Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
Chinua Achebe 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013
The streets of London reveal a wealth of Sikh, Anglo-Sikh, and Panjab history based on a relationship between the British, Sikhs and Panjabi’s which spans more than three centuries.
London-based researcher, Rav Singh, has been working since 2003 to develop a range of innovative lectures to introduce Sikh, Anglo-Sikh and Panjabi history to audiences young and old. The research has been supplemented by guided tours in London, across the UK and in Europe, under the community initiative ‘A little History of the Sikhs’ since 2014.
The initiative has grown to comprise a team of guides, creatives who illustrates our walks and technical members who work to create film, edit and media of the stories. In recent years, our panel of experts has grown to include authors, curators and academics –who take time to join our tours and provide in-depth insights, knowledge and support whilst engaging with our tour groups.
GUIDES:
Rav Singh
Founder of ‘A little History of the Sikhs’, combining a passion for History with family friendly designed Walking Tours, Day Trips and Study Visits and innovative presentations and lectures. Our first public tour took place on 1st November 2014, and a little video on our story can be seen here.
Ajunee Kaur Dhillon
Ajunee joined the team in 2021 and developed and co-hosted the virtual walking tours in our Partition & Punjab series with the MMPI project at Loughborough University, UK. Ajunee has now begun to co-present walking tours presenting little histories on tours in London. Click here to watch our Virtual Tour 1: Panjab and Partition hosted by Ajunee.
Harkiran Kaur Kohli
Harkiran joined the team in 2019, supporting walking tours and is now taking a greater role in the delivery of little histories on our tours. She led that team’s work to develop educational resource packs & lesson plans for teachers which can be downloaded here. Link coming soon.
Karan Rai
KD Singh combines his interest in Sikh history, with his passion for sport, football and travel. As a member of the England Football Team Supporter’s Club and committee member of Apna England, our team rely on KD to seek out little Sikh Histories on his travels across Europe following England. His recent visit to Italy and items of Sikh interest can be downloaded here.
Vaanee Sarihyan
RESOURCES & MEDIA:
Sarbjeet Kaur
Sarbjeet joined the team in 2017 and works to support the organisation of day trips and weekend study visits. In addition, her area of expertise is focused on copy editing and supporting the publication of articles, research papers and media press releases.
Urban Akali
Satveer Singh provides the Film and Photographs during our tours, managing the artwork aspect to the design development of A little History of the Sikhs. Recently undertaking the creation of the new 2020 website and a series of Documentaries showcasing the Sikh History within London. He will continue working closely on future research and projects. Satveer is also the founder of Urban Akali, portraying a unique concept of Sikh heritage showcased in the modern world.
My London Odyssey
The My London Odyssey team are a family who explore London (and beyond) one step at a time, with photographs and merriment. The team update on their adventures, big or small, reflecting upon the people they meet and the sites they visit. Out team has been collaborating with My London Odyssey since December 2016, and launched our self-guided walking map of Sikh History in Trafalgar Square & Whitehall. The My London Odyssey Website features a range of other Sikh-themed self-guided walking tour maps.
Simran Media Productions
Simran K Chahal worked with our team in 2016-2017, and continues to provides videography services on the tours she attends, creating short reels of the day trip and London walking tours. Looking back over the years these bring back wonderful memories of our early tours, as we were working our way to establishing this initiative.
Dheerej Singh
Dheerej Singh joined us as an intern in the summer of 2022 from Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia and was tasked with working on a project to produce 5 different films on our walks and collections. His film & edits covered our tour at Hever Castle, Kent in May 2022, a visual guide/film to locations in and around the Central Gurdwara, Khalsa Jatha (UK), and short films on our collections, including our stamp and first day covers collection, and historic newspapers and antique books. The films can be accessed here, please follow his work @dheerejfilms
EXPERTS & COLLECTIVE of PRACTITIONERS:
Our panel of experts & collective of practitioners who co-host themed tours include:
Amarpal Sidhu
Author and Historian Amarpal Sidhu joins our team as an expert on the battles of the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars. Individuals, memorials and artefacts are connected in our East Indian Company themed tours in London, where Amarpal joins to bring alive the events of the 1840s that led to the annexation of the Kingdom of Punjab.
