Ashvinder Singh

Ash Singh resides in Singapore and is responsible for thinking up creative ideas new initiatives to promote Sikhism like Sikhpal.com, SikhiWiki.org, Gurumustuk's Blog (MrSikhnet.com), SikhAds, RateMyTurban.com, Turbanizer.com and The Ash Singh and Gurumustuk Radio Show. He runs one of Singapore's fastest growing media companies and manages the company's investment portfolio. His consultancy company provides strategic solutions to pre-IPO and Fortune 500 companies. Ash's web clients included some of Singapore's top brands like McDonald's (McDonalds.com.sg) for whom he created the initiative of an in-store plasma screen network and Singapore's largest customer loyalty rewards program with almost 500,000 members, leveraging for all 120 McDonald's outlets in Singapore and Starhub (Starhub.com). He is also an advisor to the INSEAD Business School. An aspiring venture capitalist, Ash was recently appointed to the executive on the Young Venture Capital Society of Asia to spearhead growth all over the continent. Ash is a Canadian born, Hong Kong educated, entrepreneur and was recently awarded the Sikh Centennial Foundation Award for entrepreneurial success and community service. Ash is the current project the Interactive Director of Imagine OmniMedia (www.imagine-omnimedia.com), a Singapore based media ventures company focused on reality television in Asia. The company's recent production "The Contender Asia" (www.contenderasia.com), a joint venture production with Dreamworks and Mark Burnett Productions, was the most popular show in its category on AXN. He received the honour of "Person of the Web" from Yahoo in 2007. He resides in Sinapore with his wife Harsimran Kaur.

Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa

Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa, born on March 24th, 1975 in Los Angeles, California to Sat Kirin Kaur Khalsa and Govinda Singh Khalsa is the webmaster of Sikhnet(www.sikhnet.com), which began in 1995 and is one of the largest sikh resources on the internet. His mother and father who were raised in Jewish and Chrisitian backgrounds came into contact with Sikhism after studying Kundalini Yoga with Siri Singh Sahib Harbhajan Singh Yogi. As they spent more time with Yogi Bhajan they became more and more interested in wearing a turban and living as Sikhs. They eventually adopted the Sikh religion. From the age of 7 Gurumustuk was sent to school in India where he studied for 11 years between 1983 and 1994, on this experience he writes "We would get up early in the morning, take a cold shower (which I dreaded at the time), and then get together with many of the other Sikhs in our area to recite Japji and practice Kundalini Yoga (to stretch and exercise our bodies). After the yoga we would do about an hour of meditation to various mantras from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, followed then by Gurdwara. This started our day by giving 2-1/2 hours to the Guru......10% of our day."

Gurumustuk Singh sacrificed a lot of his spare time to develop the website in its early stages and had to quit his job when he developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, so he decided to work part time on developing Sikhnet. Now living in Espanola, New Mexico, USA, Gurumustuk works full time on Sikhnet. He is married to Arjan Kaur Khalsa, who is a Chiropracter and has two children. He has a blog, www.mrsikhnet.com which he regularly updates about his life as a Sikh.

Baljeet Singh Lalli

Baljeet Singh Lalli became the CEO of Prasar Bharati in December, 2006. Prasar Bharati runs Door Darshan which is India's public service broadcaster. Door Darshan is one of the world largest broadcasting organisations in terms of infrastructure. The company currently operates 19 TV stations in India. He is also the Director General of All India Radio the radio broadcaster of India. Baljeet was previously the Secretary of Border Management in the Ministry of Home Affairs for the Indian Government.

Kulveer Singh Ranger

Kulveer Ranger Ranger who is a member of the Conservative Party in Britain has been appointed as a Director of Transport policy by the London Mayor, Boris Johnson. Kulveer will lead on policy direction for Transport on behalf of the Mayor. He will also oversee the relationship between the GLA and TfL to ensure the delivery of the Mayor’s priorities. He is one of 10 Mayoral Appointments. About Kulveer London Mayor, Boris Johnson said:“I am delighted to be able to announce Kulveer as my Director for Transport Policy. He has vast experience in delivering large projects with multiple stakeholders in both the public and private sector, and has a reputation as a terrific motivator and a leader with ceaseless energy". Kulveer was the lead delivery manager of the Oystercard for London in 2003 and led commercial negotiations on behalf of the Secretary of State supporting the King’s Cross redevelopment, the procurement of a £70m. He has been an advisor to Shadow Secretary of State for the Dept of Trade & Industry, Alan Duncan MP, and is currently Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party. Kulveer has appeared on Sky News and the BBC as a political commentator. Ranger originally decided to be an architect at an early age. In 1996 he attained a degree in Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture from the University College London, but it was during that time that his career direction changed. He admires Admiring great leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev, Nelson Mandela and Ghandi. He argues that there are not enough Black, Asian and Oriental youngsters involved in politics.

