The New Year’s Honours List has been published on Thursday 31 December in recognition of the achievements of a wide range of extraordinary people right across the United Kingdom. In total it includes 1,196 people, out of which around 35 people are of South Asian origin, including a Knighthood, given to Harpal Singh Kumar, Chief Executive, Cancer Research, UK for his contribution in the health sector. Two of Britain's most prominent businesswomen have been appointed dames in the new year's honours list.
However, the List has attracted much criticism for having privately educated people dominate the top echelons of the hounours system, as much as they did 60 years ago. PM Cameron was accused of cronyism, for giving honours to Tory donors, including awarding a Damehood to a senior civil servant , accused of “catastrophic leadership failure.”
Moreover nearly half of the recipients of knighthood and above in 2015 attended public school, The Times has reported. People who attended either Oxford or Cambridge, also feature strongly- 27% of the recipients this year went to these universities. There have been repeated attempts by Tony Blair, Sir John Major and others to create a more meritrocratic system. Sir John made it easier for the public to make nominations amd david Cameron brought back the British Empire Medal.
Although fewer Whitehall madarins have received honours, the list still contains a significant number of civil servants. This year 136 have beeb awarded, 6% of the total.
In addition to the honours recipients, this year sees three new admissions to the Order of Merit. The Order of Merit is awarded to those who have rendered exceptionally meritorious services towards the advancement of the Arts, Learning, Literature and Science. The award is in the personal gift of The Queen, and is limited to 24 living recipients.
Whilst maintaining a broadly equitable gender balance (48% female overall) the New Year’s Honours List sees a significant rise in the proportion of awards to women at senior levels (38% female at Knighthood/Damehood/C-level compared to only 31% female at those levels in the 2015 Birthday Honours).
In total, 76% of awards in the New Year’s Honours List will go to people who have undertaken outstanding work in or for theirlocal community. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has announced 72 awards for Britons in recognition of truly exceptional and outstanding service to Britain overseas. There are also a number of awards in this List for services to World War Two Commemoration, Ebola campaign, philanthropy, science and technology, law and order, sport, industry and economy, education and health.
This year:
- 1,044 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level. 329 at BEM, 472 at MBE and 243 at OBE;
- 76% of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity;
- There are 578 successful women candidates in the List, representing 48% of the total;
- 5.7% of the successful candidates come from ethnic minority backgrounds;
- 7.5% of the successful candidates consider themselves to have a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
The list of Asian recipients are as follows:
Knights Bachelor
Knighthood
Harpal Singh Kumar: Chief Executive, Cancer Research UK. A former McKinsey consultant and medical entrepreneur, Harpal is jonoured for his services to cancer research. He has been hugely influential in promoting research into the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and cancer care. CRUK’s income and research spend are at an all-time high. Under his leadership, it has been instrumental in pushing the Government to take further measures to reduce smoking and to ban sun-beds for under-18s. He also chaired the Independent Cancer Taskforce and authored the NHS Cancer Strategy “Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes. A Strategy for England 2015-20”, published in July 2015. He has been instrumental in setting up the Francis Crick Institute as a world-leading centre of biomedical research and innovation. He was interviewed exclusively by Asian Voice in the British Punjabi magazine in 2014.
Order of the British Empire
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Zameer Mohammed Choudrey: Honoured for services to the UK Wholesale industry and charity in the UK and abroad.
Zameer Choudrey is the chief executive of Bestway, which is the seventh largest family owned business in the UK, with and annual turnover of £3.6 billion, and founded by his uncle, Sir Anwar Pervez. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, in 2015 Choudrey's net worth is £975 million; which makes him the second richest Pakistani in the UK.
He is believed to be the architect of Bestway's diversification, especially into cement manufacturing, global banking, pharmacy etc. He is also renowned for his philanthropy and the founding Trustee of Bestway Foundation- a charitable trust of the Bestway Group that works exclusively in health and education.
Commenting on his appointment he said: “I cannot begin to express how honoured I am to have been included by the Queen in her New Years Honours List. It gives me great pleasure to be recognised for my contributions in this manner. These honours represent everything that makes Britain great reinforcing how it doesn’t matter where you have come from, what matters is your work ethic and the impact you can make. It shows what matters is that you contribute and you help to make Britain even better, something many immigrants do on a daily basis across the nation.”
