Sikh memorial approved

The names of the Sikhs who died will be on the tower

A memorial dedicated to Sikhs and Sikhism is to be built in Coventry.

Plans for the 22ft stone tower, believed to be the first Sikh memorial in the country, have been passed by the city council.

Amrik Singh Dhesi, a trustee of Coventry's Indian community centre, said it would improve cultural understanding.

"We always think we are a multi-cultural society but we have not got anything to show for it and that is where the idea came from."

Sikh community leaders in the city suggested the memorial plan in 1999 as part of the 300th anniversary celebrations of the faith.

'Brave Sikhs'

The tower will be topped with a stainless steel symbol of the Sikh Regiment.

The monument will be put up on the roundabout at the Stoney Stanton Road junction, a prominent position on the city's north-south road.

Mr Dhesi said: "It is a visible monument so everybody can talk about it to their parents and they will know the Sikh history and that Sikhs fought with the British army in the two world wars.

He said it is the first memorial of its kind in the country.

"It will be funded by the Sikh community, there will not be any burden on the taxpayer."