UK NRI Balwant
Grewal honoured on 61st Independence Celebration- for raising
250,000 pounds
London, Aug. 19, 2008
Ashok Mehta
NRI Balwant Grewal, 70, known as Bobby, raised 250,000
pounds for charity through his marathon 800-km walk from Scottish
Parliament in Edinburgh to the Houses of Parliament in London.
On Monday night, he was honoured by Mark
Price, Director Barclays Commercial, at the Joint Celebration
of the 61st Independence days of India and Pakistan organised
by the 'Pakistan India and UK Friendship Forum' at the SAS Radisson
Hotel.
Other recipients were also honoured:
- Mohammad Sarwar, UK's first Muslim MP
- Muniza Bashir, mother of late melody Queen, Nazia Hassan.
- Mrs Adeeba Malik- fighting for ethnic rights
- David Wardrop of Westminster Branch of the United Nations
Association.
Grewal wrote:
- Sikhs are asked to give 10% of their earnings to charity.
I was born in a Sikh family, so I was taught the values of
Sikhism by my parents.
- Sikhism is a relatively new faith. Our first prophet (guru)
was Guru Nanak who came into this world in 1469, followed
by nine others.
- Many of us believe in God, and I am one of them. But we
have different ways, different languages to practice the presence
of God and we all believe in one God.
In Sikhism we are asked to offer 10% of our earnings towards
charitable causes, to the needy and to unfortunate fellow beings.
British
Home Minister, Tony McNulty honours Grewal marathon walker
NRI, Grewal announced
800 km 'charity walk' to raise
1 million pounds
(Walk from Scotland to London)
London, April 28, 2008
Ashok Mehta
UK NRI, Balwant Grewal, 70, Chairman of the India Association
of London who announced marathon 800 kilometre walk from Edinburgh
to Parliament House in London to raise a million pounds for
charity, was honoured by British Home Office Minister Tony McNulty.
NRI entrepreneur Rami Ranger organized a Baisakhi gala celebration
on Saturday night, where other NRIs were also honoured- Teji
Singh, founder of Sterling Media; Fauja Singh, 93 marathon runner;
Ashraf Chohan, secretary general of the Pakistan India UK Friendship
Forum and a former police officer Ravi Chand- president of the
National Black Police Association.
McNulty praised Sikhism and other religions for spreading love
and universal brotherhood and said:
Virendra Sharma, Labour MP, Lord Mohamed Iltaf Sheikh, Patron
of British Sikh Association, Sukhbir Singh Kapoor, Vice Chair,
World Sikh Organisation and Councillor Paramjit Gill, were also
participate in this event
NRI,
Grewal announced 800
km 'charity walk' to
raise 1 million pounds
(Walk from Scotland to London)
London, April 21, 2008
Ashok Mehta
UK NRI, Balwant Grewal, 70, Chairman of the India Association
of London is to undertake a marathon 800 kilometre walk from
Edinburgh to Parliament House in London to raise a million pounds
for charity.
For research in bowel cancer and other bowel diseases for St
Mark's Hospital in Harrow, five week walk will be started in
June.
British
politician and barrister- MP Dominic Grieve, who was
also a guest at the dinner, said- he would join the marathoner
for at least two days during the charity walk.
Dominic contested the seat of Lambeth Norwood in 1987. He
was a member of the Prime Minister's Campaign Team in 1992 and
a Councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham from 1982-86. Dominic
is Chair of the Research Committee, Society of Conservative
Lawyers and has been a member of the London Diocesan Synod of
the Church of England since 1994. He was elected Member of Parliament
for Beaconsfield in May 1997.
In July 1997 he was appointed to three Conservative Parliamentary
Committees - Constitutional Affairs, Legal and Northern Ireland.
In September 2001, he was appointed as a Frontbench Spokesman
for Home Affairs. In November 2003, he became Shadow Attorney
General.