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, born in New Delhi, India is the first Sikh MP in New Zealand who was elected to parliament in 2008. Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi of conservative National Party defeated the Labour Party's Ross Robertson in the immigrant-dominated Manukau East constituency in suburban Auckland. Bakshi, with his wife Irvinder Kaur and two sons, moved to Auckland from Delhi in 2001 and has since been actively involved with Indian community groups in New Zealand. He is a member of a range of business and social organisations. Kanwal holds a B.Com degree from Delhi University and has 23 years of business experience. Since moving to New Zealand, he has been active in a number of business ventures covering property, wholesaling and the fashion industry. Along with other immigrant MP's Bakshi joins the most wthinically diverse New Zealand government ever.

Harbhajan Singh Samra

Harbhajan Singh Samra, came to dominate okra (Bhindi vegetable) farming in record time he is known as the Okra King of America. He arrived in California with an M.A. in economics in 1985 and began supplying produce to Indian restaurants and stores in the days when tinda, methi and moolee were hard to come by. He sold produce out of the back of his pickup truck. Later he opened a stall in the downtown Los Angeles 7th Street produce market. "You have to find your own niche. It's hard in the beginning to start from scratch, but once you create something, you have the confidence," he says. After 10 years of building his business, the next step was growing his own produce. His first okra crop, planted in 1994, failed. There were serious setbacks. Debts caused him to lose his farm, but he recovered. He bought several hundred acres near Indio in Southern California. Now Samra Produce & Farms, which farms about 120 hectares, has customers for Indian vegetables throughout the United States, Canada and Britain. According to a 2001 New York Times report, Samra's annual turnover exceeds $10 million, although he declines to be specific. He credits the American system for helping him succeed. "If you are determined, you can do anything in the world. But in some places in the world it is rough, and in others it is smooth. In America you can do things smoothly," he says. "But you have to work for it."

Didar Singh Bains

Didar Singh Bains is known the as the peach king of California and is one of the richest Sikh farmers in North America. He arrived in America with just $8 in his pocket saw the potenital of land for farming in California and has now become one of the wealthiest men in Northern California, worth somewhere in the region of $50 million. Didar started out driving tractors and irrigating orchards for 75 cents an hour, he did the work of four men, and soon bought his first peach orchard. He bought another, then another, and by 1978, had become the largest peach grower in California. His first name roughly means "visionary" in Punjabi, today he owns more than 40 pockets of land in 13 counties, including 667 acres next to Sacramento International Airport and much of rapidly developing western Yuba City. He has always been a leading figure in the Sikh community for the last 20 years. Before 1983 he was the head of the North America Akali Dal. After the Blue Star Operation in Amritsar he became the president of the World Sikh organization. In 1985, he became the founder chairman of the World Kabbadi federation. He is also acknowledged as the founder of the Annual Sikh Parade in Yuba City where nearly 100,000 Sikhs come together is the largest gathering of Sikhs in America. He is also a member of the World Sikh Council.

Ravi Bopara

Ravinder Singh Bopara, born 4 May 1985 in Forest Gate, Newham, London is an English cricketer who plays for Essex. Although originally a specialist batsman, he is now improving his medium-pace bowling and developing into an all-rounder, especially in the shorter form of the game. His agile fielding also adds to his worth. He is the second Sikh to play cricket for England, after Monty Panesar. Bopara made his first-class debut for Essex in May 2002. In 2003 and 2004, he played several matches for England Under-19s, including in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2004. In January 2007 Kevin Pietersen sustained a rib injury in England's first One Day International against Australia, keeping him out of the remainder of the series. Bopara was called up as his replacement, and made his ODI debut on 2 February. Later that month, he was named in the England squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup,[2] and he played his second ODI in England's second match of that tournament. In England's match against Sri Lanka, Bopara was named man of the match for his 52 off 53 balls, which brought England to within three runs of victory from a seemingly hopeless position. On 9 September 2008 Bopara was selected as one of the England 15-man squad for the inaugural Stanford Super Series in Antigua. The same day, Bopara was also handed an Increment Contract by the ECB. He will receive a one-off payment and will earn points for every Test and One-Day International he plays in over the next 12 months. Should Bopara reach a certain number of points, he will be awarded full Central Contract status. Ravi was awarded the Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketers of the Year 2008.

Miss Pooja

Miss Pooja's who's real name is Gurinder Kaur Kainth was born on December 4th, 1979 in Rajpura, Patiala, India is a famous Punjabi Singer. She has one sister, Maninder Kaur Kainth, and one brother. She starting singing from the age of 5 and went on to gain a degree in teaching music She is widely regarded as having revived Punjabi Duet songs. During late eighties to early 21st century, the Punjabi duet songs were often given second place by DJ's. She has become the largest selling female bhangra artist in India and has had considerable success internationally. Part of her success is the number of songs she has recorded and continues to record and she has sang with over 40 male singers. She may become one of the most partnered singers of all time. Another notable reason for her success is that she seems to be recording many songs written by the famous Punjabi song writer, Mr. Karamjit Puri from Village Bhagta Bhai, Punjab, India. One or more parts of his name are invariably mentioned in every song usually in the last or second last stanza. She is also very attractive and appears in many of her music videos. She has performed in shows in The US and at melas in the UK. She is recognised for her distinctive high pitch voice and has has had several number 1 singles on the Asian UK chart.

