Living for others

For Ranbir Singh Bedi, two decades of community service paid off when he was recognised last month by the United Nations’ Universal Peace Foundation (UPF) for his immense contribution to the Sikh and Australian community.

Bedi, 57, a Senior Executive at the OP Industries in Clyde, is the only Indian in Australia to have received the ‘Living for Others Peace Awards’ this year.

A visibly thrilled Bedi said the award was very close to his heart and couldn’t have been better timed. “It was a very proud moment for me and my family when I was recognised by the UPF for my work. I am extremely humbled that they recognised me for my work. This is a real encouragement to me and hopefully others who want to also work for the community. I always wanted to do something for others and this award motivates me to continue working harder,” he told Indian Link award function in Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club.

Bedi was nominated by the Sikh Association.

The UPF award is meant to recognise the efforts of people who help forge understanding between people of different ethnic backgrounds and bring people from varied backgrounds together.

An engineer by profession, Bedi has been an active member of the Sikh community, helping them integrate in to the Australian society. He has contributed immensely to the community’s development. To his credit, he has played an important role in the construction of Sydney’s first Sikh Gurudwara in Bankstown and in establishing a Punjabi community language school in Revesby, besides many other accomplishments.

Bedi and other Sikhs in the community have been actively part of the Australian society and have been encouraging other Indians to follow suit by being involved with the Rotary clubs, Anzac Day and the Clean Up Australia Day.

“We are involved in many activities as we want Australians to know that we are very much a part of their society. I like working for the community and we should be willing to help others,” says a passionate Bedi, who moved to Sydney with his family in 1985.

“We also played a band on Anzac Day this year, which became extremely popular,” he adds. He also helps young immigrants and students settle in to Australia.

Recalling the task of setting up the first Gurudwara, the President of the Association says that changing perceptions about the Sikhs in Australia hasn’t been smooth sailing. “We wanted to build a temple and it isn’t easy as establishing a church. In 1979, a house was bought for the purpose of constructing a Gurudwara and I got involved only in 1985. We started talking to the Bankstown Council and had to get neighbours to approve it. Finally, after getting all permissions, construction started in 1997 and it was complete in 2002,” says Bedi, also a life member of the Australian Hindi Indian Association and a Justice of Peace for the past two years.

The Gurudwara spans an area of 3000 sq metres and has a membership of over 1000 people. It can seat over 700 people at a time. Changing perceptions and gaining acceptance for the 20,000-strong Sikh community in Sydney hasn’t been very easy, concedes Bedi.

“Since we wear turbans and are distinctly different from other ethnic communities, the acceptance has been slightly harder. Unlike in countries like England or America, which has had over three generations of Sikhs, Australia is very different since many Sikhs started moving only from the 1990s,” he observes,

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2009 adding that often they are mistaken to be Muslims.

“Earlier, people didn’t know who the Sikhs were. We want Australians to understand the differences. But now, they are realising that Sikhs are a distinctly different community and it only helps that the Indian Prime Minister is also a Sikh,” he adds, smiling.

The engineer encourages Sikhs to keep their identity intact and not worry about wearing the turban. “It is a part of our identity. When I moved here, it was a bit difficult. I had to wear a hard hat in the construction industry but always got exemptions. People used to look at me strangely. Even, now they sometimes do. I have accepted I am different and that it is natural they would look at me. But I always smile at them and say “How’s it going?” in the Australian way,” he quips, adding that people shouldn’t feel uncomfortable about their identity as people would eventually accept them for the way they are.

Preeti Kannan