The night will include…

• DJ Entertainment by Aman Hayer’s Entourage
• Singer, Geeta Zaildar
• Lots of prizes to be won
• 3 course dinner (provided by Signature)

Venue:

COLESIUM BANQUETING SUITE

300-310 High Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1QW

on

14th October 2011
6:30pm – 12:00am
£25.00 per person

It will be a truly enjoyable night for you and your family and friends, so be sure to attend.

Any questions, please contact SCCP on: 020 8554 3377

If you are unfortunate enough to break down on the motorway, you should always bear in mind that hard shoulders are for emergency use only. If you can keep on driving and stop at a service station or take the next exit off the motorway you should try to do so.

If you need to use the hard shoulder in an emergency, stop as far to the left as possible, with your wheels turned also to the left. Leave your sidelights on and use your hazard lights.

Exit your vehicle using the left hand door and make sure all your passengers do the same. If you have a reflective jackets make sure that you put them on. Do not use a reflective warning triangle on the motorway if you have broken down.

You need to make sure that all your passengers are kept away from the carriageway. It can be a scary experience so ensure that you keep calm. Try to sit up the bank of if there is a barrier behind it.

On a motorway do not attempt to try to repair your car. Call you roadside assistance company to help you. If you don’t have car breakdown insurance cover it would be a good idea to get some. Breakdown cover can start from as low as £20 per year.

If you have a mobile phone use it to contact your provider. If you do not, you will have to walk to the emergency telephone, which you will find along the hard shoulder. You must never try to cross over the carriageway to use the emergency telephone. These phones are free and will connect you directly to the Highways agency.

The organisation calculates that there are 16 or 17 British gurdwara which have slipped from grace in this way.

They have sent protestors to a temple in Grays, Essex, and to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Edinburgh to register their feelings and argue for a return to the tenets of the faith.  Other temples will also be approached.

BBC News has reported the start of a national campaign and journalists on its Asian Network have seen video footage showing scenes inside gurdwaras that many Sikhs would find offensive.

One of the UK Sangat’s leading campaigners, Hardip Singh, said what was happening in Britain showed disrespect for Sikhs worldwide.

He said: “If you want to do it privately, we are not going to fight or argue with you, that’s your business. But to tolerate it on holy places – we can’t accept that.”

The UK Sangat’s efforts resulted in 250 protestors assembling for a peaceful demonstration to stop a wedding party at the Grays temple in October. After discussion, the wedding ceremony was held but not the party.

UK Sangat says that rules are sometimes being flouted in halls owned by temples but although the events in question are often fundraisers for the temple’s work, the halls should still be regarded as sacred ground governed by the Sikh code.

The Sangat believes that some temple leaders will want to continue breaking the code and anticipates some tough negotiations in the months ahead.

In Edinburgh in November the Guru Nanak Gurdwara committee – accused of violating the Akal Takht Sandesh code prohibiting consumption or promotion of meat, alcohol, tobacco, dancing and parties on temple property – announced that it would abide by the rules in future.

Satpal Kaur-Singh made her son Ajit Singh-Mahal drink a cup of the caustic liquid, which, among other effects, led to multiple organ failures.

The Manchester-born 44-year-old feared social services were about to take Ajit from her, it was stated at her trial at the Old Bailey, where she denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Psychiatrists had concluded she was suffering from a mental condition.

He court heard that an hour after giving the bleach to Ajit she drank some herself and then called 999 to report what she had done.

Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC called it a case of “great tragedy”.

The boy was totally dependent on his mother, could not speak and therefore had trouble communicating, and also in dealing with crowded or noisy environments.

On the day he died, his mother had refused to co-operate with Barking and Dagenham Council council staff at a meeting called to review his care. Social services had registered previous concerns about her lack of co-operation and her parental skills.

She had made complaints against members of social services and also her husband and neighbours, one of whom said she had a habit of blowing everything out of proportion.

