The board of trustees of Nishkam Civic Association (NCA) has appointed Bhai Sahib Dr Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia as Patron and member of the charity.  Otherwise known with affectionate regard as Bhai Sahib Ji, he is the founder of the NCA and served as its chairman for twenty years, directing the construction of the £7.5m iconic building adjacent to the Gurudwara on Soho Road, Handsworth in Birmingham. His visionary leadership and selfless service ensured the development of NCA as one of the leading civic engagement and community centres serving Birmingham and the West Midland region.

Bhai Sahib Ji is highly regarded for his unstinting work over thirty years to promote peace and social regeneration through building innovative partnerships between multireligious and secular organisations to contribute to the common good. 

Some sixty years of his life have been dedicated to revitalising the understanding and practice of faith in changing contemporary contexts and to stimulating grassroots change within communities at large in the UK, Kenya, Zambia and India, as well as more globally.

The award-winning £7.5m Nishkam Civic Association (NCA) building was constructed with a £2.5m ERDF grant, £1.5m voluntary in-kind contribution and £3.5m from GNNSJ. NCA aims to engage positively with government within the civic context of rights and responsibilities to promote community cohesion; facilitate environmental enhancement; and economic regeneration. 

On his appointment, Bhai Sahib Ji said: “I was delighted to be asked to become a Patron and member of the NCA and accepted without hesitation. The NCA is at the forefront of advancing community and economic wellbeing; promoting interfaith, intercultural, intercommunity dialogue; and championing social justice and inclusion.  To deliver its mission, NCA has embedded within its policies the values of active volunteering and selfless service for the benefit of local and regional communities.”

The NCA board of trustees has appointed Prof Upkar Singh Pardesi OBE as its Chairman and Shaminder Singh Rai as Vice-Chair.  Prof Pardesi has served as the board’s Vice-Chair since 2005 and Mr Rai has chaired the trust’s Finance and General Purposes Committee. The board also recently announced Amrick Singh Ubhi’s appointment to the post of Director of Nishkam Civic Engagement and Partnerships and Ajit Singh to the post of NCA Director.

Jarnail Singh Bhinder, NCA Trustee, said, “We are honoured to have Bhai Sahib Ji as patron at a time of change and uncertainty facing the voluntary sector. We have been hard at work, shaping a bold strategy for NCA’s future civic and community engagement, inclusion and education programmes to enrich communities when it matters the most; we aim to help local communities and businesses to rebuild after the long, dark months of lockdown. With the announcement of Bhai Sahib Ji as our Patron alongside the recent new appointments, NCA is well placed to lead the resurgence of our work for all our local and regional communities.”

ENDS

For further information, or to arrange interviews, please contact Amrick Singh Ubhi, Director of Nishkam Civic Engagement and Partnership at amrick.ubhi@ncauk.org or mobile: 07771 817484

Notes to Editors

The Nishkam Civic Association (NCA), fondly known as the Nishkam Centre, is a unique organisation charged with the task of developing a dynamic Sikh faith-inspired civic agenda. It is one of the key Centres for Excellence founded by Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, a Sikh faith-based organisation dedicated to nishkam sewa (active, selfless volunteering) to serve the common good.  It is part of the Nishkam Group that is made up of the spiritual centre (the Gurudwara), the community cooperative – MSS (Marg Sat Santokh, meaning ‘path of truth and contentment’), the Nishkam School Trust and the Nishkam Healthcare Trust.

Bhai Sahib Dr Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia is recognised as a greatly respected and influential international leader within the Sikh Dharam, or faith, by the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex organisation for some 26 million Sikhs worldwide.  It is from this Committee that he received the official dharmic title of ‘Bhai Sahib’, making him one of the first British Sikhs to receive such an honour in 2010. The term Bhai means ‘brother’ and Sahib means ‘leader’ or ‘one worthy of respect’ – making him a brotherly leader amongst the larger family of Sikhs. As a visionary leader, Bhai Sahib embraces the concepts of values-driven education and interfaith cooperation as tools to forge a lasting and sustainable peace.  Propelling this forward is the principle of seeing humanity as one family, and the light of the Creator in all, which is embedded in the heart of the Sikh worldview.  Bhai Sahib Ji was awarded an OBE in 2013 for his work in the fields of community cohesion, peace-building and interfaith.  He is also the first Sikh recipient of the Papal Knighthood of St. Gregory the Great (KSG).