Khalsa Aid founder gets key UK award

Jasmine Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 7

Ravinder Singh, the founder of Khalsa Aid, was presented with ‘The Award Of Excellence and Achievement In Your Chosen Vocation’ by the Punjabi Society Of British Isles during a ceremony in the British Parliament. Ravinder dedicated the award to Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra on the anniversary of his disappearance. 

“It was the anniversary of Shaheed Jaswant Singh Khalra’s disappearance. Since Jaswant Singh exposed the truth about the mysterious disappearance of as many as 25,000 Sikh youth and how they were cremated by Punjab Police in different cremation grounds, how could I not dedicate the award to him? Since it was an important ceremony, it was held at the prestigious British Parliament.”

Ravinder gives a fat share of his credit to Khalsa Aid’s Asia-Pacific director Amarpreet Singh from Patiala. “Amarpreet has been a part of so many missions. He is actually the unsung hero of Punjab,” shares Ravinder.

Khalsa Aid has undertaken numerous missions in India and across the world. Its engagement in northern Iraq has been noticed worldwide. Khalsa Aid has also helped rehabilitate and rescue women from the IS. Their relief team has been supporting Yezidi and Syrian refugees in Iraq since 2014.

Ravinder, however, has always been on the receiving end as he comes under fire for his tweets directed at the “corrupt system and political scenario”. “People call me so many things, but all I can say is I am simply against corrupt regimes and governments. I just want people to get justice and a fair deal in the existing scenario,” says the founder, who has time and again urged Punjabi celebrities from the world of entertainment to speak up against the unjust practices of society.

“There was a time when Punjabi singers use to beg to get signed. Now that they’ve become famous, they show arrogance. On the contrary, they should come forward pay back to the society. The least they can do is hold talks at colleges and universities,” he adds.