Notable Members

Born in Bir Pind, Jalandhar district — the same village as the UK branch of the family — Mota Singh went to Nairobi aged 15, working as a bank officer for a British bank. He arrived in Canada on 14th November 1966, the same year Balbir Singh came to the UK. He became the first turbaned worker for Canadian National Railway and rose to become President of the Khalsa Diwan Society, Ross Street Gurdwara, Vancouver in 1983. He was instrumental in changing the RCMP dress code to allow Sikhs to wear turbans, fought for Punjabi to be taught in BC schools, and authored Saach Kahon (Truthful Accounts) — a book covering his life from Bir Pind to Canada with rare historical photographs. It was Mota Singh who compiled the Jheeta Family Tree in 1999, tracing the family back to the early 1600s. His children: Kamaljit Kaur (business owner, BC), Gursharan Singh (biomedical engineer, Toronto) and Dr. Raj Singh Jheeta (naturopathic doctor, Richmond/Surrey BC).

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Raj Jheeta is the younger son of Mota Singh Jheeta and first cousin once removed of Jin Jheeta. He completed undergraduate studies in biology and botany at the University of British Columbia, then received his doctoral degree in naturopathic medicine from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon in 1987. Practising in British Columbia since 1988 with clinics in Richmond and Surrey BC. He holds pharmaceutical prescribing authority and is a member of the College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia. For over 26 years he has been an international lecturer recognised by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, speaking on preventative medicine, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, herbal medicine and anti-ageing.