However, the court was told that on the day of the meeting she had appeared calm and no-one present had any concerns about her immediate behaviour.

Officers who responded to the 999 call encountered  a powerful smell of bleach. Ajit was lying on a sofa, close to a patch of vomit on the floor. He had corrosive burn marks around his mouth, chin and neck.
Kaur-Singh, who was on the floor with a cup of bleach and a knife next to her, had left a suicide note in which she complained of being hounded by social services.

She later said she had heard voices in her head telling her: “You have to do it. Go for it, it’s come to an end now”.

Kaur-Singh was remanded in custody for sentence on December 13.

Barking and Dagenham Council say there will be a “serious case review” of how it handled the case.

Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji

The contribution Sikh soldiers made fighting for Britain in the First and Second World Wars has been highlighted in a BBC television documentary in the run-up to the nation’s Remembrance Day ceremonies.

In a story not often told, UK viewers learned that 2.5 million Sikhs fought for the Allies in the Second World War.  It has even been estimated that Sikh troops outnumbered the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish soldiers combined in World War 1.

The Sikhs, identified by Empire leaders over the years as a “martial” race, proved to be resolute and courageous, many being awarded medals – including the Victoria Cross – for their bravery in action.

The BBC1 programme featured input from military experts, historians, war veterans and the last-ever interview with one of the most famous modern day Sikh combatants, Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji, a fighter pilot with the RAF, who died in Kent, aged 92, in September.

Sqdn Ldr Pujji, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, was among a small group of pilots who travelled from India to help defend British shores in World War 2. He shot down Messerschmitts, was forced down twice and lost a lung flying at high altitude.

Read he story of this remarkable man at http://www.historytimes.com/news (enter Pujji in the Search box)

The BBC documentary also included an audio recording of a World War 1 Sikh prisoner of war, which was handed to Britain in 2010 after 94 years in German hands.

‘Remembrance: The Sikh Story’ was worthy of a better placement than the 11.30pm spot it was allotted.

The Sikher Project announced that “the eGurbani revolution has arrived”.

The GurbaniDB.org initiative aims to create the world’s most accurate database of the Sikh Holy Scripture, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, The translations and transliterations can now be downloaded from http://www.gurbanidb.org/download/ to move this ambition forward.

Jasdeep Hari Bhajan Singh Khalsa, a key figure in the project, said: “Throughout history many translation efforts of scriptures have been made, but have been a long and arduous process taking many years or even lifetimes to complete.

“In today’s modern era we now have computer technologies to help speed along translation creation, such as Google Translate. We also have unified all languages with the invention of Unicode, making it easy to convert from one language script to another, to read another language script in our own language script.”

But he said that GurbaniDB will not be content with the creation of 52 translations and 22 transliterations.

He said: “The organisers want people who are passionate about the Guru, who can speak any of the native languages and who have a good command of English to come forward to check the accuracy of the translations and transliterations, and also to collaborate on improving them using our Collaborative Translation System which is currently being developed.”

Volunteers can go to http://www.gurbanidb.org/collaborate/ to sign up.

GurbaniDB will be opened up as a platform for software developers to create the next generation of Gurbani software.

One of the biggest obstacles to its development is access to accurate Gurbani data. Jasdeep Khalsa said: “We hope to eliminate this barrier by using GurbaniDB as a verified source of Gurbani data. Our developer platform is currently being finalised but we encourage all keen developers to register their interest at http://www.gurbanidb.org/develop/.”

The work so far has involved considerable expenditure of time, energy and money and the Sikher Project will welcome donations of any size to help it reach its donation target of £15,000.

Or well-wishers can become one of 25 Gold Subscribers donating £50 a month, so that the project can continue its crucial work in connecting people to the Word, the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

To find out more about the Sikher Project log on to www.sikher.com

Brainchild of Navdeep Singh Bansal, director of The Sikh Directory media organisation, the awards recognised the special contribution Sikhs have made in the UK in the fields of business, sport, entertainment, charity, the media, service and education.

