A former councillor calling for young Sikhs to get into politics has won an award for her work in the community.
LONDON, UK—Chairwoman of the Sikh Women’s Alliance Balvinder Saund, from Chadwell Heath, was among those being recognised for their work with campaign groups Sikh Federation UK, The Sikh Network and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs.
Balvinder, who has campaigned on Sikh issues for the past 20 years, said she felt “inspired” at the award ceremony, which was held on the first ever Guru Nanak Gurpurab celebrations at the House of Commons on Wednesday, last week. The day marks the birth of the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak.
The ex-councillor, who represented Seven Kings ward for eight years up until last year, said it was time for disillusioned young Sikhs to “take up the baton” in Westminster.
“There’s not a single Sikh MP at the moment and there has never been a Sikh woman MP,” she said.
“They don’t only serve Sikhs but they should be there to serve the community as a whole. The House of Commons has to reflect the communities it serves.”
She said the lack of representation in Parliament was “a real shame”.
“The community seems to have fallen by the wayside,” she added.
No Sikhs were elected to Parliament for the first time since 1992 at the last general election.
The only serving Sikh MP was Conservative Paul Uppal, of Wolverhampton South West, who lost his seat to Labour.
“Our young people are disillusioned with politics but they need to get involved,” said Balvinder.
“It’s about bringing about change and that’s why I’m encouraging them.”
Balvinder, also a magistrate, dedicated her award win to her late husband.
She said: “I owe all this to my late husband Surinder Singh Saund.
“Without all your encouragement, I would be nothing. All kirpa [blessing] to Waheguru [God] too.”