Asians on New Year Honours List 2020

The official publication of the New Year Honours List for 2020 was released to commemorate the contributions made by people from all backgrounds across the UK, including British Asians to British society.

For 2020, a total of 1,097 people received an award. 941 candidates were selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level, 315 at BEM, 397 at MBE and 229 at OBE.

Of the total, 9.1% of the successful candidates come from a BAME background; 556 women are recognised, representing 51% of the total; 11% of the successful candidates consider themselves to have a disability (under the Equality Act 2010) and 3.3% of recipients identified as being LGBT+.

The initial publication of the List resulted in the addresses of many celebrities, politicians and people in public life being published on the GOV.UK government website. The government has since apologised and an ICO enquiry into the matter shall be launched.

As for the Asian contributions, the list of honours the hard work and efforts by Asian men and women with South Asian roots who have made a major impact on communities around the UK.

Titles bestowed upon the Asian individuals include Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM).

There were many notable British Asian recipients of the honours.

Celebrity chef Nadiya Hussain who was awarded an MBE for her services to broadcasting and culinary arts, Shobana Jeyasingh was given a CBE for her dedication and services to Dance and Arundeep Singh Kang was given an OBE for his services to aid the development of BAME communities.

Others include Nishma Gosrani who is a director at Deloitte Consulting and a board member and trustee of the Tamasha Theatre Company, Rishi Khosla the Chief Executive Officer of OakNorth Bank Limited was awarded an OBE for his services to Business and Yashmin Harun for her services to Female BAME Representation in Sport was given a BEM.

Reacting to the honour Yashmin said:

“I feel extremely humbled and blessed to be receiving such an important honour and grateful for the recognition received for my dedication to increasing BAME female representation in sports.

“This recognition would not have been possible without the inspiration I received from the MSA workforce and participants”.

British Asians who have been recognised in the New Year Honours List 2020 include:

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Dr Ahalia Navina Evans – Chief Executive Officer, East London NHS Foundation Trust. For services to NHS Leadership and the BAME community
• Shobana Jeyasingh MBE – Choreographer and Founder, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. For services to Dance
• Professor Aditi Lahiri FBA – Professor of Linguistics, University of Oxford. For services to the Study of Linguistics
• Paul Pavandeep Thandi DL – Chief Executive Officer, NEC Group. For services to the Economy

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

• Ali Akbor – Chief Executive Officer, Unity Housing Association. For services to the community in Leeds
• Dr Zahid Mehmood Chauhan – For services to Homeless People
• Renuka Priyadarshini Dent (Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent) – Director of Operations and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Coram UK. For services to Children and Families
• Sabah Gilani – Chief Executive Officer, Better Community Business Network. For services to Young People and to the Muslim community
• Nishma Gosrani – For voluntary services to Promoting Diversity and Inclusion
• Arundeep Singh Kang – For services to the Development of BAME communities
• Rishi Khosla – Chief Executive Officer, OakNorth Bank Limited. For services to Business
• Neena Lall – Headteacher, St Stephen’s School and Children’s Centre, London Borough of Newham. For services to Education
• Ramesh Damji Devji Pattni – For services to Interfaith Relations and the Hindu community in the UK

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

• Mumtaz Ali – Work Coach, Sparkhill Jobcentre Plus, Department for Work and Pensions. For services to Disadvantaged Customers in Birmingham
• Mohamed Ashraf Ali – Head of Projects, British Muslim Heritage Centre. For services to Community Relations
• Mohammad Saqib Bhatti – Lately President, Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. For services to Diversity and Inclusion in Business Communities
• Professor Kalwant Bhopal – Race Equality Champion. For services to Equality in Education
• Razia Butt – Independent Education Adviser, Birmingham City Council. For services to Education
• Aziza Chaudry – Quality Manager, Adult Education Wolverhampton. For services to Education
• Manjit Darby – Director of Nursing Leadership and Quality, Midlands, NHS England and NHS Improvement. For services to Nursing and Patient Care
• Sonia Gharyal – Policy Lead, Office of Security and Counter Terrorism, Home Office. For services to National Security
• Shakuntla Gittins – Foster Carer, London Borough of Ealing. For services to Children
• Parveen Hassan – Inclusion and Community Engagement Manager, Crown Prosecution Service. For services to Community Engagement, Inclusion and Equality
• Nadiya Hussain – For services to Broadcasting and the Culinary Arts
• Arif Hussain – For services to the Muslim community in the UK and Abroad
• Nadeem Hassan Javaid – For services to Community Cohesion and Young People
• Michael Kuldip Johal – Director, Johal, Munshi and Co. Limited. For services to the Economy and to Community Cohesion
• Dr Sudarshan Kapur – For services to Interfaith Understanding and the community in East London
• Dr Mahiben Maruthappu – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cera. For services to Health and Social Care Technology
• Dr Nalini Jitendra Modha – General Practitioner, Thistlemoor Medical Centre, Peterborough. For services to the NHS
• Kanti Nagda – For services to charity in the UK
• Yusuf Patel – Community Engagement Coordinator, Redbridge Borough Council. For services to Community Cohesion and Interfaith in the London Borough of Redbridge
• Yogesh Patel – For services to Literature
• Jasvir Kaur Rababan – For services to the Sikh community
• Mohammed Tariq Rafique – For services to the community in Greater Manchester
• Baljinder Singh Rai – For services to Parliament
• Sukwinder Kaur Samra – Headteacher, Elmhurst School and Director, Elmhurst TSA. For services to Education
• Dr Adeela Ahmed Shafi – Reader in Education, University of Gloucestershire. For services to Social Justice in Bristol
• Manjulika Singh – For services to Yoga, Health and Community Cohesion

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

• Ali Abdi – For voluntary service to the BAME community in Cardiff
• Dhruv Mansukhal Chhatralia – For voluntary service to Hinduism and Developing Young People
• Kishan Rajesh Devani – For services to community cohesion
• Nicholas Chandra Gupta – Lately Deputy Director for Wessex, Environment Agency. For services to the Environment in the West of England
• Subnum Hariff-Khan – For services to Public Libraries
• Yashmin Harun – For services to Female BAME Representation in Sport
• Nadia Rehman Khan – Co-founder, The Delicate Mind. For services to Mental Health and Integration in London and Birmingham
• Theratil Rajiv Antony Ouseph – For services to Badminton in Great Britain and the Promotion of Sport within the British Asian community
• Sahdaish Kaur Pall – For services to Victims of Domestic Abuse and voluntary service to the community in the West Midlands
• Kanubhai Raojibhai Patel – For services to the community in South West London and Surrey
• Rita Patel – Correspondence Officer, HM Treasury. For services to Public Administration
• Afzal Pradhan – Volunteer Cricketer, ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. For services to Cricket
• Abdool Hamid Rohomon – Police Constable, West Midlands Police. For services to Policing
• Kathryn Lindsay Singh – For services to the Arts and the Asian community in Scotland
• Paramjit Singh Sandhu – Immigration Officer, Home Office. For services to Community Engagement
• Harpreet Singh Virdee – For services to the BAME community and to Diversity and Inclusion

Queen’s Police Medal

• Constable Bharat Kumar Narbad – South Wales Police

Diplomatic and Overseas List

• Bikramjit Singh Bhangu given an OBE – For services to trade and British commercial interests

These honorary titles are awarded to these individuals in recognition for their commitment to serve and help Britain in their areas of work and services. The Asian recipients of these awards have proved their specific dedication without a doubt to their contributions.

DESIblitz Congratulates all of the honoraries on the New Year Honours List 2020!