Asians on New Year Honours List 2025

The 2025 New Year Honours List has been published and over 1,200 people across the UK have been recognised for their contributions to society.

Individuals have been recognised for being dedicated community champions, role models in sport, healthcare, academia and voluntary service.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said:

“Each and every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities.

“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.”

The honours handed out include Companions of Honour (CH), Grand Cross, Order of the Bath (GCB/KCB/CB), Order of St Michael and St George (Knight/GCMG/KCMG/DCMG/CMG), Knighthood and Damehood (Knight/DBE), Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and British Empire Medal (BEM).

As for the Asian contributions, the New Year Honours List commends the hard work and efforts of men and women with South Asian roots who have made a major impact on communities around the UK.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan received a knighthood and said he was “truly humbled” to receive the honour.

Four former sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted as a result of the faulty Horizon computer system received honours for their campaign against wrongful prosecutions by the Post Office.

Among them was Seema Misra, who received an OBE. She said:

“I wasn’t expecting it but, as we know, the fight is still on.

“I’m very honoured, at least they have realised that the scandal happened.”

British Asians who have been recognised in the New Year Honours List 2025 include:

Knighthoods

• Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena – Lately Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire. For Political and Public Service.
• Sadiq Khan – Mayor of London. For Political and Public Service.

Companions of the Order of the Bath

• Jaee Kamalnath Samant CBE – Director General, Public Safety, Home Office. For Public Service.

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Dr Jalal Bagherli – Co-Chair, Semiconductor Advisory Panel. For services to the Semiconductor Sector.
• Dr Fazal Dad – Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Blackburn College, Lancashire. For services to Further Education.
• Satwant Kaur Deol – Lately Principle and Chief Executive Officer, The Henley College, Oxfordshire. For services to Further Education.
• Charles Pritam Singh Dhanowa OBE KC – Registrar, United Kingdom Competition Appeal Tribunal. For services to Competition Law.
• Sehba Haroon Storey – Lately Principal Judge, Asylum Support Tribunal. For services to Diversity and Inclusion.
• Professor Sneh Khemka – Surgeon, Business Leader, Investor and Chair, Qured, Habitual Healthcare and AllergyRhino. For services to Healthcare, to Science, and to Innovation and Technology.
• Leena Nair – Global Chief Executive Officer, Chanel and lately Global Chief Human Resources Officer, Unilever. For services to the Retail and Consumer Sector.
• Mayank Prakash – President, British Computing Society. For services to the Advancement of Technology Professionals.
• Purnima Murthy Tanuku OBE – Chief Executive, National Day Nurseries Association. For services to Early Years Education.

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

• Professor Sanjay Arya – Medical Director and Consultant Cardiologist, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Medical Director, Centre for Remediation, Support and Training. For services to Black and Minority Ethnic Doctors and Healthcare in North West England.
• Hina Bokhari – Co-Founder, Naz Legacy Foundation. For services to Young People, to Charity and to Inter-Faith Relations.
• Professor Nandini Das – Professor, Early Modern Literature and Culture and Tutorial Fellow, Exeter College, University of Oxford. For services to Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities and to Public Engagement.
• Tarsem Singh Dhaliwal – Chief Executive Officer, Iceland Foods. For services to the Welsh Economy, Retail and Charity.
• Imtiaz Dharker – Poet, Artist and Video Filmmaker. For services to the Arts.
• Jasmine Dotiwala – For services to Broadcasting, to Music and to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
• Sarwat Tasneem Ebbett – Behavioural Change Consultant, Thrive Foundation and Volunteer. For services to Faith and to Integration.
• Abdul Karim Fatehi MBE – Chief Executive Officer, United Corporation. For services to International Trade.
• Monica Kohli – President, Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association UK and Chair, Indian Maritime Association UK. For services to Promoting Diversity in the Maritime Industry.
• Soumya Majumdar – Head of Unit, Proceeds of Crime Division, Crown Prosecution Service. For services to Law and Order.
• Seema Misra – Campaigner for Subpostmasters. For services to Justice.
• Professor Shahina Pardhan – Founding Director, Vision and Eye Research Institute, Anglia Ruskin University. For services to Optometry and Preventing Blindness.
• Ushma Manhar Patel MBE – Prime Minister’s Diary Manager, Prime Minister’s Office. For Public Service.
• Gian Singh Power – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TLC Lions. For services to Mental Health.
• Sravya Rao – Deputy Director, Economy and Strategic Analysis, Department for Business and Trade. For Public Service.
• Ubaid-ul Rehman – Senior Diversity and Inclusion Advisor, College of Policing and Co-Founder, Imaan and Chair, Goslings Badminton Club. For services to Equality in the LGBTQ+ Community.
• Mandeep Kaur Sanghera – Project Manager and Philanthropist, Coventry. For services to Refugee Resettlement.
• Savraj Singh Sidhu – Assistant Head, Ukraine Task Force, Security Policy and Operations, Ministry of Defence. For services to Defence.
• Smruti Sriram – Chief Executive Officer, Supreme Creations (Bags of Ethics). For services to Fashion.
• Professor Zaheer Raza Yousef – Consultant Cardiologist, University Hospital of Wales. For services to the Treatment of Heart Failure.

