Sikh Contributions to Worldwide Society honoured at World Sikh Awards in London
 Founder of Sikh Awards, Navdeep Singh Bansal, addressing the audience |
 Venue: Hilton Hotel, Park Lane - The Ball Room |
Tariq Jahan, the bereaved father who gave an impassioned plea for calm during the recent riots in Birmingham has received a “Special Faith Award” at the 2011 World Sikh Awards held in London on Sunday 9 October 2011 presented to him in presence of over 700 guests. Mr Jahan lost his son during the disturbances but his calming words and dignified demeanour helped prevent more violence in the area.
Harbhajan Singh Indian off-spinner, was winner of 'Sikhs in Sports” category at the World Sikh Awards 2011, hosted in London, for his "contribution to the Indian cricket team's World Cup triumph". Harbhajan could not receive the award personally as he was leading the Mumbai Indians in the Champions League Twenty20. “…..Its my pleasure to receive the 'Sikh Sportsperson of the Year 2011' . I would like to thank you for this award and will try to continue to do my best………”, said Harbhajan.
Brainchild of Navdeep Singh Bansal, director of The Sikh Directory media organization, the awards recognized the special contribution Sikhs have made worldwide in the fields of business, sport, entertainment, charity, the media, service and education.
“The Sikh Awards have recognised some amazing people with amazing talents and experiences,” says Navdeep. “We are delighted that Sikhs and non-Sikh alike have embraced the positivity of this awards ceremony and once again the winners’ achievements, in all walks of life, speak for themselves.”
The awards were hosted by BBC Asian Network broadcaster Sonia Deol. The World Sikh Awards have now become an annual event and will be held in another part of the world next year now that they are firmly established within the Sikh community. They are designed to inspire and encourage generations around the world.
The Nominees for the awards were :
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| For a detailed list of other Nominees please visit: http://sikhawards.com/nominee.aspx |
| The 2011 winners were: | ||
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| Sikhs in Business - Mr Analjit Singh (India) – founder and chairman of Max India Limited which included the internationally recognised Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited. | Sikhs Business Women – Mrs Geeta Kaur Sidhu (UK) – founder of unique natural health solutions company Nosh Detox and often featured in glossy women’s magazines. | Sikh Entrepreneur – Mr Harvinder Singh (Malaysia) - founder and managing director of PSI in Control, an international engineering technology company based in Malaysia. |
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| Sikhs in Sport – Mr Harbhajan Singh Plaha (India) – plays test cricket for India and is the 11th bowler in the history of cricket to claim 400 wickets. | Sikhs in Education – Mr Simon Singh (UK) – award winning author and documentary maker as well as recipient of an MBE in 2003 for his services to science education. | Sikhs in Charity – Sikh Aid International (UK) - established in 2001 Sikh Aid International is a humanitarian organisation run by volunteers and guided by fundamental principles of Sikhism, one of which is Seva - Service rendered to humanity. |
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| Sikhs in Entertainment – Mrs Gurmeet Kaur Sodhi (USA) – known as an ‘Indian Oprah’ Mrs Sodhi has a been a talk show host for over 10 years and is considered to be one of the most influential women in the South Asian media. | Sikhs in Media – Mr Ravi Singh (USA) – CEO and founder of ElectionMail Technologies, a pioneering company in the field of online politics, plus Mr Singh was the first American with a turban to graduate from a US Military Academy. | Sikh Lifetime Achievement - Professor Kartar Singh Ji |
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| (L to R :) Awards were also presented to Dr Raminder Singh Ranger (Sikh People’s Choice Award), Mr Jogishwar Singh (Sikhs in Profession Award, and) | |
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| (L to R :) Mr Kulvinder Singh Sihra (Sikhs in Seva Award). Mr Stefan Grosz was presented with a Special Recognition Award for his work in discrimination and equity law as Head of Public Law and Human Rights at Bindmans LLP. | |
“It was a tremendous evening of celebration, ” says Rabinder Singh, the first person of Indian decent to be appointed as a Justice of the High Court and also judge on the awards panel. “It is a pleasure to recognise the achievements of Sikhs from all over the world from a wide range of activities.”
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