Indian-origin 'unsung heroes' on King Charles’ New Year Honours List
“Every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “They represent the very best of the UK."
PTI
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Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena, a Conservative member of Parliament of Sri Lankan and Indian heritage, has been conferred a Knighthood for political and public service. PHOTO: X
London, 31 Dec
Community leaders, campaigners,
academics and medics are among over 30 Indian-origin professionals to be
recognised in King Charles’ 2025 New Year Honours List released in London in
time for New Year’s Eve.
Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena, a
Conservative member of Parliament of Sri Lankan and Indian heritage, has been
conferred a Knighthood for political and public service along with recently
resigned England men's football team manager Gareth Southgate, for services to
the game.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and former
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street are also among those receiving Knighthoods
among more than 1,200 recipients on the 2025 honours list released on Monday
night across all sectors, with particular commendation to role models in sport,
healthcare, academia and voluntary service.
“Every day, ordinary people go out
and do extraordinary things for their communities,” UK Prime Minister Keir
Starmer said. “They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of
service which I put at the centre of everything this government does. The New
Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for
their incredible contribution,” he said.
The list, released annually by the
Cabinet Office in the name of the British monarch, includes Commanders of the
Order of the British Empire (CBEs) for Satwant Kaur Deol for services to
further education, Charles Pritam Singh Dhanowa OBE for services to Competition
Law, and surgeon Professor Sneh Khemka for services to healthcare, science and
innovation and technology.
Others of Indian heritage receiving
CBEs include Leena Nair, Global Chief Executive Officer of Chanel, for services
to the retail and consumer sector; Mayank Prakash, President of the British
Computing Society, for services to the advancement of technology professionals;
and Purnima Murthy Tanuku OBE, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries
Association, for services to early years education.
Among the 2025 Indian-origin
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBEs) include cardiologist
Professor Sanjay Arya for services to black and minority ethnic doctors and
healthcare in north-west England; Nandini Das, Professor of Early Modern
Literature and Culture and Tutorial Fellow at Exeter College, University of
Oxford, for services to interdisciplinary research in the humanities and to
public engagement; Tarsem Singh Dhaliwal, CEO of Iceland Foods, for services to
the Welsh economy, retail and charity; Jasmine Dotiwala for services to
broadcasting, music, equality, diversity and inclusion; Monica Kohli, President
of Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association UK and Chair of the
Indian Maritime Association UK, for services to promoting diversity in the
maritime industry; and Soumya Majumdar from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
for services to law and order.
Others making the cut for OBEs
include Seema Misra for her campaign in favour of scandal-hit subpostmasters,
Prime Minister’s diary manager Ushma Manhar Patel MBE, mental health campaigner
Gian Singh Power and Sravya Rao from the Department for Business and Trade for
Public Service.
Philanthropist Mandeep Kaur
Sanghera, UK Ministry of Defence professional Savraj Singh Sidhu, and fashion
industry professional Smruti Sriram also received OBEs for their public service
contributions.
The 2025 list of Members of the
Order of the British Empire (MBEs) and Medallists of the Order of the British
Empire (BEMs) also includes a cross-section of British Indians including MBEs
for tech expert Dalim Kumar Basu, nursing chief Marimouttou Coumarassamy,
rheumatologist Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta, and paediatric haematologist
Professor Ajay Jaikishore Vora.
The BEM recipients include
community workers Sanjib Bhattacharjee and Jagrupe Binnig, postal worker
Hemandra Hindocha, and charity worker Jaswinder Kumar.
Musician Balbir Singh Khanpur
Bhujhangy also received a BEM for services to Bhangra music and Punjabi culture
in the West Midlands region of England.
Companion of Honour, of which there
are only 65 recipients at any time, goes to author and screenwriter Sir Kazuo
Ishiguro – the Japanese-British Nobel Prize winner for services to literature.
Meanwhile, well-known English
actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer Stephen Fry
receives a Knighthood for his work on mental health awareness.
The UK government said it is
committed to ensuring that honours are awarded to outstanding people from
across the whole of the UK and the system reflects the best of society.
Cabinet Office Minister Pat
McFadden said: “This year’s New Year Honours List celebrates the unsung heroes
who contribute selflessly to their communities across the UK. I send them all
my congratulations for their achievements."
“Our honours system uniquely
recognises the generous contributions of individuals across our nation. If you
know someone in your community who has done something extraordinary, nominate
them for an honour so the nation can recognise their achievements.”
According to the Cabinet Office, in
this edition of New Year Honours 54 per cent of the recipients have undertaken
outstanding work in their communities, either in a voluntary or paid capacity,
and 12 per cent of the successful candidates belong to an ethnic minority
background.
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