The latest news, updates and events in Birmingham
A long-serving Walsall policeman with Sikh heritage says he feels ‘blessed” after receiving a top honour for his work in tackling racism and making the police force more diverse. Sergeant Harvinder Singh Rai, who co-founded the WMP and National Sikh Police Association, has been awarded the MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours 2023.
History was made in Birmingham as the city elected the first ever British-Indian Lord Mayor who arrived to the country in 1964 as a youngster with his mother. Proud Brummie Chaman Lal, who was Councillor of the Soho & Jewellery Quarter for 29 years, is the first British-Indian person from the Sikh faith to take…
A special cultural event, which is part of the annual Vaisakhi celebrations in the Black Country, will be held in Walsall which also explores Sikh history. The free community event will be hosted at The New Art Gallery Walsall on Saturday 15 April at 12pm-4pm.
A new short film called Kaur, produced by talent from the Midlands, tells the story of a British South Asian woman’s decision to wear a turban as part of her Sikh faith despite her father’s misgivings and fears about reprisals. Kaur tackles the uncharted subject matter in a sensitive manner and highlights the social –…
Fury erupts within Birmingham’s Sikh community after a police officer allegedly tore off a man’s turban at Perry Barr Custody Suite on Monday. Police have issued a statement to calm the rising tension in the local Sikh community following the appalling incident which took place on Monday 25th October.
Smethwick MP John Spellar has taken up the case of a 75-year-old woman living in the West Midlands, who has been threatened with deportation by UK immigration services. The Member of Parliament for Warley revealed he is working with campaigners to secure Gurmit Kaur the right to stay in the country under exceptional circumstances.
Over 50,000 people have signed an online petition calling for an elderly Smethwick woman to remain in the UK after she was threatened with deportation. 75-year-old Sikh woman Gurmit Kaur has received backing for her cause from people all over the world, amassing in excess of 50k signatures in under seven days, after I Am Birmingham…
Community campaigners are rallying behind an elderly Sikh woman from Smethwick who is being threatened with deportation, despite living in the country for over ten years. Outraged friends and neighbours of 75-year-old Gurmit Kaur have jumped to her defence after menacing letters threatening to “secure her removal” were sent to the senior citizen by the government immigration services.
The Sikh tradition of Langar was embraced at a Black Lives Matter protest in Sandwell on Saturday, as residents came together to rally against racism and to defend a local elderly woman from threats of deportation. Billed as Sandwell’s sixth Black Lives Matter protest in recent weeks, over 50 people gathered in Victoria Park to voice their solidarity with the…
A Sikh soup kitchen in Birmingham is determined to continue feeding the homeless despite the threat of coronavirus. The Midland Langar Seva Society – who feed the vulnerable and needy in Birmingham nearly every single day of the year, taking a break only on Christmas Day – have announced they won’t be backing down from their duty in…