World renowned Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ji, inspiration for the UK’s first Sikh free school, which has received Prime Minister David Cameron’s backing, presented the Sikh Lifetime Achievement Award to Fauja Singh, a one-time Punjabi farmer who is an outstanding distance runner – still competing in his nineties.

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ji, the mukhi-Sewadar from GNNSJ Birmingham, also received an award. Earlier this year at a special ceremony at the Golden Temple in India, he was accorded the highest possible honour for his global services to the Sikh religion  and this was further commemorated with the presentation at the Sikh Awards.

The UK’s first Asian High Court judge, Sir Mota Singh, was among the judges for the awards, along with Mrs Harminder Kaur Chahal, Dr Surinder Kaur Hundal, Ranjit Singh Baxi and Peter Singh Virdee.

The awards were hosted by BBC broadcaster Sonia Deol. Founder Navdeep said: “Sikhs have been in the UK for over 160 years, and have made some of the most significant contributions to British science and industry. Today’s multicultural Britain is showing unity in diversity and if we can say that we all belong to one heavenly father, then we are all brothers and sisters.”

The Sikh Awards will become an annual event in different parts of the world. The 2011 awards are likely to take place in the USA or Canada, but will return to the UK in 2013. They are designed to inspire and encourage generations around the world.

The 2010 winners were:

Sikhs in Business

Dr Kartar Singh Lalvani, founder of Vitabiotics

Dr Kartar Singh Lalvani OBE. Dr Lalvani founded Vitabiotics, Britain’s fastest growing major nutraceutical company, 39 years ago developing a portfolio of the UK’s No. 1 brand leading supplements, including Pregnacare, Perfectil, Osteocare, Wellman and Wellwoman.

A fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, with a doctorate in medicinal chemistry, Dr Lalvani has built his business on his patented scientific innovations.  The company now sells its products in over 120 countries. In the UK, over £60m worth of products are sold through retail chains nationwide.

Dr Lalvani’s group employs over 2,000 worldwide with a global turnover of mre than £200m and further double-digit growth is forecast.  Vitabiotics is a private family business and has twice won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

Sikh Business Women

Dr Rabinder Kaur Buttar

Dr Rabinder Kaur Buttar. Dr Buttar is a highly successful British entrepreneur and the founder, President and CEO of clinical research organisation ClinTec International, which has a growing presence in the major markets of Europe, India and the Middle East.

Included in Real Business’s List of Britain’s 100 Most Entrepreneurial Women, Dr Buttar is the recipient of several prestigious business awards, such as Ernst & Young Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 and The Institute of Directors (IOD) Director of the Year for Glasgow & the West of Scotland.

Dr Buttar has a PhD in Immunology 1988 from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland and has  received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West of Scotland for her 20 years contribution to Life Sciences.

Sikh Entrepreneur

Jasvinder Singh Sembhi

Jaswinder Singh Sehmbi. Arriving in London aged 11, Jaswinder Sehmbi has has always shown the entrepreneurial instinct. From a very young age he learned he could turn his hand to almost anything and make something from it. Reassembling a bicycle to sell on while at school, using his talent to decorate homes while at college, supporting a family of five in all ways possible, he has shown an unstoppable passion and drive.

Now he has realised a dream with a business that has taken him all over the world. And it doesn’t stop there. His intuitive way with others and constant strive for learning new things and sharing knowledge has lead him to sponsoring and mentoring young hopefuls, inspiring them to become the creative forces of tomorrow

Sikhs in Education

Prof. Tejinder Singh Virdee

Professor Tejinder Singh Virdee. A particle physicist at Imperial College London and at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Professor Virdee has distinguished himself for his contributions to experimental particle physics. In particular, starting with a handful of colleagues in 1990, he was responsible for setting up the worldwide CMS experiment collaboration. This is one of the two largest and most complex experiments in science, with over 3,000 scientists and engineers from about 180 institutes in over 38 countries.

