NRI has become the Lord Mayor of Leicester in England

Councillor Piara Singh Clair (Lord Mayor)
(Labour)
Tel: 0116 252- 6045 Leicester City Council

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.