NRI Grewal,
‘Charity Walk’ donated £100,000 to AIDS and
Cancer research
London, August 27, 2007
Ashok Mehta
UK NRI, Balwant Grewal, 69, chairman of India Association of
London has donated £100,000 to two British Institutions
engaged in AIDS and Cancer research.
Last year he raised the funds through a marathon 4,096 km ‘Charity
Walk’ in India. He presented a cheque each for £50,000
to:
- Professor Colin Green, Professor of Surgical Science from
the University College, London
- Dr Moses Kepembwa, Consultant Physician HIV, at St Marks
Institute
On Saturday night at Gala Dinner, the cheques were presented.
His wife Harjit Grewal was also honored there. He told media
that he would go for another walk from October 10:
- From Edinburgh Parliament in Scotland to Westminster Parliament
in London and raised funds would be donated to the Bowel Cancer
research at St Marks Institute, Harrow.
Lord Mohammad Sheikh, Veerendra Sharma, newly-elected NRI
Labour MP, Dr Rami Ranger, MBE chairman of the event and Gitesh
Sharma, Minister, India House were present there
Punjab dancers and Deepali Wattal singer participated to entertain
the audience. The celebration was attended by Jassi Khangura,
Punjab congress MLA, K D Row, Chief of Air India, UK, GS Gujral,
CBE, chief of the International Punjabi Society.
In 2004, Grewal has undertaken a ‘great charity’
walk with a mission to raise 1 million pounds
for cancer and AIDS. He was so happy that he succeeded his mission
NRI,
Grewal announced 'charity walk' in UK, Africa or Canada
London, May 07, 2006
Raman Chaudhry
NRI Balwant Singh Grewal, (known as Bobby Grewal), president
of the UK-based India Association at the annual 'Vaisakhi' celebration
announced that he would undertake a marathon 'charity walk'
from Scotland to the southern part of England in August, 2006.
Annual 'Vaisakhi' celebration was attended by Darshan Grewal,
Mayor of Hounslow, John McDonald, Labour MP, Dominique Grieves,
MP and NRI industrialist Rami Ranger.
Next year, he will start another walk from Morocco to Egypt
to raise funds for Cancer and AIDS research. If the Africa walk
does not finalize then he would go from Toronto to Vancouver.
Mr. Grewal plans to undertake two more such walks in the UK
and Africa to raise funds for various charities in Britain.
- In 2001, he had successfully participated in the London
Marathon
- In November 15, 2004- April 13, 2005, he undertook the marathon
walk from Amritsar to Kanyakumari by covering 4,096 kilometers
from Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Kerala and Tamil Nadu and raised 70,000 pounds for charity
purposes.
UK NRI
completed charity walk for AIDS and cancer
Raised 160,000 pounds from Britain and Rs.2 million in India.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, April 10 2005
British NRI Balwant Singh Grewal will Wednesday complete
his 4,100-km charity walk for AIDS, cancer and tsunami at
the southern-most point in India.
"The Great Charity Walk" that was started by Grewal
Nov 16 last year in Amritsar will have covered nine Indian
states when he walks the last 90 km to reach Kanyakumari.
The proceeds from the venture will go for AIDS and cancer
research in India and Britain and the rehabilitation of victims
of the Dec 26 tsunami, Grewal told reporters during his brief
stopover here.
"I had aimed to collect one million pounds. But now
I am certain that figure is not going to be achieved,"
said Grewal, who has lived in Britain for the past 45 years
and is chairman of the London-based India Association.
He has, however, managed to raise 160,000 pounds from Britain
and Rs.2 million in India.
"Of this, it has been decided to set aside 40,000 pounds
for tsunami relief. The rest will be for research in AIDS
and cancer. A portion will be given to a centre in India selected
on the recommendation of the health ministry," Grewal
said.
The walk was organised by the India Association. Grewal walked
an average of 35 to 40 km a day.
And as he crossed the length of the country, what struck
him the most?
"I am surprised that none of the south Indian states
through which I walked spoke the national language. I was
amused," Grewal remarked (IANS)
