Under Project 8 last year, the MPSA funded a national seminar to celebrate the tri-centenary of the establishment of the Khalsa Republic led by Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. Banda Singh was the only Sikh selected by Guru Gobind Singh to lead the fight against injustice, oppression and tyranny. He is cherished in the hearts and minds of freedom loving people.

The MPSA funded the Sikh Education Council in their ‘Bristol Slavery Seminar’, wherein comparisons were drawn between the abolition of slavery of the Sikhs and Hindus in India and that of transatlantic slavery. I spoke of the legacy of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. Guest speakers spoke of the contribution Banda Singh made towards abolishing slavery from the Punjab. Madge Dresser, Richard Readdie and Kerry McCarthy MP provided fascinating non-Sikh insights and fresh perspectives on the Khalsa civilisation under Banda Singh’s leadership.