On 4th November, the Loomba Foundation hosted an event at the House of Lords to celebrate the 550th birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The event was held in association with Rt. Hon. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minster of State for the Commonwealth, UN and South Asia. Other dignitaries included Rt. Hon. Lord Paul PC, Manmeet Singh Narang, Minister of Co-ordination of Indian High Commission, Lord Jitesh Gadhia, Tim Jones, Tata Ltd, Chairman of Pontaq, Mr Loknath Mishra MD & CEO of ICICI Bank, among others. The event was compered by Loomba Foundation Trustee, Mrs Shaminn Lalji.
Inaugurating the event, Lord Loomba spoke about the virtues of Guru Nanak whilst emphasising on creation of a gender equal society. His Loomba Foundation has been consistently supporting the plight of the widowed women across the world. This year in Punjab as part of the 550th birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji there will be 550 marriages of young ladies. The Loomba Foundation has pledged to donate 550 sewing machines to all these poor brides.
Lord Ahmad also delivered a keynote speech to mark this special occasion and noted the contribution that Sikh community have made in the UK. Their contribution includes fighting in the Second World War and noted that a “community barely half a million strong contributes over £8 billion to the UK's economy every year”.
Lord Ahmad concluded his speech with Guru Nanak's quote, “Even Kings and emperors with heaps of wealth and vast dominion cannot compare with an ant filled with the love of God”.