Professor Virdee has been a leader of the CMS experiment since the early nineties.

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Sikhs in Entertainment

Jazzy B

‘Jazzy B’. Jaswinder Singh Bains, aka Jazzy B was born in Punjab, raised in Vancouver, Canada, and is now a transatlantic superstar who has introduced a fresh new image to the world of Bhangra music. Since his debut album in 1993, he has become one the most prominent stars of Punjabi music in the 21st century, having proved his credentials with a string of worldwide smash hit songs.

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Sikhs in Media

Dr Gurjeet Kaur Bains

Dr Gurjeet Kaur Bains. Dr Bains is Editor-in-Chief of Britain’s first English/Punjabi publication, The Sikh Times. Among her other accomplishments is hwer work as non executive director at Europe’s largest hospital and she is also governor of a consortium of colleges in Birmingham.

Dr Bains was awarded an honorary doctorate by Aston University. The first woman to chair the Institute of Asian Businesses, she is also founder of British Asian Hafta, an initiative that celebrates the success and contributions of the Asian community to Britain.

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Satnam Singh Dhillon

Sikhs in Sport

Satnam Singh Dhillon. Satnam Dhillon has played polo all his life. His father started playing in his early 30s and Satnam has followed in his footsteps with distinction. He is now rated as one of the top four English polo players, but unlike any other player on the same seven goal handicap he plays in the professional sport as an amateur – his full time employment is in the family property firm. Currently, the highest rated Indian player in the game, he is part of the England squad.

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United Sikhs UK

Sikhs and Charities

United Sikhs UK. Staff and supporters work behind the scenes for an organisation they feel is theirs. Its volunteers have led 15 humanitarian relief missions in disaster zones; it provides legal services to defend civil and human rights and runs educational and personal development programmes.

The charity’s mission is to provide selfless service to the underprivileged and dispossessed, regardless of their religion or belief, ethnicity, nationality or gender. United Sikhs is now a UN-affiliated NGO with offices in 10 countries across the world, including the UK.

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Sikhs and Seva

Dr Manjit Kaur Birdi. Dr Birdi is a health practitioner and has worked within the community for over 20 years. She has been deeply touched by the suffering of fellow human beings and has always set out to help them in whichever way she can. She has appeared on various TV and radio stations to raise the profile of health and religious affairs within the Sikh community.

Six years ago she travelled to Kenya to help build clean water supplies and an irrigation system. She has also visited Uganda to set up safe farming areas for families so they could grow and develop their communities. And now she is working with local families and hospitals in India treating illnesses, promoting Sikhi interests and setting up an educational programme for children.

Fauja Singh

Sikh Lifetime Achievement

Fauja Singh. In his age group nonagenarian Fauja Singh holds the world 10,000m record (64 mins – Lahore Marathon January 2005), and Half Marathon (2 hrs 29 mins and 59 secs) and Marathon records (5 hrs 40 mins and 1 sec), set at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in September 2004 and September 2003 respectively.

At one event, Fauja Singh, 94, was to run 100m, 200m, 400m, the mile and 1500m, and a 3,000m continuing on to finish with the 5000m. Six races covering eight distances in a time limit of 94 mins. Impossible? Nothing is impossible for the ex-farmer from the Punjab! Fauja Singh clocked 19.97 for the 100. In the 200m he obliterated the UK M90 age group record, clocking an amazing 45.13sec. The 400m he covered in 1.49.28sec, to become the first of is age in Briton ever to contest this distance.

Guest speakers and presenters travelled from all over the world for the awards, They included Gurbaksh Singh Chahal, one of America’s top innovators who has starred on Fox’s The Secret Millionaire and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Others attending were Roop Singh who promotes Sikh Awareness and is based in Leeds, Vic Singh Sethi who runs Anand International in Leicester, Sukshinder Singh Shinda, a bhangra singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Mrs Sandip Kaur Verma, who is the first female Sikh Baroness in waiting to the Queen, and comes from Wolverhampton, film director Mrs Gurinder Kaur Chada from London, and Harbinder Singh Rana, the chairman of ASHT Walsall.

