THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Leicester {Tarlochan Singh Virk}- The Second World War 2 ended on 8th May 1945. A Service of Thanksgiving on the 80th Anniversary of VE Day took place at multi-cultural city of Leicester where people speak most of the languages of the world and live peacefully side by side. Leicestershire and Leicester has combined population of 1,180, 881 {County 712,300, City 368,881}. Leicester is considered a ‘super-diverse’ city, with most of its population belonging to Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic [BAME} groups according to reports in 2022 with a significant percentage of residents being born outside the United Kingdom. In the 2021 Census, 43.4% of Leicester’s residents identified their ethnic group as Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh. Of this 34.3% identified themselves as Indian.
The Service on Thursday 8th May 2025 started at 5.30 pm at the Leicester Cathedral and those in attendance included The Very Rev. Karen Rooms the Dean of Leicester; Rev. Canon Pastor; Major Martin Strecker 222 Medical Squadron; Michael Kapur OBE CStJ The Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire; Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire Col. Richard Hurwood; Chairman of Leicestershire County Council Councillor Joe Orson; The Lord Mayor of Leicester Councillor Bhupen Dave; The Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby; The Right Rev. Saju Muthalay Bishop of Loughborough; The Choir and other civic dignitaries.
The Very Revd. Karen Rooms Dean of Leicester began with The Introduction and Opening Prayer “…..We gather together on this day to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe, when the sounds of war fell silent on this continent at the end of the Second World War. We gather to remember the way Soldiers, Sailers, Airmen and marines gave their lives restraining evil and opposing tyranny. We pray for those whose lives are still scarred by the memory and actions of warfare and those whose futures are made uncertain by the threat of conflict.”
Major Martin Strecker read ‘Tribute to The Million’ “Let us remember those who so selflessly gave their lives at home and abroad, whose sacrifice enables us to enjoy the peace and freedom we have today. Let us remember those who came home wounded, physically and mentally, and the friends and family who cared for them and remember the families that lost husbands, sons and sweethearts. Also remember the servicemen, merchant seamen, miners, brave civilians and others from Commonwealth and Allied countries who fought, suffered and died during the several years of war.
Michael Kapur OBE CStJ who hails from Ludhiana in Punjab was very proud to be the first Punjabi to become the Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire on 14th June 2018 and is the official representative of His Majesty the King for the County of Leicestershire and the City of Leicester. He read The First Reading from the Book of Isaiah “ Those who walk righteously and speak uprightly, who despise the gain of oppression, who wave away a bribe instead of accepting it, who stop their ears from hearing of bloodshed and shut their eyes from looking on evil, they will live on the heights, their refuge will be fortresses of rocks, their food will be supplied, their water assured. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our King, he will save us.”
The first citizen of Leicester the Lord Mayor of Leicester Councillor Bhupen Dave read The Second Reading from The Book of John 15.9-17 “ As the Father has loved me, I have loved you: abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”
The Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire Col. Richard Hurwood read “They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old: age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. We will remember them.”
The Address was delivered by The Right Reved. Saju Muthalay Bishop of Loughborough who reminded everyone of the suffering of those who came back from wars in the past and the dreadful war consequences of the civil war in Sudan, the conflict between Isreal and Palestine, ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine that has affected many countries and the recent tensions between two neighbouring nuclear powers India and Pakistan regarding which citizens of our County and City are very worried and scared about their loved ones in Kashmir. The Bishop of Loughborough also read The Blessings and the Service of Thanksgiving to mark the end of the Second World War concluded with everyone singing The National anthem.
Members of the Punjabi Listeners Club formed on the 3rd anniversary of BBC Radio Leicester’s Punjabi Programme were also invited to this special Service of Thanksgiving. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year the Punjabi Listeners Club has been promoting Punjabi Language and Sikh religion through Turban Tying Competition, Punjabi Writing Competition, Punjabi Language Seminar, Trips to see Sikhs’ contribution in World Wars exhibition at SOAS University in London, Sikh National Museum in Derby and were very honoured and grateful that The Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, The Vice Lord Lieutenant and The Lord Mayor of Leicester were our Guest of Honour at the International Mother Language Day Celebrations 2023, Guru Nanak Gurpurab Celebrations at Wigston Library and Kavi Darbar in 2024 respectively.
The Sikh Community all over the world is remembering all those Sikh Soldiers who sacrificed their lives and were wounded. Singh Sabha Gurdwara Derby , Guru Nank Gurdwara Birmingham and other Gurdwaras are pro-active in raising awareness of Sikhs’ contributions and the sacrifices they have made. At an event in Solihull in Birmingham in 2023 Jay Singh -Johal VR, Chairman of the WW1 Memorial Charity and trustee of the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation delivered a presentation about the shared history of Sikhs and the British and commented “ The story of the Sikh military contribution to Great Britain is a legacy that lives on with serving Sikhs, and I know for myself the way in which the heroic yet selfless service of our forebears and veterans continue to inspire us to undertake great deeds today.” The Sikhs and British relationship go back to the 18th century. A total of 83,005 Sikh Soldiers were killed and 109,045 were wounded n the two World Wars so that the rest of the world can enjoy living in freedom.
A few years ago, a Sikh War Memorial Statue was erected in a very prominent place in Leicester’s main Victoria Park and very near to University of Leicester, Community college and the popular De Montfort Hall to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of tens of thousands of Sikh Soldiers who fought for the UK during various military campaigns in the World Wars. These are accreditations of our veterans as there are numerous statues around the country allowing their contribution to be remembered and their bravery acknowledged. Another such statue is going to be in the capital London with the efforts of Tan Dhesi MP and others. Such actions also endorse the Anglo Sikh relationship.
