martin's Liberal Party of Canada in the 2004 federal election. He won his riding by a wide 18,194 to 10,346 margin, and was later appointed Minister of Health in the federal Cabinet.

Dosanjh is married to Raminder, a social activist who he met during his college days. The couple, who married in 1973, have three children.