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

• Usman Ali – Social Mobility Ambassador, Ministry of Justice, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement, HM Prison and Probation Service. For services to the Public and to the Civil Service.
• Shagufta Parveen Asam – Foster Carer, London Borough of Redbridge. For services to Foster Care.
• Dalim Kumar Basu – Honorary Chair and Volunteer, British Computer Society, North, Central and South London Branches. For services to Young People and the Promotion of Science and Technology.
• Mohammed Younis Chaudhry – Owner and Founder, Regal Food Products Plc. For services to Business and to the community in Bradford.
• Professor Bhaskar Dasgupta – Consultant Rheumatologist, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. For services to People with Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica.
• Rabiyah Kauser Latif – Near Neighbours Coordinator, Thrive Together Birmingham. For services to Faith and Community Cohesion.
• Ahsan Zameer Rafeeq – Deputy Head, International Marketing, Department for Business and Trade. For services to Investment and Marketing.
• Ishaque Benny Aslam Rafiqi – Founder, Let’s Feed Brum and Tabor House. For services to Tackling Homelessness and to the community in Birmingham and the West Midlands.
• Salma Bibi Ravat – Chief Executive Officer, One Roof Leicester. For services to Tackling Homelessness
• Soma Sara – Founder, Everyone’s Invited. For services to the Eradication of Sexual Abuse Against Women.
• Imran Hussain Shah – Chair, Police Independent Advisory Group and Community Leader, West Yorkshire Police. For services to Policing and to the community in West Yorkshire.
• Aman Sharma – Chief Executive Officer, Totus Digital. For services to Building and Fire Safety.
• Professor Ajay Jaikishore Vora – Lately Consultant Paediatric Haematologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Childhood Leukaemia.
• Chandni Kalpesh Vora – Chief Operating Officer, Vascroft Contractors Ltd. For services to Business and to Charity.

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

• Aisha Younis Abdus Samad – Short Breaks Carer, Slough Children First, Berkshire. For services to Children and Young People with SEND.
• Kamran Ishaq Abdus Samad – Short Breaks Carer, Slough Children First, Berkshire. For services to Children and Young People with SEND.
• Mirza Khudadad Ahmed – Immigration Officer, Home Office. For Public Service.
• Nazim Ali – Founder, Creating Smiles Hospital Gifts Initiative. For services to Charity and to Homeless and Vulnerable People in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
• Maira Shernaz Bana – Co-founder, SheCanEngineer. For services to Diversity in Engineering.
• Sanjib Bhattacharjee – For services to the community in the London Boroughs of Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
• Mohammad Fayyaz – Councillor, Chesham Town Council and Buckinghamshire Council. For services to the community in Chesham.
• Alaa Mohammed Ali Habbooby – Owner, Café Noir. For services to the community in Thames Ditton, Surrey.
• Hemandra Hindocha – Postmaster, Westcotes Post Office. For services to the Post Office and to the community in the Midlands.
• Jaswinder Kumar – President, Management Committee of Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Bedford. For Charitable Services in Bedford.
• Safeena Karen Mohammed – Foster Carer, Warwickshire County Council. For services to Foster Care.
• Preshanthi Devarani Navaratnam – Executive Assistant, Department for Education. For Public, Voluntary and Charitable Service.
• Asma Pandor – Lead Admiral Nurse, Dementia UK, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Nursing.
• Kasim Mohamed Sharifi – Foster Carer, Warwickshire County Council. For services to Foster Care.
• Dr Nana Siaw-Badu – Chief Executive Officer, Badu Sport. For services to Sport and Physical Activity.
• Balbir Singh – Musician. For services to Bhangra Music and to Punjabi Culture in the West Midlands.

These honorary titles are awarded to these individuals in recognition of 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 2025!