City Sikhs (formerly City Sikhs Network) ( Punjabi: ਸਿਟੀ ਸਿੱਖ) is a

nonprofit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, and a registered charity which describes itself as "A voice for progressive Sikhs". It promotes networking, education and volunteering amongst Sikh professionals and provides a platform for engagement with the British Sikh community.

History

Jasvir Singh OBE Chairing the City Sikhs Politics in the City 2018 in Parliament

City Sikhs was launched in London in October 2010 by a group of Sikh professionals. The idea for the organisation came about after the founder of City Sikhs, Param Singh became friends with Dhruv Patel OBE, the founder of the

City Hindus Network City Hindus Network (CHN) is a not-for-profit organisation created to promote networking, spirituality, education and charity amongst Hindu professionals. It was founded in 2005 by Dhruv Patel OBE, who was succeeded by entrepreneur Pratik Datta ...

through a leadership training programme they both attended. In 2018, the organisation had over 7,000 members and was the largest Sikh organisation in the UK and Europe. City Sikhs is a member of the Faiths Forum and has worked with a variety of organisations including

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...

Diversity Networks, National

Sewa Day Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), meaning "service" in several Indian languages, is a trade union based in Ahmedabad, India, that promotes the rights of low-income, independently employed female workers. With over 1.6 million particip ...

, the Faith and Belief Forum (formerly Three Faiths Forum),

Limmud Limmud is a British-Jewish educational charity which, in the UK, produces a large annual winter festival and several other regional events throughout the year on the theme of Jewish learning. Limmud is not affiliated to any strand of Judaism, ...

, the

Islamic Society of Britain The Islamic Society of Britain (ISB) was set up in 1990 for British Muslims to promote Islamic values. Its youth wing is The Young Muslims UK (YMUK). Background The ISB's first president was Zahid Parvez. On 16 November 2013 Sughra Ahmed was ele ...

, and

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

In 2021, Rita Chadha, who was the former Small Charities Coalition chief executive, was appointed as its first director.

City Sikhs' work

Some members of the City Sikhs and British Sikh Report teams outside Number 10 Downing Street

Some of the events that City Sikhs has organised include: *17 August 2011: "Sikhs, the City and Success", hosted by Barclays Wealth *2 April 2012: "Mayoral Hustings in the City", hosted by

*17 October 2012: "Celebrating British Asian Sporting Success", hosted by Herbert Smith Freehills LLP *4 April 2013: "Recipes for Success", hosted by

State Street Bank State Street Corporation is an American financial services and bank holding company headquartered at One Lincoln Street in Boston with operations worldwide. It is the list of oldest banks in continuous operation, second-oldest continually opera ...

*31 July 2013: "Launch of the British Sikh Report", hosted by

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

*10 February 2014: "Women in Faith", co-hosted by

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

*9 April 2015: "Hustings in the City", hosted by the

Chartered Insurance Institute The Chartered Insurance Institute (also known as the CII) is a professional body dedicated to building public trust in the insurance and financial planning profession. The CII's purpose, as set out in its 1912 royal charter, is to 'Secure an ...

and co-organised with the

. *"Recipes for Success", hosted by UBS Bank in 2014,

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

in 2016, BDO in 2017 and Parliament in 2018. *15 April 2019: The Grand Trunk Project and Faiths Forum for London in partnership with City Sikhs,

and the Association of Muslim Lawyers held an event in Parliament to commemorate 100 years on since the

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independence ...

. *22 July 2019: The Faiths Forum for London in partnership with City Sikhs organised the parliamentary launch of the first

South Asian Heritage Month South Asian Heritage Month is the name given to the month-long celebration in the South Asian diaspora to celebrate the heritage of people with roots in the South Asian countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhut ...

*29 July 2019: City Sikhs in partnership with the Indian High Commission organised a photo exhibition on the life and philosophy of Guru Nanak Dev Ji as part of his global 550th birth anniversary celebrations. City Sikhs supports interfaith initiatives such as the St George's Day Declaration and CAASE. City Sikhs has also supported British Sikh projects such as the Warrior Saints book, the

British Sikh Report The British Sikh Report, (Punjabi: ਬ੍ਰਿਟਿਸ਼ ਸਿੱਖ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ) also known as the BSR, is an annual report launched in Parliament every year about Sikhs in the United Kingdom. The report looks at the views of Sikhs l ...

, and the Khanda Poppy Project Members of City Sikhs have appeared on TV and radio and in print on a number of occasions to talk about Sikh or British Asian issues and are regular contributors to the

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British Asian radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially British Asians between the ages of 18 and 34. The station has ...

and

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's ''

The Big Questions ''The Big Questions'' is an interfaith dialogue and ethics television programme usually presented by Nicky Campbell. It is broadcast live on BBC One on Sunday mornings, replacing ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' as the BBC's religious discussion pr ...

''.

Awards and nominations

The City Sikhs team has been awarded a wide range of awards recognising both interfaith and community work, including: * In the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

the Chairman, Jasvir Singh, received an OBE for services to faith communities and social cohesion in the UK. He became the youngest Sikh to receive this award. *In the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Onkardeep Singh, a founding trustee, received an MBE for services to faith communities and young people in the UK. He became the youngest person of South Asian heritage to receive this award. *In November 2018, Trustee Param Singh received an 'Inspirational Individual' award at Faith and Belief Forum Community Awards presented by the Lord Lieutenant for Greater London, Sir Ken Olisa OBE for services to the various faith communities in London. *In the

2019 New Year Honours The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Param Singh, a founding trustee, received an MBE for services to charity. *In July 2019, City Sikhs was given the "Community Initiative of the Year" award and the co-founder, Param Singh MBE, was named Man of the Year at the 7th British Indian Awards. *In September 2019, Onkardeep Singh MBE, a founding member, was awarded the prestigious Asian Achievers Award for community service at the 19th Asian Achievers Awards at

Grosvenor House Grosvenor House was one of the largest townhouses in London, home of the Grosvenor family (better known as the Dukes of Westminster) for more than a century. Their original London residence was on Millbank, but after the family had developed ...

Air Chief Marshall Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...

Michael Wigston of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

.
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References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.citysikhs.org.uk Educational foundations Political and economic research foundations 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom Professional associations based in the United Kingdom Business organisations based in the United Kingdom Business organisations based in England Industry trade groups based in England Charities based in the United Kingdom Business organisations based in London Charity in Europe Charities based in Europe Cultural organizations based in Europe Lists of organizations based in Europe Development charities based in the United Kingdom International organisations based in London Organisations based in London Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Lobbying organisations in the United Kingdom Public policy think tanks based in the United Kingdom Human rights organisations based in the United Kingdom Anti-racist organisations in the United Kingdom Political advocacy groups in England Charities based in Birmingham, West Midlands Charities based in the West Midlands (county) Clubs and societies in London Cultural organisations based in London Diaspora organisations based in London Educational organisations based in London Non-profit organisations based in London Youth organisations based in London Youth charities Charities for young adults Religious charities Religion in London Religious organisations based in London Sikh organisations Sikh political parties Sikh politics Sikh mass media Sikh organisations based in the United Kingdom

History

City Sikhs' work

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links