Indarjit Singh

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Indarjit Singh (sometimes Inderjit Singh), OBE, (1932, Rawalpindi, British India - ) is a British journalist and broadcaster, editor of the Sikh Messenger and widely known as a frequent presenter of the Thought for the Day segment on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, and BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. He is also a contributor to British and overseas newspapers and journals including The Times, The Guardian and The Independent.

Born in Rawalpindi in 1932, Singh came to England in 1933. He studied engineering at Birmingham University. Between 1955 and 1975 he worked in mining and civil engineering for the National Coal Board, for Costain as a mine manager in India, and in local government in London. Since 1993 he has worked for the Sikh community, promoting interfaith understanding. He has been an adviser to, or member of, official bodies including the Commission for Racial Equality and the Home Secretary’s Advisory Council on Race Relations. He is patron of the World Congress of Faiths.

Singh is probably the best-known British representative of the Sikh community. As well as editing the Sikh Messenger he is also Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations (UK) and regularly represents the Sikh community at civic occasions such as the Commonwealth Service and the Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph. He has been consulted by Prince Charles, Anglican bishops and the Metropolitan police. He is prominent in the national and international inter faith movement, a Patron of the World Congress of Faiths and an Executive Committee member of the Inter Faith Network UK.

[edit] Awards and honours

In 1989, Indarjit Singh became the first non- Christian to be awarded the Templeton Prize "for the furtherance of spiritual and ethical understanding". In 1991 he received the Inter faith Medallion for services to religious broadcasting. He was awarded the OBE in June 1996. In 2004 he joined Benjamin Zephaniah and Peter Donohoe in being awarded an honorary doctorate (Doctor of Laws) from the University of Leicester. He came second to Bob Geldof in the BBC Radio 4 "People's Lord" poll of 2004/2004^[1]