Dr Priya Atwal
Priya’s current role in the History Faculty at the University of Oxford works to encourage the building of supportive relationships between Oxford’s researchers and those involved in history and heritage activities within the local community. In this role, Priya has worked to support the development of our Oxford Sikh History walking tours, and attends our tours when time allows. Her first book, Royals and Rebels, The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire, provides a dazzling history of the powerful women and men who forged a dynasty to rival the Mughals and the British, and be purchased here:
Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill
Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill’s great grandfather Subadar Major Bawa Singh fought with the 23rd Sikh Pioneers alongside British servicemen in Aden, Egypt and Palestine during World War One. Dr Ralmill works with the Royal British Legion at Remembrance Events, with an expert knowledge of the Sikh Pioneers Regiments.
Dr Clelia Clini
Clelia is an academic with a background in Postcolonial and Diaspora Studies. She is a member of the European Association for South Asian Studies (EASAS), and a Research Associate on the project “Migrant Memory and the Postcolonial Imagination (MMPI): British Asian Memory, Identity and Community after Partition” at the Institute for Media and Creative Industries at Loughborough University. In 2021, the ‘A little History of the Sikhs’ team were invited to partner with the MMPI project, and developed 2 virtual tours and 3 walking tours exploring stories of partition (the Anglo-Sikh Wars in the late 1840s, and the Partition of Panjab in 1947) on the streets of London. The team are now working with the team at Loughborough to explore and develop public engagement with Partition, imperial histories and contemporary legacies.
Gurpreet Singh Anand
Gurpreet has a keen interest in Sikh Military History and has also co-authored the book on the history of the Khalsa Jatha British Isles 1908-2008, detailing the fascinating history of Europe's first Sikh Association which went on to establish Europe's first Gurdwara.
Imran Javed
Imran is a Collection Manager at the British Museum, who we first engaged in 2022 through his work to curate ‘Confluence of Stories’ at the Museum. The display explored the themes of identity, language and collective memory interspersing items in the Museum’s collection with his own personal objects. The British Museum houses so many items of Sikh heritage and from Panjab, which were very rarely display. Since 2012, we have seen more and more items being displayed and stories shared, and we look forward to working with Imran and the Museum in the future. Imran’s work and posts can be followed on @jaffacake_javed
Jatinder Kailey
Jatinder joined our panel in 2021 following our collaborations with Historic Royal Palaces. She works with Sarah Fairbairn, who together are Community Partnerships Producers at the Palaces. Mainly based at the Tower of London, Jatinder works to make history accessible for local community groups. Jatinder’s passion for history, travel and illustrations is being combined with our little histories to develop wonderful resources including Duleep Singh in London, which can be downloaded. Her work can also be followed at @jatindercreates
Jasprit Singh
Jasprit Singh has been a valued behind-the-scene supporter for many years, and joined our panel of experts in 2021. Our tours that include the Victoria & Albert Museum have seen him appear to add intriguing insights into Sikh artefacts and heritage items on display in the South East Asia Collection. He brings a unique and valued insight into Sikh arts, where he explores them to understand gurmat, and supports our South Kensington tours when time allows. He and his wife are also the team behind JaspreetJasprit Fine Art Prints with an array of wonderful prints and resources for all the family.
Stephen Barker
Stephen Barker is a Heritage Adviser whose interest lies in promoting people’s understanding of their military heritage, making the past interesting, relevant and exciting for a variety of different audiences. Stephen has worked with our team to develop our walking tour in Oxford, and will join us to co-host our study visits to the WW1 battlefields in France and Belgium.
Sarabjeet Kaur Sidhu
Sarbjeet joined the team in 2017 and works to support the organisation of day trips and weekend study visits. In addition, her area of expertise is focused on copy editing and supporting the publication of articles, research papers and media press releases.
Urban Akali
Satveer Singh provides the Film and Photographs during our tours, managing the artwork aspect to the design development of A little History of the Sikhs. Recently undertaking the creation of the new 2020 website and a series of Documentaries showcasing the Sikh History within London. He will continue working closely on future research and projects. Satveer is also the founder of Urban Akali, portraying a unique concept of Sikh heritage showcased in the modern world.
Gurpreet Singh Anand
Gurpreet has a keen interest in Sikh Military History and has also co-authored the book on the history of the Khalsa Jatha British Isles 1908-2008, detailing the fascinating history of Europe's first Sikh Association which went on to establish Europe's first Gurdwara.
