Sooden was born and raised in Zambia . His parents are Sikhs from Kashmir . His great-grandfather fought for the British Indian Army in World War I and died in Basra in 1916 during the Mesopotamian Campaign . As an inspiration for peace work , he cites his grandfather who was a career soldier in the British Indian Army and then the Indian Army . He says he was also motivated by the experiences of a friend who survived the World Trade Center attack on 11 September 2001 , and the ordeal of Maher Arar , a university classmate who was subjected to extraordinary rendition and torture
World Trade Center attack
September 11 attacks
Harmeet Singh Sooden