A dedicated and respected Sikh community leader and volunteer who spent most of his life to the people of Leicester.
Tributes from the community poured in after the passing of Sewa Singh Paldi’s who is a great loss for the Sikh community of Leicester and the city as a whole.
A former president of two of the largest Sikh temples in the city, died in Leicester Royal Infirmary last Thursday 17 January, aged 84.
Parminder Thandi, 26, said she “couldn’t be prouder” of her grandfather, who lived in Groby Road.
She said: “He was a prominent Sikh leader within Leicester and well known throughout the whole community through his involvement in multi-faith groups.
“My grandfather arrived in Leicester from The Punjab, India, in 1963 and was president of Guru Tegh Bahadur Gurdwara, in East Park Road, Evington, for many years.
“In 1992 he became president at Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, in Clarendon Park Road, and, last year, was appointed it chairman.
Mr Singh Paldi was a volunteer at the city’s LOROS Hospice for more than 15 years and was awarded the city’s Honoured Citizen Award in 2008 and was also invited to the Queens Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in recognition of his community work.
Parminder said: “He regularly travelled to Punjab to provide the elderly and needy with eye cataract operations.
“He also helped poor schoolchildren with their education by providing them with learning materials.”
She added: “I was really close to my grandfather, who was a very strong and proud man.
“He was very caring and a leader who was trustworthy and respected as a man of his word.
“All his life he was dedicated to the service of others – his name ‘Sewa’ means selfless service, and he certainly lived up to his name.”
She added: “He’s going to be dearly missed by all his family and friends and the wider Sikh community.”
Councillor Piara Singh Clair MBE, Deputy City Mayor of Leicester, was a close friend.
He said: “I was really shocked to learn of Sewa’s death. It is a great loss for the Sikh community of Leicester and the city as a whole.
“He lived three doors down from me for nearly 21 years and was a great example and role model.
“Sewa was the person everyone would turn to for sound advice and he will be sadly missed.”
Resham Singh Sandhu, chairman of the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society and former High Sheriff of Leicestershire, added: “I met Sewa when he was at the Gurdwara in East Park Road.
“He was a very honest in his approach to community service and became a guide and valued advisor very much to so many people.
“He was a stalwart of the community for more than 50 years. He was superb and earned respect across the community and city.
He added: “It is a sad loss and it will be very difficult to fill the gap he’s left. We will miss him greatly.”
Mr Singh Paldi’s funeral will be held on Friday 25 January, where, in Sikh tradition, his body will lay on show at the Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, in Clarendon Park Road, from 11am to 11.45am.
A cremation service will be held at Gilroes Cemetery, off Groby Road, at 12.30pm, after which further prayers will be said back at the temple.
Transport will be provided from the Gurdwara to the cemetery and back.