He continued: “At Bestway, we strive to sit at the heart of local communities throughout Britain, servicing them and supporting them however we can – whether that be by providing food and drink to local shopkeepers through our Wholesale business, or providing medicines and health services through Well Pharmacy, or whether that be by providing support to those in need through Bestway Foundation and its charitable work.”
- Samir Desai: Peer to Peer and Financial Inclusion Innovator. Awarded for his contributions to the Financial Services. Samir is the Co-Founder and Director at Funding Circle, which is the world’s leading marketplace exclusively focused on small businesses — more than £1bn ($1.5bn) has been lent to 12,000 businesses in the UK, USA, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. Today, businesses can borrow directly from a wide range of investors, including more than 40,000 people, the UK Government, local councils, a university and a number of financial organisations.
Mr Desai said, “This honour is a testament to the hardwork of the Funding Circke team who have helped originate £1.25bn of loans from thousands of investors to small businesses in the last 5 years, creating over 50,000 jobs globally.”
- Dr Raminder Singh Ranger, MBE:More popularly known as Rami Ranger, is the Chairman of Sun Mark Ltd. He has been honoured for his services to business and community. Rami, who is an entrepreneur and social and political reformer, his business interests span from his principal company, Sun Mark Ltd, which is an international marketing and distribution company, to diverse fields ranging from shipping to beverage manufacturing to property development. His company, Sun Mark, is the only company to have been awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise for five years running and he has now been honoured by the Queen on seven occasions. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Sea Air and Land Forwarding Ltd, also a Queens Award for Export winner.
- Yasmin Sheikh, MBE: Co-founder, British community honours awards. She has been awarded for her services to Women and Social Integration. Yasmin Sheikh MBE and the Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, founded these honours awards to highlight the positive contribution the British Muslim community to the British Society, as well as the increasing acceptance of the community into mainstream British Society.
Order of the British Empire
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Daljit Lally: Mrs Lally is the Deputy Chief Executive, Northumberland County Council and Joint Executive Director, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. She is honoured for her services to integrated care. Daljit is the joint executive director of wellbeing and community health services working in a joint council role between NCC and NHCFT. Daljit is responsible for Adult Services, Children’s Social Care Services, Education and Public Health Service across Northumberland. In addition Daljit manages community health services across Northumberland and North Tyneside. Daljit’s previous roles have included management roles in both the public and private sector across the north east including as regional director of a care group.
- Raj Nayyar: Policy adviser, London, HM Revenue and Customs, Nayyar has been honoured for services to Tax policy.
- Kala Patel: Managing Director, Kiddycare Limited (Nurseries), Patel is honoured for services to the Childcare Business. An Asian woman from Kenya who moved to the UK aged 16, Kala Patel established Kiddycare nurseries, when she had her first child and was unhappy with the standard of childcare. Within a month of opening Kala had a waiting list of 300. Despite the cultural challenges then managed to get a bank loan which supported its expansion to a second site. Kiddycare was born. Today Kiddycare has five sites and provides quality childcare from 6 weeks to five years as well as out of school care for older children. Kala has won numerous industry awards and launched a consultancy arm recognising the business opportunity to provide childcare to corporate employees. She won the contract to manage Royal Mail’s nursery at its headquarters, a contract Kiddycare has proudly held for 16 years.
As Kiddy Care prepares to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year it has received a number of opportunities for expansion in the UK, Dubai and all metro cities in India.
- Ramsingh Pratibha: District operations Manager, Work Services Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions, Pratibha has been honoured for his services to Jobseekers and Employer Engagement in London.
- Gurmukh Singh: Patron at Khalsa aid,Singh has been honoured for services to community cohesion and charity. Established in 1999, Khalsa Aid is an international non-profit aid and relief organization founded on the Sikh principles of selfless service and universal love.
