SARDAR Gurnam Singh Sahni was the only child of Sardar Jeet Singh and Sardarni Krishna Kaur, born in Rawalpindi on August 8, 1927.
His early years were spent under the British Raj, an era of political turbulence and rising passion for Indian nationalism. From a young age, Gurnam Singh followed his father into local politics.
At the age of 15, he became the general secretary of the Rawalpindi Student Congress, becoming president in 1944.
The partition of India in 1947 led to a seismic period of turbulence for millions of Indians and Gurnam Singh and his family fled to Delhi where he continued to develop the family business, producing and trading motor parts.
He married the love of his life, Sardarni Jaswant Kaur in 1951. They settled in the UK in 1961, keen to establish a new life for their young family – daughter Gurveen and sons Arvinder and Rajpal.
Gurnam Singh soon combined his passion for his community and his business skills. He helped finance businesses for his fellow immigrants and became increasingly committed to providing leadership for the growing Sikh and Indian community in the UK. This led to him taking numerous roles in support of the Central UK Gurdwara in Shepherd’s Bush, London, from 1970 till 2000, culminating in 10 years as its president.
He was also tireless in his determination to ensure the availability of relevant news and community information for the broader Punjabi diaspora, leading him to set up the first Asian newspaper in the UK, The Punjab Times, in 1965.
Gurnam Singh not only wanted to help his community maintain their roots and traditions, he was also passionate about ensuring there was a better understanding of Punjabi and Sikh culture in the UK. He played a leading role in establishing organisations such as the Puthohar and Khukhrain communities, that helped celebrate traditions and shared history. He also gave his time to other activities including political involvement, advising educational and media institutions; even serving as an advisor to the BBC Asian programme board. He was always keen to ensure there were bridges being established from the Indian community into broader British society.
His passion for his faith never diminished, demonstrated by his role in founding the Ealing Gurdwara and London Sikh Centre in 2007. He faced the political, economic and cultural challenges of his time with determination, diplomacy and humility and spent his life devoted to his family, his faith and his community.
Gurnam Singh passed away last Monday (21) at the age of 90.
- Kulveer Singh Ranger is Sardar Gurnam Singh Sahni’s grandson