The first recorded Sikh settler in Britain was in 1849. Since the migration from the Punjab in the 1950s, the UK Sikh population has grown to 750,000. Sikhs have become one of the most successful and affluent communities in Britain.

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‘BBC Asian Network Presents…’ is committed to providing distinctive, original and impactful content, all relevant to the target audience.  It aims to deliver popular established names to the network and to develop new talent both on and off air, providing a platform for writers (established and new) and fresh radio talent.

Vijay Sharma, Head of BBC Asian Network, said the station was showcasing Asian writing and creative talent. As well as being entertaining, the dramas would reflect real issues, passions and stories, touching the lives of the Asian communities in Britain.

The new season of commissions will take listeners from comedy to romance to Bollywood, and will see one 30-minute single drama broadcast on the network each month. The season started on September 1 with the Big Brother-inspired ‘Reality Check’. Written by Shai Hussain, the drama featured former Hollyoaks actors Lena Kaur (pictured) and Junade Khan, and followed a young girl through her Big Brother experience, which she decided to use to reveal her true self to her family back home in Yorkshire.

James Peries, Producer, BBC Radio Drama, said  ‘Reality Check’ started in the pop culture of today’s reality TV and then revealed deeper themes around identity, and some darker plot twists – ultimately becoming an intimate family story.  Other plays will begin with a familiar touchstone, but then take the audience on an imaginative journey – telling a complete story in 30 minutes. Comedies, mysteries, drama, and musicals are all in preparation.

Kulvinder Ghir

The season will draw upon a host of writing and acting talent to produce a diverse range of work that all the family can enjoy.  Kulvinder Ghir (‘Goodness Gracious Me’, BBC TV), stars as Jugjit, the know-it-all brother, in Tajinder Singh Hayer’s ‘We’re Not Getting Married’.  Jugjit’s advice to younger brother Harvinder could be the breakthrough or the breaking point, as a meeting with Harvinder’s prospective wife approaches.

Sonali Bhattacharyya has written ‘Ping Pong’, the story of a nine-year old boy struggling with the pressures of school, and the career expectations of his parents.  Balancing these pressures with his love for playing ping pong, the aspiring star embarks on a mixture of youthful road movie and family saga.

Kris Kenway brings us ‘My Friend the Bollywood Superhero’, a drama about a 15 year old, struggling to deal with the torment of teenage love.  He meets a mentor, who enters his life straight off the movie screen and guides the teenager through this journey of romantic discovery.

In addition to these exciting new dramas, there will be something for everyone in the new strand, which will also include original and fresh stories around food, culture, music and marriage.

Silver Street replacement

‘BBC Asian Network Presents….’ replaces the network’s Silver Street drama, which finished in March. It will be produced by Radio Drama Production at BBC Birmingham.

Asian Network provides a distinctive mix of music, alongside a variety of British Asian, Bollywood, Bhangra news, debate, languages, entertainment and live events with a real focus on promoting and highlighting British Asian talent. It plays host to the best in Asian talent including presenters Tommy Sandhu, Sonia Deol, Nihal, Noreen Khan, Gagan Grewal, Bobby Friction, Raj and Pablo.

Asian Network Reports brings listeners the latest daily news and the documentary strand is committed to exploring relevant topics from all areas including arts, news, health and business. The station supports a range of new music and supports emerging artists – especially those from the UK.

The station is multi-platform, enabling young audiences to connect through the web and interactive services – offering new ways to listen, watch and find great content from the station.

Asian Network was recognised at this year’s Sony Radio Academy Awards, winning Best Speech Programme for Nihal’s afternoon show and the Bronze Award for the Asian Network Reports: Passport to Murder News Special.

You can listen to Asian Network on bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/DAB and on Digital TV: Sky0119/Freeview 709/Freesat 709/Virgin 912