Swraj Paul chosen for Eastern Eye Community Awards

NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has been chosen for UK's Eastern Eye Community Award 2006 for promoting social and educational policies and charitable causes.

Receiving the award in the presence of over 1,000 distinguished guests at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Central London Wednesday night, an unassuming Lord Paul dedicated it to his late daughter Ambika and his wife Aruna, whom he married 50 years ago.

Lord Paul, who is chancellor of the West Minster University and Ambassador for Overseas British Business said: "At  75, you don't expect an award. As I came to this country because of my daughter's illness, can I dedicate this award to her. Secondly I would like to dedicate it to my wife. We are married for 50 years."

The citation noted that Paul came to Britain to seek medical help for his seriously ill younger daughter Ambika.

Following her death in 1968, he decided to stay and work in the UK and founded Caparo, the UK-based industrial company which specialises in the manufacture and supply of steel-based engineering products for industry.

The citation also referred to Paul's donation of £1 million to the London Zoo to prevent it from closure and several other charitable causes through his Ambika Paul Charitable Foundation.

Others who received the awards instituted by Eastern Eye, Britain's biggest selling Asian newspaper, are Rita Sharma (Entrepreneur of the Year Award), Karl Sandhu (Young Achiever's Award), Avnish Goyal (New Comer of the Year Award), Sukhpal Singh (Acas Business Development Award) and Mike Jatania (Businessman of the Year Award).

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