Asian community leader Lakhani mourned
RENOWNED spiritual leader and academic Shri Jay Lakhani has passed away, his family have confirmed. He died in the UK last Friday (4).
Tributes and condolence messages were pouring in from all over the world for Lakhani, the founder of the Hindu Academy, an organisation dedicated to promoting a rational vision of Hinduism and educating millions of Hindus around the world.
Born on December 5, 1948, in Mombasa, Kenya, Lakhani spent his childhood in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He came to London in 1964 at the age of 15 and after studying at Wembley Grammar School, he studied physics at Imperial College London and graduated in 1969. He received his MSc degree in theoretical physics in 1970. He was the first Hindu teacher to be appointed by Eton College for religious studies.
Lakhani founded the Vivekananda Centre UK and worked to promote Hinduism in Britain. Unable to get a comprehensive Hindu education for his daughter Seeta, he devoted his efforts to educating other children in Hinduism. He founded Hinduism classes for GCSE and A-level and lectured in schools, colleges and universities. From 1970 to 1994, Lakhani also ran his father’s rice and coffee trading business.
The lecturer published several articles on Hinduism and also contributed to BBC and ITV documentaries on Hinduism. He edited two books on the study of Hinduism in UK schools. He had several TED and television discussions. Lakhani also contributed to Hinduism in The Big Questions with Nicky Campbell on BBC2.
Contributions made over the last 30 years have been noted by educational institutions such as the Oxford and Cambridge and BBC, ITV and Channel 4.