Through Uniqueness and Aware Living…

From 0.3% of the world to shaping its future…

Sikhs make up only about 0.3–0.4% of the global population… yet their impact on science, medicine, and technology has been extraordinary. This is not accidental. It is the natural outcome of people who deeply knew their uniqueness and chose to live aware, conscious lives.

These five lives reveal a powerful truth aligned with conscious living: the size of a community never limits the scale of its contribution when individuals know their uniqueness and live from self-awareness.

From the operating theatre to the internet backbone, from chemistry labs to digital security, they turned knowledge into service… making the world safer, healthier, more connected, and more progressive.

Their stories are not just history. They are living invitations for every young mind to acknowledge their own uniqueness, live with awareness, work with honesty, and serve humanity.

The future is being built every day by those who refuse to accept limits and who choose to live aware, unique lives. The Sikh spirit continues to light that path.

Rooted in the timeless values of Seva (selfless service), Kirat Karo (honest work), and the relentless pursuit of knowledge, these individuals did not try to fit into existing moulds. They recognised their distinct gifts, stayed true to their inner awareness, and turned that self-knowledge into lasting contribution for all of humanity.

Here are five remarkable Sikhs who embodied this principle, knowing their uniqueness and living aware lives:

Professor Dr. Sohan Singh Hayreh

He understood the unique path of deep scientific inquiry into the eye’s blood circulation. Through lifelong self-aware dedication, his pioneering work on fluorescein angiography and optic nerve disorders continues to protect vision for millions. His life shows what happens when uniqueness is fully acknowledged and channelled into service.

Born on 6 November 1927 in Littran village, Punjab, into a farming family. He began medical studies at King Edward Medical College in Lahore in 1946 but had to leave due to the Partition violence. He completed his medical training in India, served in the Indian Army Medical Corps, and later earned a PhD and DSc from the University of London.

After Fellowships of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons in Edinburgh and England, he worked as Senior Lecturer and Reader in Ophthalmology at the University of Edinburgh. In 1973 he moved to the University of Iowa, USA, as Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Ocular Vascular Clinic and Research. He remained there for the rest of his career, becoming Emeritus in 1999, and continued active research into his 90s.

Hayreh was a world authority on ocular blood circulation. He pioneered the clinical use of fluorescein angiography to study eye vessels, distinguished ischaemic from non-ischaemic central retinal vein occlusion, classified anterior and posterior ischaemic optic neuropathies, and identified nocturnal hypotension as a major risk factor for certain types of vision loss and glaucoma. He published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, six monographs, and over 50 book chapters. He died on 29 September 2022 at age 94.

Dr. Bawa Kartar Singh

A direct descendant of Guru Amar Das Ji, he lived in full awareness of both his spiritual heritage and scientific calling. As the father of stereochemistry in India, he proved that deep inquiry into molecular structure and optical activity can beautifully coexist with spiritual roots, a living example of conscious uniqueness.

Born on 17 April 1886 at Vairowal (near Amritsar) into a deeply religious Sikh family that was a direct descendant of Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru (Bhalla lineage). His father, Bawa Jivan Singh, was a member of the Indian Medical Service and was posted in Burma, where young Kartar received early education.

He went to England in 1904, studied at Downing College, Cambridge, and earned a Natural Sciences Tripos. He later received a Sc.D. from the University of Dublin (1921) for research in stereochemistry and another Sc.D. from Cambridge (1941). He worked in the UK and France before returning to India, where he held academic positions, including Head of Chemistry at Science College, Patna, and served as Chemical Adviser to the government.

Recognised as the “Father of Stereochemistry in India,” he prepared and resolved compounds with asymmetric nitrogen atoms, studied optical activity and chemical constitution, developed methods to distinguish racemic mixtures, and published extensively in leading journals. He was also a devout Sikh who supported gurdwara construction and management, including at Patna Sahib. He passed away in 1960.

Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany

He refused the limited belief that light travels only in straight lines. By recognising his unique vision and living it with awareness, he became the “Father of Fiber Optics.” His work bent light itself and laid the foundation for the high-speed internet, medical endoscopes, and global connectivity we rely on today.

Born on 31 October 1926 in Moga, Punjab. He grew up partly in Dehradun, graduated from Agra University, and briefly worked in the Indian Ordnance Factories. In 1952 he went to Imperial College London for a PhD in optics, awarded in 1955.

Working with Professor Harold Hopkins, he successfully demonstrated in 1953–54 that high-quality images could be transmitted through flexible bundles of glass fibres using total internal reflection, a breakthrough published in Nature. He coined and popularised the term “fiber optics” in a 1960 Scientific American article, wrote the first textbook on the subject, and became the field’s leading researcher and spokesperson.

Kapany later moved to the United States, founded companies, held more than 100 patents, and worked on lasers, biomedical instruments, solar energy, and pollution monitoring. Fortune magazine named him one of the “Unsung Heroes of the 20th Century.” He was also a collector and patron of Sikh art. He died on 4 December 2020 in California and was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2021.

Professor Harkishan Singh

With clear self-awareness of his gifts in pharmaceutical chemistry, he designed candocuronium iodide (named after city beautiful - Chandigarh), a clinically valuable muscle relaxant recognised by the World Health Organization. One of the rare new drugs fully developed at an Indian university, it stands as a gift of conscious innovation to modern anaesthesia and surgical safety.

Born on 25 November 1928. He built a long academic career in pharmaceutical chemistry, teaching and researching at Banaras Hindu University, University of Saugor, and primarily Panjab University, Chandigarh. He also held positions or lectured in the United States, the UK, Canada, and China.

His research focused on organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and natural products. Leading a team at Panjab University, he designed and synthesised a series of azasteroidal compounds, culminating in chandonium iodide (HS-310). This became the clinically useful non-depolarising muscle relaxant later given the WHO International Nonproprietary Name “candocuronium iodide.” It was one of the few new drugs fully developed at an Indian university.

He supervised around 50 master’s and doctoral students, published over 125 research papers, obtained 14 patents, and authored or edited numerous books. He received the Padma Shri and was Professor Emeritus at Panjab University. He died on 20 March 2020.

Gurdeep Singh Pall

He brought his unique understanding of secure connectivity into the digital age. By co-creating one of the first widely used commercial VPN protocols and later shaping Skype and Microsoft Teams, he helped millions work and collaborate safely across the globe, a modern expression of aware living turned into practical service.

Born on 17 April 1966 in Chandigarh into an army family (his father was a Brigadier). He studied at St. John’s High School in Chandigarh and La Martiniere in Kolkata, earned an engineering degree from BITS, and completed a Master’s in Computer Science at the University of Oregon in 1989.

He joined Microsoft in 1990 as a Software Design Engineer. Early in his career he worked on Windows NT networking and became a key contributor to remote-access technologies. In 1996 he co-authored the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), one of the first widely deployed commercial VPN protocols, which received PC Magazine’s Innovation of the Year award.

Over more than three decades at Microsoft he rose through the ranks, leading Windows Networking, including contributions to TCP/IP, Wi-Fi, and routing; then Real-Time Collaboration, Skype, Skype for Business, and aspects of Microsoft Teams. He became a Corporate Vice President, holds more than 20 patents, and later moved into AI strategy roles, including at Qualtrics. He is regarded as one of the first Sikhs to reach the highest executive levels at Microsoft.

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