Piara Singh Khabra (

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

: प्यारा सिंह खाबड़ा, Punjabi: ; 20 November 1921 – 19 June 2007) was a British-Indian Labour politician who served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Ealing Southall Ealing, Southall (also Ealing Southall) is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2007 by Virendra Sharma of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The constituency has relatively go ...

from 1992 until his death. He was the fifth Asian, and the first Sikh, to become a British MP. From the retirement of Sir Edward Heath in 2001 until his death, Khabra was the oldest MP sitting in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, and was the last sitting MP to have served in the Commonwealth's forces during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Background

Piara Singh Khabra was born into a Punjabi Sikh farming family of the Khabra clan in the Punjab Province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Khabra gave his year of birth as 1924, but his

marriage certificate A marriage certificate (sometimes: marriage lines) is an official statement that two people are married. In most jurisdictions, a marriage certificate is issued by a government official only after the civil registration of the marriage. In so ...

dated it as 1921. He joined the Communist Party of India, and became a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

in an elementary school. He requalified in 1964, becoming an elementary teacher and then a social worker. He also became the President of the

Indian Workers' Association The Indian Workers' Association (IWA) is a political organisation in Great Britain which consists of Indian immigrants to Britain and their descendants. IWA branches are organised in some major cities such as Birmingham and London. As one of ...

, which assisted Indian immigrants to establish themselves and find jobs, and was active in opposition to the far right. He left the Communist Party of Great Britain in the 1960s, and joined the Labour Party in 1972. He became a justice of the peace in 1977, and was elected as a member of

Ealing Council Ealing London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number of ...

in 1978. He briefly joined the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SDP) in 1981, leaving two years later and returning to Labour in 1988.

Parliamentary career

He entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

aged 70 at the 1992 election, the fifth Asian MP and inherited a large majority in the safe Labour seat of

, following Labour's de-selection of the long-serving sitting MP Sydney Bidwell. He claimed to have the largest caseload of

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

and asylum cases of any MP. He maintained good attendance and voting records, but very rarely spoke in Parliament. He said he was proud to speak on the report into the murder of

Stephen Lawrence Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

, and on the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000. Khabra was a strong supporter of people with

autism spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

disorders. He sponsored one of the most successful

early day motion In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by members of Parliament that formally calls for debate "on an early day". In practice, they are rarely debated in the House a ...

s on autism in the 2002 Autism Awareness Year; it was supported by 153 parliamentarians of all parties. Khabra backed the work of the Autism Awareness Campaign UK. How Khabra voted on key issues from 2001 to 2007: *Voted very strongly for the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

*Voted very strongly for university tuition fees *Voted very strongly for Labour's

anti-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

laws *Voted very strongly for introducing ID cards *Voted very strongly for replacing

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...

*Voted very strongly for the

hunting ban The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the A ...

*Voted strongly for equal

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

*Voted strongly for a stricter

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

system *Voted for more EU integration *Voted moderately for laws to stop

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

*Voted moderately for introducing

foundation hospital A foundation trust is a semi-autonomous organisational unit within the National Health Service in England. They have a degree of independence from the Department of Health and Social Care (and, until the abolition of SHAs in 2013, their local s ...

s *Voted moderately for a smoking ban *Voted moderately for removing hereditary peers from the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

*Voted a mixture of for and against greater autonomy for schools *Voted moderately against a wholly elected

*Voted very strongly against an investigation into the

Controversy

Khabra was known to have made several controversial statements. In the run-up to the 2001 general election, he suggested that

Avtar Lit Avtar Singh Lit (born 1950) is the owner and chairman of Sunrise Radio Group, He is listed by AIM magazine as one of the "20 most powerful Asians in British media" in 2005, and is said to have amassed a big personal fortune. He was declared bank ...

, chairman of

Sunrise Radio Sunrise Radio is a 24-hour commercial radio station, focusing on entertainment, music and news from the Indian subcontinent. It broadcasts to the Greater London area on 963/972 AM, on DAB (SDL National), and via the internet. History Sunrise R ...

and an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

challenger for his seat, should be "sent back to India". In 2002, Khabra also claimed that the local Somali population was behind a recent crime wave in Southall. Somali activists responded to these criticisms by suggesting that their community was being targeted by some Asians who were attempting to drive them out of the area. Ealing Police also indicated that they did not believe Somali youths were responsible for the string of street robberies in question.

Retirement and death

In late 2006, Khabra announced that he would stand down at the next general election. Khabra died as a result of

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

problems on the night of 19 June 2007 at

Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of ...

in White City within Shepherd's Bush,

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

; where he had been being treated for abscesses on the liver since April. He customarily gave his year of birth as 1924;

birth registration A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensui ...

was not compulsory in the Indian state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

until 1970 and so no

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensui ...

exists, but on his

his year of birth was recorded as 1921. He was married twice. His first wife died in 1985 in Canada where she was living with his son, and he remarried in 1990. He was survived by his second wife, Beulah Marian, and his son from his first marriage.

References

External links

Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Piara Khabra MPTheyWorkForYou.com – Piara S Khabra MPBBC News – Piara Khabra
profile, 8 March 2005 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khabra, Piara 1920s births 2007 deaths Indian people Punjabi people Indian Sikhs British Indian Army soldiers Indian Army personnel of World War II Indian emigrants to England British people of Indian descent British politicians of Indian descent English people of Indian descent British people of Punjabi descent British politicians of Punjabi descent English people of Punjabi descent British Sikhs English Sikhs People from Southall Autism activists Communist Party of Great Britain members Deaths from liver disease Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Social Democratic Party (UK) politicians UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010