The Annual Dinner of the Sikh Forum Intl was held at the House of Lords. Maharani Preneet Kaur, Minister of State at the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India was the guest of honour. Other attendees included His Honour Mota Singh QC, The Lord Stevens QPM, The Lord Sheikh and Viscount Slim.
President of the Sikh Forum Ranjit Singh OBE, spoke of the important work carried out by the charity in promoting community cohesion. He also told of the efforts taken by the charity in supporting the increased recruitment of Asians into the Police and Armed Forces. He shared his views on the importance of wearing a turban in the Sikh faith and was confident that an agreement could be reached. On a lighter note, Ranjit informed guests of his trip to India with the Head of the Police Commission, Sir Paul Stephenson.
He said, “Last week, I had the pleasure of taking Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Sir Paul received a lovely garland from the stewards of the Golden Temple called the saropa….he narrowly escaped being baptised as a Sikh!!”
Maharani Preneet Kaur was given the Sikh of the Year award. The Lord Sheikh congratulated Mrs Kaur on receiving her award and spoke highly of the generous donation of £32,000 the Sikh Forum made to the Prince’s Trust. Viscount Slim gave high praise to the Sikhs who fought in the British Indian Army and stated that he did not feel that their turbans placed them in any added danger.
In his closing remarks, Justice Mota Singh highlighted the various challenges facing the Sikh community in Britain. He paid tribute to the leaders of the Sikh Forum and spoke highly of the reputation attributed to Sikhs as being hard-working and open-minded.