British Sikh Association Awards 2011
14th November 2011

The British Sikh Association, chaired by Dr Rami Ranger MBE FRSA, which lists Lord Karan Bilimoria, Baroness Sandip Verma, Lord Mohamed Sheikh, Lord Bhiku Parekh, Mrs. Jasbir Vohra and Harbans S. Sethi as patrons, presented its annual awards to luminaries from the Sikh faith at a dinner hosted at the Radisson SAS Portman Hotel in London on Monday 14th November 2011. Lord Indrajeet Singh, the first turbaned peer in the House of Lords and Channi Singh - described as the godfather of bhangra music in the Western World - founder of bhangra band 'Alaap' were among the recipients of awards.

Over 450 guests at the dinner were entertained with Bollywood dancing and a military band and speeches from The Rt. Hon Keith Vaz MP, Mr Virendra Sharma MP; Mr Tony Baldry MP; Mrs Valerie Vaz MP; Mr Alok Sharma MP; Mr Stephen Pound MP; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mr Bernard Hogan-Howe QPM; Brigadier Andrew Williams;, Mr Bhupinder Singh, Managing Director of Punjab National Bank (Intl) Ltd; Cllr. Sachin Rajput, Prospective GLA Candidate, and Mr Ravi Gidar, General Secretary of the British Asian Conservative Link.

Dr Rami Ranger MBE, Chairman of the British Sikh Association spoke about the hardships Sikhs are facing after 9/11 at airports and ports due to their turbans. He said that people need to be educated as to why Sikhs wore turbans in the first place. They wore turbans not to oppress or to terrorise anyone, instead, they wore turbans to identify themselves as people who liberate those who were being oppressed in the name of their religion. He asked that the Sikh Turban be recognised by the United Nation as a symbol of “Human Freedom” and accorded dignity and respect throughout the world. Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall, Mr Virendra Sharma MP, said that the initiatives started by the Sikh Gurus over 500 years ago, are still relevant today. He added that issues such as equality for women, poverty and child labour are still being discussed today and we should learn from the Sikh Gurus to work collectively to eliminate the ills of society.

The New Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, Mr Bernard Hogan-Howe QPM, spoke about his vision for London in which his force will deliver policing through humility, integrity and transparency. He added that he would like the Met to exemplify the values of the Sikhs: courage, community spirit and integrity.

The British Sikh Association Award Winners 2011

The Sikh Jewel Award was given to those who brought honour to their community and country by living up to the ideals of their Gurus. The citations of the awardees were read by Mrs Indy Aujla. The first award went to the bhangra King, Mr Channi Singh for making the genre popular in Britain and beyond; the second award was given to Mr Resham S. Sandhu MBE, DL for being the first turbaned High Sheriff in Britain and the third award was given to Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE, OBE for being the first turban wearing Sikh peer in the House of Lords.

Lord Singh of Wimbledon CBE, OBE, when accepting his award, stated that he was humbled to be recognised as being the first turbaned Sikh in Parliament and thanked the BSA and Sikh community for this recognition. He added that when he became a peer in the House of Lords, it was the Sikh faith being honoured rather than him personally. He added that he was happy to see the teachings of Sikh Gurus being celebrated in such high profile events.

Honorary doctorates

Honorary doctorates were awarded by the Vice Chancellor of the World Sikh University, Dr. Sukhbir S. Kapoor OBE to Mrs Kamel Hothi, Asian Markets Director at Lloyds TSB Bank for her services to the banking Industry and Asian community affairs. Mr Tarlochan Singh, Member of the Indian Rajya Sabha was awarded for his services to Politics and Sikh Affairs. Mr Amarjit S. Chandhiok, Additional Solicitor General of India was awarded a doctorate in Law and Sikhism.