Duty, Honour & Izzat – Graphic novel
History non-fiction $29.99 CAD HC 144 pages 9781988903477
Written by Steven Purewal, illustrated by Christopher Rawlins.
Comic book story illustrated by Claude St. Aubin and Ruth Redmond.

Presented as a historical scrapbook with beautifully realised, photo-realistic artwork. Framing the history is a graphic novel story about a teenage boy, in Surrey BC, caught up in drug gangs. He rethinks his choices after his 95 year old great grandfather comes to visit the family in Canada. His stories of their past, and seeing him reunited with a Canadian soldier his great grandfather saved during WW2 opens up a different path to live his life.

Why are certain histories covered, discussed and inquired about, while others remain hidden? Going beyond the old tropes of colonised histories this book presents the Indo-Canadian community’s pioneer experience within the events leading to the ejection of the Komagata Maru from Canadian waters in July 1914 and the subsequent outbreak of the Great War in August 1914. Canada has a proud Great War record, and its achievements will be celebrated during WW1 centennial commemorations. However, the story of a longstanding Punjabi-Canadian community that fought for western civilisation & the British Empire, side by side with Canadians and under the same flag, has gone untold. Punjabi soldiers played a pivotal role in the opening months of the war in France & Belgium. A great book to introduce Canadian youth to a more inclusive look at our history.