Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for billionaire who was denied entry into India for supporting farmers’ protest 

U.S.-based billionaire Darshan Singh Dhaliwal who was denied entry into India due to his assist to the 2020-21 farmers’ protest has been honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), the very best authorities award for abroad Indians. Mr. Dhaliwal’s title options in an inventory of 27 awardees that features Israel-based restauranteur Reena Pushkarna and Chairman of Fedex Raj Subramaniam.

Mr. Dhaliwal has been chosen for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Samman Award. The award will likely be given in the course of the PBD Conference to be celebrated throughout January 8-10 in Indore.

Out of all of the names, it’s the inclusion of Mr. Dhaliwal that has stunned many. Mr. Dhaliwal left India in 1972 and has been primarily based in Milwaukee, U.S. In 2004 India At present journal described him because the “largest petrol retailer” within the U.S. Mr. Dhaliwal, a self-made billionaire reportedly owns 1000’s of petrol pumps unfold throughout the USA.

Additionally Learn | 2020: Farmers take the country by storm

Mr. Dhaliwal started operating a langar (neighborhood kitchen) in early 2021 as 1000’s of farmers parked themselves on the Singhu border close to the capital demanding the withdrawal of three controversial farm legal guidelines. He landed on the Indira Gandhi Worldwide Airport on October 23, 2021, however was denied entry by the immigration officers who had questioned him for a number of hours. The difficulty snowballed with Mr. Dhaliwal hinting that he was denied permission to go to India due to his assist to the farmers’ protest. 

The officers on the IGI Airport had allegedly requested Mr. Dhaliwal to cease supporting the farmers’ protest that ended after the farm legal guidelines have been repealed by the Parliament on November 29, 2021. Subsequently, his youthful brother Surjit Singh Rakhra, a former minister within the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) authorities in Punjab, had come out in his assist.

Mr. Dhaliwal went again to the U.S. at the same time as leaders of the SAD together with the patriarch of the Badal household Parkash Singh Badal had come out in his assist. Mr. Badal had requested PM Narendra Modi to ask Mr. Dhaliwal as a “goodwill gesture”.

After the repealing of the farm legal guidelines, Mr. Dhaliwal was seen at an occasion in Chicago in June final yr when two books devoted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been unveiled by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Indian ambassador to the U.S. Taranjit Singh Sandhu. One of many books — ”Heartfelt- The Legacy of Religion “ — highlighted PM Modi’s work for the Sikh neighborhood.