NRI, Sikh Councilor Surinder Kaur Dhesi Becomes First Lord Mayor of Banbury, UK

London, July 22, 2004
NRI Sources, Avtar

Councillor Surinder Kaur Dhesi was elected Town Mayor on 22nd June 2004. She made history by becoming the first Sikh and non-white mayor in the district of Oxfordshire. She has been on the town council and district council for twelve years, and was also the first Sikh and non-white councillor in Banbury at that time.

She is hardworking and been fighting to retain local services at the local hospital (Horton General Hospital) and fighting to keep it as a general hospital. She works extremely hard working towards improving the environment and the lives of local people. She has also been supporting and fighting for the Sikhs of Banbury to have a Gurdwara

Surinder moved to Banbury when she got married to Balbir Singh Dhesi (village Dhesian Kahna, district Jalandhar, Panjab). Balbir is an executive civil servant in the British government and came to England to study after securing merit list in his B.Sc from Panjab. They have two sons, Benjit Singh (24), who is currently training to be an Officer in the British army, and Manvir Singh Khalsa (19) who is currently a student at King's College London studying Comparative Religions. Manvir Singh is a very active member of the Sikh society and spreading the word of our Gurus.

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Her aim is:

• To work for the people of Bretch Hill to the best of her ability
• To make this area a pleasant one to live in
  

Banbury is a small affluent market town in North Oxfordshire, which has around 60 Sikh families.

Councilor George Parish in his speech at the inaugural event said, “It is a special year for the Sikhs.

The ceremony was a proud moment for the Sikhs of Banbury and the entire world. Surinder Kaur is the first non-white town mayor in Oxfordshire and the second Sikh lady mayor in England.