Ishar Singh Bindra


Ishar Singh Bindra is a well known name of a Gursikh enterprenour and philanthropist in USA. The
multifacted story of his success in India and USA for the last 95 years (he was born on 10th January 1921
at Kallar, now in Pakistaan) is highly ispireing and makes him a great role model to be emulated by people
in different spheres of life. In his first phase he studied up to graduation level (first person in the family to
do so in 1939), Joined army and got married on 20th febuary 1940. By time, the second world war ended,
he had become an officer in the Indian army where in he was first posted in Jahanpur and then shifted
to Singapore. After partition, the family shifted to Indian Punjab. In the second phase, he left the army
and started his career as a Telecommunications Engineer in India’s Telephone Department. He began as
a technical assistant and quickly moved his way up to an officer heading the department and maintaining
the telephone services of several major district headquarters, sub-district headquarters and business centers
in India. He rose to the level of Divisional Engineer in 1975.He retired on 31 January 1979 after thiry
years of service in the Telephone Department of India.

The third phase of his life started after he shifted to
USA and started his own business of garments on long island, New York. This business under the name of
Jeetish flourished covering their by fashion garments for ladies. The initial product line started with ladies
garments such as dresses, skirts, blouses, jump suits and skirt sets. In 1984, it began importing crinkle ladies
dresses from Greece and became one of the first companies to successfully launch the product in the US,
allowing the company to establish a reputation that gave it access to mainstream department and chain
stores in the US. Soon after, the company opened a showroom in the main garment district in New York
and grew to become a multimillion-dollar company. It has become a diversified business with interests in apparel, commodities, real estate, and imports and exports. It is not only the success story of Bindra ji
that makes him a role model. In addition, his philanthropy has made him popular all over USA. He has
been honored by various persons and organizations for his charitable and humanitarian works. The most
notable contribution in this regard is setting up of a chair in the name of Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra Chair
in Sikh Studies established at Hofstra University.The Chair was established in April 2000, and its principal
aim was to promote academic study of the Sikh religion, culture and history. In order to do so, it would
support the appointment of a faculty member in Sikh Studies, build Hofstra University library’s holdings in
Sikhism, provide scholarship assistance to students interested in Sikh religion and culture, and fund annual
conferences and lectures directed toward the academic community as well as the general public.
On April 4, 2006, Bindra established the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize. On the recommendation of
the selection committee, the prize is given biennially to individuals (or organizations) who have made
significant contributions in promoting inter-religious dialogue, have made efforts to end religious and
ethnic violence, or have the ability to use the prize to further the cause of religious dialogue. The Kuljit
Kaur Bindra Foundation established the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize as an endowment and it carries a cash
award of $50,000, which is awarded at a gala dinner. In 2007, Dalai Lama was approved as the Guru Nanak
Interfaith Prize’s inaugural recipient, and was later accepted by him. Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president
of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, and Religions for Peace, a worldwide multi-religious coalition,
was awarded Hofstra’s Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize for 2010. The honors bestowed upon this great role
model include the “Humanitarian of the Year” award. He was the first Indian American recipient of the
prize. He had also been honored by President Bill Clinton for his work. Mr. Bindra was awarded with the
“Lifetime Achievement” award for his service to the community by the World Punjabi Organization during
its International Convention in New York. He was honored by the Nargis Dutt Memorial Foundation, a
nonprofit organization devoted to the support of medical facilities in India. He is also the Founder-Trustee
of the Sikh Forum of New York, Senior Vice President of the Hemkunt Foundation, and Patron of the Sikh
Art and Film Foundation. The towering personality, of this Gursikh definitely presents a major source of
inspiration, a great role model.