Jaswant Singh Birdi becomes 1st Indian-origin turban-wearing Lord Mayor of UK's Coventry
Jaswant Singh Birdi has taken over as the new Lord Mayor of the City of Coventry. He has served as Deputy Lord Mayor for the past 12 months, was presented with the Chains of Office at the Annual General Meeting at Coventry Cathedral.
FollowA local British Sikh councillor based in Coventry has made history for the central England city by becoming its first turban-wearing Lord Mayor. Jaswant Singh Birdi, who was raised in West Bengal's Calcutta and was born in Punjab, travelled to Coventry 60 years ago and has been a city councillor for 16 years.
He recently took formal charge of his new post of Lord Mayor with the official Chains of Office with his wife Krishna by his side as the Lord Mayoress. "I'm very happy to be the Lord Mayor of my adopted city," Birdi said.
"I will be honoured to show why I love it so much and to promote the city and the lovely people who live here," he added. "It has given so much to me and my family over the years," Birdi said.
"It also means a lot to me as a Sikh to wear the turban and the Chains of Office. It will demonstrate what a joyous multicultural city we have and perhaps serve as an example for others, too," he continued.
Birdi has taken a leading role in establishing religious, social, and communal programmes in Coventry in addition to serving as a councillor.
His charities of choice for the year as Lord Mayor and an ambassador for the city are the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire Charity, the Coventry Resource Centre for the Blind, and the Muscular Dystrophy Charity.
He served as Deputy Lord Mayor for the past 12 months and was presented with the Chains of Office at the Annual General Meeting at Coventry Cathedral last week. He succeeds Councillor Kevin Maton in the role of Lord Mayor.
(with PTI inputs)
