:dateline:The Metropolitan Police for the first time in it’s history have celebrated Guru�Nanak Dev Ji�s Gurpurb. On Tuesday 2nd November 2016, the Metropolitan�Police Sikh Association held the event at the Metropolitan Police Service�Training School in Hendon, London.
The event was attended by the�Commissioner of Police of London, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe QPM, Lord Ranbir Singh Suri, Rob Marris MP, West Midlands Police Sikh�Association, Akhand Kirtani Jatha UK, Sikh Council UK, Khalsa Foundation, Sikh�Helpline, Sikh Women’s alliance, Sikh Union Coventry, and representatives of�various UK Gurdwaras.
The event began with a warm welcome from Ravjeet Singh, executive member of�Metropolitan Police Sikh Association, and thanking the dignitaries and audience�for attending the historical event. Slough Khalsa Academy leading Simran, a�recital of a Shabad, and a rap made by students about the life of Guru Nanak�Dev Ji.
Inspector Sutinderjit Mahil, Chair of Met Police Sikh Association welcomed�guests to the event. Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, congratulated the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association for its great work�and wished all the Sikh community best wishes for the Gurpurb of Guru Nanak�Dev Ji.
The contributions of the Sikh community to the Police were highlighted,�and an appeal was made for more Sikhs to come forward to join the Police. He�stated that he hopes to see the Metropolitan Police with a Sikh Commissioner in�the future.
Dignitaries from within the Police Force included Chief Superintendent�Raj Singh Kohli, Chief Superintendent Parm Kaur Sandhu, and Chief�Superintendent Victor Olisa. The historic challenges faced by black and ethnic�minority background police recruits and officers was discussed and how lots of�progress has been made in trying to recruit officers from diverse backgrounds�into the Police Service to reflect the Communities we serve.
Bibi Mandeep Kaur, the Sikh Chaplain to the British Armed Forces, presented a�short presentation on �Learning leadership skills from Guru Nanak Dev Ji.�
Later,�Bhai Manvir Singh, an international Sikh speaker and HM prison chaplain,�presented a short presentation on interesting facts and finds about the life of�Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Gurmel Singh Kandola OBE, Chair of Sikh Council UK, provided an insight on�the Sikh Council UK and their hopes to create better links with the Police to deal�with community matters and issues. The Sikh Council UK is the largest�representative body of Sikhs in the UK, and is the only Sikh organisation to�represent Sikh nationally that is democratically elected and held accountable by�the Sikh community.
The event was filmed by Sikh Channel (Sky 929), and will be aired on television�in the upcoming weeks.
