Gujarati leader in Britain mourned
ONE of the founders of the UKbased Overseas Friends of the BJP, Lalubhai (Dhirubhai) Parekh, passed away on Monday (26).
Parekh was also a leader of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh and a former president of the National Congress of Gujarati Organizations and a trustee.
A native of Rajkot, Gujarat, Parekh settled in 1957 in Mwanza, Tanzania, in East Africa. He began his career as a lawyer and provided legal advice to the country’s president. He also served as minister of the Hindu Union in Mwanza.
Parekh arrived in the UK in 1971, but instead of practising law, he started his own business and ran a post office in King’s Cross, London.
He then bought a hotel in the same area and ventured into the hospitality sector. The moving of the Eurostar terminals from Waterloo to King’s Cross proved beneficial for him as travellers looked for accommodation in that part of central London.
He was an influential leader of the Gujarati community in Britain. He was closely associated with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including India’s prime minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former home minister LK Advani.
Parekh was known as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) “Vakil Saheb” or lawyer. He had close ties with veteran Gujarati politicians Keshubhai Patel, Vajubhai Wala, and Chimanbhai Shukla, and in the UK, with Lord Dholakia, Lord Popat, Tory MP Bob Blackman and Labour MP Barry Gardiner.
It was in 1992 that the Overseas Friends of the BJP was set up, and Parekh was among its founding members. He served as the organisation’s president for 10 years and later as a patron, steward and mentor.
Parekh worked to help start a direct flight between London and Ahmedabad. He was also vocal about the difficulties faced by Indians with regards to visas and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards.
He was recognised by the National Congress of Gujarati Organizations for his services to the BJP and Gujaratis living in Britain on the occasion of Gujarat Day at the Kadwa Patidar Center in Harrow.