Councillor Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (former Mayor and MP candidate for Labour) showing the location of where the statue will be sited, on the bank of river Thames in Gravesend.
GRAVESEND, UK—An 8 feet high bronze statue of a turbaned Sikh soldier is to be unveiled in Gravesend (UK). It will be one of a rare few such statues outside of India.
The statue will be of the highly decorated officer pilot, the late Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji DFC. However, it will be symbolic to commemorate those from around the world who served alongside Britain in all conflicts 1914-2014.
Councillor Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Cabinet Member for Gravesham Borough Council and the Labour Party’s MP candidate in Gravesham, was the Mayor under whose tenure the funds for the statue were collated. He said –
The concept of a turbaned Sikh soldier statue was conceived by various individuals in varying forms. In due course, the Sri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara Gravesend would have installed such a statue within their complex.
Squadron Leader Mahinder Singh Pujji DFC
However, I was contacted by one such individual Palbinder Singh in my capacity as Mayor in 2011, to try and unite the community, council, Gurdwara and other groups to reach a consensus for a statue in the town centre. After various discussions with Council Leader John Burden, Gurdwara president Jaspal Singh Dhesi, senior council/Gurdwara members and other community leaders, it became apparent that consensus could be reached on local war hero Squadron Leader Pujji. The council would help to locate a suitable location and head up the tendering process for finding a sculptor, etc if the funds could be raised from the community.
Within a month, largely thanks to the Gurdwara Committee and wider community leaders, we managed to raise almost £70,000. I’m so proud of our local Gravesham community for coming together so quickly for an initiative which will help to further integrate us all.
The statue, sculpted by renowned British sculptor Douglas Jennings, will be unveiled by Air Vice-Marshal Edward Stringer on Friday 28 November.
