Leicester: June 10, 2004
Mohinder Paul
Last week, Mr Piara Singh Clair was sworn in
after a councillor, Ms Jean Middleton, set to be the Lord Mayor,
withdrew due to health reasons. Mr Clair was the Deputy Mayor
and was elevated, much to the delight of the Sikh community.
The Leicester media had gone ga-ga over his
elevation and some prestigious newspapers carried his photo
side by side with that of Dr Manmohan Singh, the first Sikh
Prime Minister of India. The story centered around the indomitable
spirit of Sikhs and Punjabis who were achieving milestones in
both native and foreign lands. He was building a palatial house
in Noorpur and visited the village twice an year. He had been
taking up the problems of the villagers as well as of scores
of NRIs settled in England having problems in Punjab.
Piara Singh Clair, who belongs to Noorpur village,
near Phillaur, but had most of his education in Ludhians and
got M.Sc degree in agronomy from Punjab Agricultural University
(PAU) . He was the university’s best athlete in 1976-77.
He went to England in 1977 after getting married to an NRI,
Jusbinder Kaur. He continued his social work and won the hearts
of the Indian and the British population. He has two
daughters and one son.
