S. AJAIB SINGH SIDHU is an educationalist, a writer, a social worker and a dedicated Sikh activist. He got his first lesson of these qualities from his house itself; He was born in 1930 at village Sidhwan Kalan, District Ludhiana. His father, a religious and social worker, taught him these lessons of life. He graduated from Government College, Ludhiana, and got B.Sc. degree in 1949, Mr. Sidhu did diploma in teaching from Bombay University in 1951525
Soon after his return from Bombey the young Sidhu jumped into Akali politics through A.IS.S.F. and proved his ability as a confident political young activist as messenger between top political leaders of Ludhiana district. But the search for better and established life made Mr. Sidhu to leave Punjab and joined as teacher at Guru Nanak light School Bombay in 1951. This job gave Mr. Sidhu more avenues to fulfill his mission of promoting A.LS.S.F. He established its unit in Bombay and made it very active branch of the country. He also started publishing a newsletter from Bombay in 1952 on behalf of the A.I.S.S.F. Recognizing his writings and speaking ability, the Sikh youth of the cosmopolitan city of Bombay accepted a Punjabi villager as their leaders.
This young Sidhu did not feel contented with his sphere of activities and opportunities for promotion in career. He left for east Africa (Nairobi) in 1954 and continued his devoted activities for the promotion of Sikh Student Federation and dedication to the teaching profession. The establishment of a unit of A.LS.S.F. at Nairobi was a probably the first step towards giving S.S.F. a status of International level organization. His love for creative writings did not diminish in east Africa. Rather it grew more vigorously.
He published literature on Sikhism in English and other languages spoken by the local people. The local leading newspapers “East African Standard” published excerpts from his works on the editorial page. Mr. Sidhu came to U.S. in 1969.
Here too, he continued his mission of serving Sikh religion. He started a paper “Sikh Sansar” as a subeditor. He became a founder vice-president of Nankana Sahib Foundation with Dr. Ganga Singh Dhillon as president.
Mr. Sidhu was the first chairman of the Sikh Temple Freemont and was one of the founder members of the Gurdwara. He is also trustee of the Gurdwara Freemont.
Mr. Sidhu is a recipient of number of awards as a teacher. He also earned a distinction of being a top realtor and was honored as such by Wells Bennet Realtors in 1986.
His wife, Mrs. Jagjeet Kaur, has always worked shoulder to shoulder with him. She has made her own place in the society because of her dedication and sincerity. The Sikh community recognizes their services with respect and regards.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 8, 1987
