To figure in the obituary columns of The Times London is a mark of an individual’s standing in society. Recently the paper carried a report on Awtar Singh

Here is the text: Sardar Awtar Singh British Sikh died from a heart attack on April aged 42. He was born at Dhapai Kapurthala on October 25 1951

During his time as care taker manager of one of the largest Sikh temples in this country at South all Awtar Singh was instrumental in mobilizing support at West Minster for the exemption won by British Sikhs from the require ment to wear hard hats on construction sites a8 enacted in the Employment Act. 1990. There were then some 50000 Sikhs working on building sites in Britain (about an eighth of the Sikh community) and their demands for a special dispensation from the law coming after the previous controversy over helmets for motor cyclists caused heated exchanges in the House.

it was a typical action from aman who had always been and articulate exponent of Sikh interests in Britain. He arrived in 1961 in an early wave of Sikh immigrants from Punjab where his family had been landowners. He made good progress through the state education system gaining first-class honors and the British Steel prize in chemical engineering at the University of Lough borough in 1974

Afterwards he researched into thermodynamics and panicle technology into thermodynamics and particle technology at Surrey University and taught mathematics at Stan borough School in Hertfordshire.

But it was in Sikh politics that he really made his mark. In his undergraduate days at Lough borough he was a founder of the Lough borough Sikh Temple and president of the Sikh Students Federation.

Following the storming of the Golden Temple Amritsar by the Indian Army in 1984 and its violent after math Singh devoted more of his energies to the service of his traumatized community. As general secretary of the International Sikh Youth Federation he was a tireless campaigner for human rights. He leaves a widow  three daughters and three sons.

Article extracted from this publication >> June 24, 1994