- Professor Meena Upadhyaya: Meena Upadhyaya is a Professor of Medical Genetics at Cardiff University and has held a number of roles in public life including Trustee for Women Equality Network for Wales (Wen WALES), Mentor for students for University entrance and Governor for Hindu Cultural Association (HCA). She has a PhD from Cardiff University and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in Molecular Genetics. In 2010, Prof Upadhyaya won the Inspire Wales Award for Science & Technology and has received a Recognition Award from the Welsh Government in 2011 for her many contributions to Medical Genetics. Meena is also the founder and chairman of the Wales Asian Women Achievement Awards (WAWAA) which aim to empower Asian women throughout Wales and to better promote and applaud their input and support of all aspects of Welsh life. She has received this honour for her services to Medical Genetics and the Welsh Asian community.
Order of the British Empire
Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Fayyaz Ahmed: He has been honoured for services to interfaith and community cohesion in Preston.
- Zlakha Ahmed: Chief Executive of Apna Haq, Ahmed has won this award for her services to Women's Rights and Community Cohesion in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Apna Haqestablishes support services for Muslim and black women facing domestic abuse issues. For the past twenty years, Ahmed has worked with black, Asian, and Muslim groups in a variety of community settings in the South Yorkshire region of the UK.
Ms. Ahmed has a wealth of expertise on issues pertaining to violence against women and has gained credibility for her and Apna Haq’s work on the local, regional, and national levels. She has delivered trainings on violence against women to several agencies in Rotherham, and has also conducted domestic violence trainings for the South Yorkshire Magistrates for the past six years. She is regularly invited to speak at conferences and campaigns that raise awareness about violence against women in the Asian and Muslim communities.
Ms Ahmed said, “It does feel like an amazing achievement. If I look at my work and how I’ve developed as an individual it’s always been about making a difference in the communities I live and work in. To get that work recognised is amazing.”
Nasir Awan (Ahmed Jamal): Chief Executive Officer, Awan Marketing International. Honoured for services to business and international trade. Nasir Awan, is also the President of the Institute of Asian Businesses. Nasir was born in 1958 in the city of Peshawar, in Pakistan. In 1967 he emigrated to England with his mother and younger brother, to join his father who had first arrived in England in 1962, serving in the Air Force as an officer. His late Father, was the first in the Royal Indian Air Force pre-partition, he stood to witness the action in Burma during the Second World War.
Nasir attended both Primary and Secondary school in Aston- Birmingham and later went onto study Radio and television engineering at the former Garrattes Green Technical College.
Nasir with his two sons in their later 20s now manage the Business; they are one of the few 3rd generation Businesses still going strong. He has been the head chair of governors' of an inner city school for the past six years, and was vice chair for four years. Nasir is also the chair of a mosque in Aston – Birmingham. In addition, he is a trustee of various top UK charities.
Aftab Ahmed Chughtai: For services to business and community, Chugtai has been honoured for his community relations in Birmingham.
Ayesha Hazarika: Chief of Staff to the Deputy Leader, Labour party, Ayesha has been honoured for her contribution to political services. Ayesha was former Chief of staff to Harriet Harman, ex-deputy leader of the Labour party.
Gurmeet Kalsi Singh: Gurmeet has been honoured for the parliamentary services and volunatry services to the Sikh community in Surrey. Gurmeet is a Building Services Engineer, at the Palace of Westminster.
Rekha Mehr: Honoured for services to Entrepreneurship and enterprise. Mehr who is the founder of a London baking boutique, Pistachio Rose. She is the Director at MassChallenge and former entrepreneur-in-residence at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Pistachio Rose has been supplying luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason with ginger shortbread, mini chai madeleines, sweet naans and dark and white chocolate tarts.
Mehr as the entrepreneurs in residence, was appointed to advise the Government on policies that affect small and medium-sized companies. She was exclusiuvely interviewed by Asian Voice in 2013 for our British Asian Women magazine.
Dr Jayshree Mehta: Dr Mehta is the President of Bharat Hindu Samaj, the Hindu Temple and Chair, Sangam Indian Women's Association. She has been honoured with this accolade for her services to the community and its cohesion in Peterborough (Peterborough, Cambridgeshire)
Saravanamuttu Mylvaganam: Lately a strategic unit network manager, for department of business, innovation and skills, Mylvaganam is honoured for public services to the Tamil community in the UK and Sri Lanka.