Rav Singh
Founder of ‘A little History of the Sikhs’, combining a passion for History with family friendly designed Walking Tours, Day Trips and Study Visits and innovative presentations and lectures. Our first public tour took place on 1st November 2014, and a little video on our story can be seen here.
Urban Akali
The My London Odyssey team are a family who explore London (and beyond) one step at a time, with photographs and merriment. The team update on their adventures, big or small, reflecting upon the people they meet and the sites they visit. Out team has been collaborating with My London Odyssey since December 2016, and launched our self-guided walking map of Sikh History in Trafalgar Square & Whitehall. The My London Odyssey Website features a range of other Sikh-themed self-guided walking tour maps.
My London Odyssey
The My London Odyssey team are a family who explore London (and beyond) one step at a time, with photographs and merriment. The team update on their adventures, big or small, reflecting upon the people they meet and the sites they visit. Out team has been collaborating with My London Odyssey since December 2016, and launched our self-guided walking map of Sikh History in Trafalgar Square & Whitehall. The My London Odyssey Website features a range of other Sikh-themed self-guided walking tour maps.
Harkiran Kaur
Harkiran joined the team in 2019, supporting walking tour logistics and taking responsibility for official photos during walking tours. Harkiran is now working on developing her guiding skills developing stories across her areas of interest and presenting them on the walks.
Simran Media Productions
Simran K Chahal worked with our team in 2016-2017, and continues to provides videography services on the tours she attends, creating short reels of the day trip and London walking tours. Looking back over the years these bring back wonderful memories of our early tours, as we were working our way to establishing this initiative.
Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill
Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill’s great grandfather Subadar Major Bawa Singh fought with the 23rd Sikh Pioneers alongside British servicemen in Aden, Egypt and Palestine during World War One. Dr Ralmill works with the Royal British Legion at Remembrance Events, with an expert knowledge of the Sikh Pioneers Regiments.
Rav Singh
Founder of ‘A little History of the Sikhs’, combining a passion for History with family friendly designed Walking Tours, Day Trips and Study Visits and innovative presentations and lectures. Our first public tour took place on 1st November 2014, and a little video on our story can be seen here.
Sarabjeet Kaur Sidhu
Sarbjeet joined the team in 2017 and works to support the organisation of day trips and weekend study visits. In addition, her area of expertise is focused on copy editing and supporting the publication of articles, research papers and media press releases.
Harkiran Kaur
Harkiran joined the team in 2019, supporting walking tour logistics and taking responsibility for official photos during walking tours. Harkiran is now working on developing her guiding skills developing stories across her areas of interest and presenting them on the walks.
Urban Akali
Satveer Singh provides the artwork aspect and design development to A little History of the Sikhs. Recently undertaking the creation of the new 2020 website. He will continue working closely with future projects. He is also the founder of Urban Akali portraying a unique concept of Sikh heritage showcased in the modern world.
The My London Odyssey team are a family who explore London (and beyond) one step at a time, with photographs and merriment. The team update on their adventures, big or small, reflecting upon the people they meet and the sites they visit. Out team has been collaborating with My London Odyssey since December 2016, and launched our self-guided walking map of Sikh History in Trafalgar Square & Whitehall. The My London Odyssey Website features a range of other Sikh-themed self-guided walking tour maps.My London Odyssey
Simran Media Productions
Simran K Chahal worked with our team in 2016-2017, and continues to provides videography services on the tours she attends, creating short reels of the day trip and London walking tours. Looking back over the years these bring back wonderful memories of our early tours, as we were working our way to establishing this initiative.
Gurpreet Singh Anand
Gurpreet has a keen interest in Sikh Military History and has also co-authored the book on the history of the Khalsa Jatha British Isles 1908-2008, detailing the fascinating history of Europe's first Sikh Association which went on to establish Europe's first Gurdwara.
Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill
Dr Tejpal Singh Ralmill’s great grandfather Major Bawa Singh fought with the 23rd Sikh Pioneers alongside British servicemen in Aden, Egypt and Palestine during World War One. Dr Ralmill works with the Royal British Legion at Remembrance Events, with an expert knowledge of the Sikh Pioneers Regiments.