Stories from the battlefield: what Harjit Sajjan has learned about life

"Her eyes, I just remember her eyes," says Harjit Sajjan. Canada's Minister of Defence is remembering a formative moment in his life. He was twelve years old, had been living in Canada for seven years and was returning to his family's home village in India for a visit.

Sajjan was struck by the poverty, but admits his ego got the better of his young self, "I'm the kid from Canada and I'm being treated with respect, but the ego's getting to me."

He was on a bus. A young girl boarded the vehicle to beg. She asked the young Sajjan for a piece of orange. She quickly ate it and asked for another.

Sajjan remembers, "I got upset. 'How dare you ask me for a second piece?' I reluctantly gave her a piece. I kind of aggressively gave it to her. Without any anger, disdain towards me, I just remember her eyes, she took that little piece, ate it and then walked away."

At the time, the event meant nothing to him, but the memory came rushing back years later. "When I joined the military, in basic training, racism hit me. I was eighteen years old. That little girl's eyes came charging out in front of me. That was a profound moment for me. It may not seem a big story but it changed everything for me. That's the reason why I stayed in the military."

Harjit Sajjan spent eleven years with the Vancouver Police including a stint as detective with the Gang Crime Unit. He completed three tours of duty in Afghanistan and one in Bosnia with the Canadian Forces. Those experience have put him face to face with the complex nuances of conflict.

Speaking with host Mary Hynes, Sajjan shares stories of the events that have shaped his worldview: his conversion to Sikhism, his encounters in Afghanistan with what he calls 'true evil', and the online buzz around the photo that earned him the label 'badass minister'.