Malkit Singh

Malkit Singh MBE born in 1972 in the village Hussainpur, Jalandhar and raised in Nakodar, Jalandhar, Punjab is Bhangra singer. Most famous for the songs "Gur Nalo Ishq Mita", "Tootak Tootak Tootiyan", "Kurri Garam Jayee", as well as recently, "Chal Hun," and "Jind Mahi" from the blockbuster Bend It Like Beckham film soundtrack. Singh and his backup band Golden Star have toured in twenty-seven countries. In 1997, he was given the Recognition of the city of Los Angeles for his service to the Indian community. He is also listed in the 2000 Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest selling Bhangra artist of all time with the first million selling Bhangra album. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by the queen in the 2008 New Year Honours list. To date he has released over 20 Bhangra albums. He has been living in the UK since 1984.

Rabbi Shergill

Rabbi Shergill, born Gurpreet Singh Gill, 1975 in Delhi, India is a musician famous for his debut album Rabbi and the chart-topper song of 2005, Bulla Ki Jaana. His music has been described as rock, sufiana and Indipop. Rabbi himself has been called "Punjabi music's true urban balladeer". His father was a Sikh preacher and his mother is a college principal and also a Punjabi poet. Rabbi has four sisters. He is an alumnus of Guru Harkrishan Public School, India Gate and University of Delhi's renowned Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College. After leaving college, he did jingles for adverts for a while, some of them were for Nova ghee, Yamaha RX-T motorbikes, and Times FM. Rabbi struggled for many years to get his debut album published. Initially he worked with Sony Music, but Sony backed out. He then approached Minty Tejpal, brother of Tehelka's editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who liked his music and offered him a contract. After Tehelka's first sting operation, the company ran into financial problems and eventually cancelled the contract. Magnasound also offered him a contract, but the company became bankrupt before the album could materialize. He was finally signed on by Phat Phish Records, who brought out his debut album. His self-titled debut album Rabbi (2004) was highly successful with its title track Bulla ki jaana main kaun becoming an instant hit. The other songs in the album are an eclectic mix, including songs of joy (Ajj Nachna), love (Tere Bin) and even on contemporary issues (Jugni). Rabbi writes in Punjabi, for "It is my pride", he says. Rabbi's music has been inspired by Rock,Hard rock as well as Sufi and Punjabi folk music. His favourite musicians include Bruce Springsteen, Sahotas, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and Jimmy Page. His fans include Amitabh Bachchan and Sir V. S. Naipaul, who famously commented, "I didn’t understand it (his music); but it was very, very soulful, very deep." Mira Nair compared him to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He has recently released his second album Avengi Ja Nahin.

Jimmy Shergill

Jimmy Shergill, born December 3, 1970, who's full name is Jasjit Shergill is an Indian actor who hails from Patiala, Punjab, India. He is married to Priyanka Puri and they have a son named Vir. Many have likened his appearance to the Hollywood actor Barry Pepper. His debut film was Maachis (1996)and he has also appeared in Mohabbatein, Dil Hai Tumhaara, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, Haasil, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, Yahaan, Hum Tum, Tom, Dick and Harry,Kehta Hai Dil Baar Baar,Choddon Na Yaar, Dus Kahaniyan. Some of his recent roles have been in the popular films Munnabhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Raho Munna Bhai. His best movie as a lead actor is Yahaan (2005) where Jimmy portrays the role of a Captain in the army. Jimmy has also worked in Punjabi movies including Yaaran Naal Baharan, Mannat and Tera Mera ki Rishta.

Kash Gill

Kash Gill is a former British professional kickboxer and the founder of IFA Kickboxing club (International Freestyle Association). He has been the world champion 3 times and out of 100 fights he has had 43 knock outs. His natural speed and athletic ability soon gave him the nickname "Kash the flash gill" and standing tall at 6 ft 2 inches Gill has been described as the UK's most prolific kickboxer. Kash retired from kickboxing in 2002 and now runs a gym in Birmingham, England that has already trained some champions such as Paul Collins who has been the W.K.M.A Featherweight Full Contact Champion.

Akaash Bhatia

Akaash Bhatia, born 1st May 1983 in Loughborough, England is a British featherweight professional boxer. He is the first ever professional British Sikh boxer and the current British Southern area featherweight champion. Bhatia turned professional on May 2006 in York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. In his debut Bhatia defeated Kristian Laight on points over four rounds. He went on to win his next 11 straight fights before he fought for his first title which was the vacant British Southern area featherweight title. This fight came in November 2008 against Marc Callaghan at the Robin Park Centre in Wigan and he won the fight with a second round knockout of Callaghan. To date he is undefeated in 13 fights. His nickname is "Kash the bash" and he has been the London featherweight champion 2 times. Bhatia has been training at the renowned Peacock's Gym, Canning Town, in east London, as well as Maloney's fight factory in Deptford, south London. He was awarded the Most Up and Coming Sports Personality at the Sony Entertainment Television Asia Sports Personality of the Year Awards on February 3, 2007. His promoter Frank Maloney who took Lennox Lewis to the Heavyweight titles has said "Bhatia has the potential to become something very special in this sport,".