Paramjit Singh Memorial Gurdwara Guru Nanak Foundation Richfield, Ohio
May 25, 2024
Paramjit Singh was a Community Leader of the Asian Indian Community since he first landed in Cleveland in June of 1962. Being a Sikh, he has dedicated his life to doing good works and serving the needy.
Paramjit Singh completed his Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T.) Kharagpur, India, in 1958 and joined the MBA program at Case Western Reserve University in September 1962. He got involved with the International Student Group and shortly thereafter became its Chairman. This gave Paramjit the opportunity to meet students from all over the world and make him a citizen of this world. Being from India gave Paramjit the opportunity to share with his international friends and Clevelanders, the Indian culture, entertainment, food and religions, especially Sikhism (the fifth largest religion in the world).
The Cleveland Council of World Affairs asked Paramjit Singh to organize the first Indian dinner to celebrate the 13th Republic Day of India with students and members of the Council. In 1964, he got involved with other members of the Indian community to establish the India Association of Cleveland.
Paramjit Singh at his Hall of Fame induction
Paramjit Singh made history in Cleveland by being the first turbaned Sikh to be a part of Case Western Reserve University graduation ceremony (proudly wearing his turban, rather than the traditional mortarboard) in 1965.
With the change in the immigration laws and the growth of the Indian community in Cleveland and all over the United States, the National Federation of Indian-American Association (NFIA) was formed in 1980 and that resulted in the creation of the Federation of India Community Associations of NE Ohio (FICA) in 1981, which is a member of NFIA.
Paramjit and his wife Linda came up with the idea that Indian-Americans should start giving back to this country for all the opportunities it has provided. They shared their thoughts with FICA and Project SEVA was created with Ohio State Senator Michael White and Reverend Earl Preston Jr., Pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church. Project SEVA prepared and served a Thanksgiving Dinner to 400 people at the church. The joy that they experienced led Paramjit to share it with the Executive Board of NFIA and Project SEVA was adopted as national project by NFIA.
Paramjit Singh continued to provide his personal and professional time as a volunteer to add value in the Indian and Ohio community. He has served as President of FICA, Vice President NFIA, President of American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, Cleveland Chapter, Founding member of Asian-Indian-American Business Group, Asian-Indian-American for Better Government, Executive member of Cleveland Mayor George Voinovich’s Asian Advisory Council, and more.
He explained the basic principles of Sikhism in this short video at the Cleveland City Club.
He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Cleveland International Hall of Fame in 2010 along with Senator George Voinovich, Margaret Wong and other equally distinguished people. Watch a video of Mona Alag inducting Paramjit Singh.
Parmajit Singh and Mona Alag
This video of Paramjit's acceptance speech includes his singing of "I Love Cleveland in the Springtime" which became a much-requested signature tune of his.
Among his other good works he created the Cleveland the City of Peace and Nonviolence (CCPNV), a coalition of individuals, families, organizations and religious institutions in the Greater Cleveland area that seeks to explore, practice and promote Mahatma Gandhi's and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s philosophy of using nonviolence for righting wrongs and establishing a culture of humanity, justice, peace and nonviolence for the prosperity of the area. His efforts led to the designation of Cleveland, Ohio USA as the world's 73rd Peace City.
His work with Project Seva directly improved the lives of thousands of less fortunate people by proving basic needs such as food, blankets, clothing and so on. And so much more.
To honor the life of Paramjit Singh, a memorial service was held at Gurdwara Guru Nanak Foundation in Richfield Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The three Sikhs who performed the service are called Gyani's, or learned priests.
The ceremony began with a priest reciting from the Guru Granth Saheb, The Holy Scripture of the Sikhs. The service started with the Japji Saheb. It is the preface to the Granth Saheb. It was composed by their 1st Guru, Guru Nanak.
It holds several benefits for practicing Sikhs and provides spiritual guidance for Sikh practitioners. It contains profound teachings and insights into the nature of reality, the purpose of life and the path to spiritual enlightenment. It is written in Gurmukhi which when translated means "from the mouths of the gurus."
Mona Alag explained about the hymns that the 3 Sikh priests sang. She said "they were appropriate for the occasion. They reflected the philosophy of life. One day we all have to depart from this world. Do good deeds, lead pure and selfless lives. Share your good fortune with others, serve humankind. Everything that was recited in the service is taken from the holy book, the Granth Saheb."
A few of us were honored to say a few words about Paramjit. First was Rajan Gautam who spoke about his close friend Paramjit Singh. The two families were very close and Rajan's parents and uncle were like family to Paramjit. He gave his heartfelt memories of Paramjit in this speech. Watch below.
Next, Dan Hanson of ClevelandPeople.com spoke. Though not Sikhs or even Indians, Dan and his sister Debbie and mother Patricia became close friends of Paramjit and will greatly miss him. Dan shared some fond memories of Paramjit that others may have not been aware of such as Paramjit wearing his green turban in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.
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Watch the video.
His longtime friend Mona Alag spoke next. (Sorry - I did not adjust the video so part of Mona is cut off)
There were tributes from others in attendance as well including from Sudarshan Sathe, Chair of Board of Trustees of FICA. He said, "I offer heartfelt condolences to Paramjit Singh's family as a friend and as the current Chair of Board of Trustees of FICA - Federation of India's Community Associations. Paramjit and I met some 40 years ago at Mr. Ratanjit Sondhe's Poly Carb company, where Ratanjit saab introduced me to Paramjit as my "Senior" because both of us went to the same engineering college, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
Paramjit had a gentle demeaner that immediately made you comfortable. He was a man of history, culture and above all, serving others. He served in nearly all of the important roles in FICA, most recently its Board Member, but his signal contribution was founding of Project Sewa (service) that is still going strong. Project Seva provides food, blankets, hygiene packages - among other things - to the underprivileged in NE Ohio community. He was a history buff. He pioneered the history project with Western Reserve Historical Society to record the experiences of early Indian Immigrants to the Cleveland area. He was interested in writing about the "Gadar" movement, an effort of Sikh community abroad in gaining India's independence. He was a singer and could be counted on to sing both the American and Indian National anthems well. A gentle soul, he helped establish the Cyber Wall of Non-violence.
The memories are many and varied, but the unifying theme was of service to others. His presence, and his smile, will be missed."
Sudarshan Sathe, Ramesh Shah and Paramjit Singh
Here are some photos of Paramjit from various events over the years. We will all miss him.
Paramjit Singh, Leon Bibb and Dan Hanson
Margaret Wong and Paramjit Singh
Linda and Paramjit Singh
Cecilia Wong, Paramjit Singh and others
Paramjit Singh, Mona Alag and Raj Pillai
Jack Schron and Paramjit Singh
Otis Moss Jr. and Paramjit Singh
Paramjit Singh, Asim Datta and Sujata Burgess
Paramjit Singh, Om Julka, Surinder Singh Chauhan and Ajit Singh Walia
Dan Hanson with Linda and Paramjit Singh
Paramjit Singh and Debbie Hanson singing
Satish Parikh and Paramjit Singh
Joe Meisner and Paramjit Singh
Paramjit Singh and Ashok Pradhan
Ratanjit Sondhe and Paramjit Singh
Linda and Paramjit Singh
Harjit Alag and Paramjit Singh
Paramjit Singh and August Pust
Paramjit and Linda Singh with Rabbi Stephen Weiss
Linda and Paramjit Singh
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