Portsmouth Imperial Service Medal recipient, who was 'a pillar of Sikh community', passes away

TRIBUTES have been paid to a British-Sikh Imperial Service Medal recipient who passed away last week, aged 90, in Portsmouth.

Shingar Singh Taak – a founding member of the city's Guru Nanak Sar Gurdwara set up in 1963 – was regarded as “a pillar of the Sikh community in Hampshire”.

Born in 1930 in Sialkot, which is now a city in Punjab in Pakistan, Taak was a first-generation migrant who started off his UK life toiling in Birmingham’s giant foundries.

In the 1950s, he moved to Portsmouth, where he settled with his family.

“I cannot imagine life without this giant of a man. Full of poetry. Full of wisdom. And full of love for humankind,” said his grandson Amarjit Singh, CEO of India Business Group.

“Nanaji – as my generation called him – was studious and hardworking right from an early age. His parents had instilled in him principles of honesty and hard work, which he upheld till the very end.”

Singh, who is also special adviser for India at the University of Southampton, said elders in Portsmouth recalled Taak as a “person who always radiated goodness”.

“And whenever anyone needed help, the community relied on him,” he added. “His motto was: ‘Always serve humanity, without expecting any reward’.”

Singh said Taak, who had received the Imperial Service Medal for 25 years of dedication at the Portsmouth Dockyard, was a true “role model”.

“He inculcated values of honesty, hard work and integrity in the younger generations of the family,” he added.

Community members described Taak, who was well-versed in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, as “a fountain of knowledge”, especially about Sikh and Indian culture.

On the eve of Taak’s funeral at Southsea temple on Wednesday (29), Singh said his grandfather had embarked on “a spiritual journey to his final abode”.

“Nanaji has gone to a better place, and we deeply miss him,” he said.