Satpal Singh Nahl: An officer, at Bradford Group, HM Revenue and Customs, Nahl has been honoured for services to taxpayers and public administration.
Yasmin Mohammed Farooq Nathani: Director/Chair at Shama Women's Centre, Yasmin has been honoured for her services to the empowerment of women in Leicester.
Shama Women’s Centre was set up in 1985 to empower local women, many who were from different ethnic backgrounds to become more active socially, educationally and financially through a range of activities in a women’s only environment.
Many of the women that use the Centre face the risk of becoming isolated, due to low incomes, cultural and languages barriers. However over 27 years the Centre has become a ‘hub for thousands women’ in Highfields and across Leicester.
The Centre has helped thousands of women improve their confidence, gain qualifications, provide volunteering opportunities and find employment; working with a network of local groups to ensure that the needs of the individuals are met.
Asha Odedra: Honoured for services to lae and order, Asha works as the strategy manager for violence against women and girls, operations directorate, Crown Prosecution Service.
Karnail Singh Pannu: Honoured for services to the community in Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire.
Jaz Rabadia: A Senior Manager of Energy and Initiatives, Starbucks and STEM Ambassador, Jaz has been honoured for the services to Sustainability in the Energy Management Sector and Diversity in the STEM Sectors.
Afsheen Kabir Rashid: Founding Director and Chief Operating Officer of Repowering London. Honoured for services to renewable energy projects in deprived London communities.
Asad Razzaq: A leader, Community Action to Change Harehills, Asad is honoured for services to Young People and the community in Harehills, Leeds.
Abdullah Rehman: The Chief Executive at Balsall Heath Forum, Rehman is honoured for services to the community in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. Surrounded by a green oasis of flower beds, vegetable patches and greenhouses is the Balsall Heath forum, the heart of a community with ambitious plans. Founded by Raja Amin, inside the cabin, it looks like a cross between an Alpine chalet and a garden shed, is a collection of local people, from teenagers to pensioners, whose community spirit is said to be the inspiration of Cameron’s ill-fated Big Society.
Mukesh Sharma, DL: Managing Director of the Selective Travel Management, Sharma has been honoured for his services to the Travel Trade in Northern Ireland. A former managing director of Delta Airlines in NI and a Consort Travel Group board member, he is a shareholder and managing director of family-run business Thriftway Travel established in 1982. He quickly developed an aptitude for the business positioning the company as Ireland's largest long-haul specialist 'ticket-consolidation' business. In 2009, he headed up a merger with McNeill Rigby Travel to form one of Ireland's largest travel agencies McNeill & Thriftway Worldwide Travel a key move that reshaped the industry and elevated NI's competitive position across the UK. The merger opened access to worldwide competitive airfares, worldwide accommodation, car hire and rail travel. In 2011 he acquired Selective Travel, a significant operator in the niche business of corporate travel services for universities, including QUB, securing a contract worth £35m from the Southern Universities' Purchasing Consortium in England. An astute and confident leader he oversees the entire NI operation and has created a flagship travel company with 68 employees and an annual turnover of £50m.
He is a recognised and respected figure in the industry, advocating and developing international partnerships to the benefit of the NI economy. He is a founding member of the NI Forum for the Travel & Tourism Industry board providing strategic direction to the NI Executive and other stakeholders on issues affecting the industry. In March 2015, Mukesh was appointed as Deputy Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast.
Dr Suresh Chandra Vasistha: Has been honoured for his services to the community in the London Borough of Redbridge.
Order of the British Empire
Medallist of the Order of the British Empire
Aatin Ashok Anadkat: Aatin is honoured for his services to entrepreneurship in Leicestershire.
Sarfraz Alam Mian: Sarfraz is the Chief Executive Officer of Neue Schule Limited, and honoured for his services to UK trade.
Sajid Rashid: Sajid has been honoured for his services to the community and charitable fundraising in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Gurdev Singh Rayat: Gurdev is honoured for services to the community in Greenwich, London.
Cllr Habib Rehman: Of Birmingham City Council, honoured for services to business and community relations in Birmingham.
