King Charles’ first New Years honours list has been announced and it includes more than 70 prominent South Asians.
The King’s New Year Honours list 2023 recognises the outstanding achievements of people across the United Kingdom celebrating their contributions to society, community or their area of work.
This year’s list includes academics, politicians, and leading figures from the charitable and voluntary sectors.
Leading the honours is Sir Partha Sarathi Dasgupta who has been recognised with the rare honour of the Knights Grand Cross for his services to economics and to the natural environment.
The Professor Dasgupta has led academic leadership into international government programmes to measure sustainable growth. He is leading on the government’s world-leading independent review into the economics of biodiversity.
Former minister Alok Sharma has also been recognised for his services in tackling climate change with the Order of St Michael and St George.
Alok Sharma, shared the news on his twitter handle. He said: “Humbled to receive a Knighthood in #NewYearHonours. Delivering @COP26 & #GlasgowClimatePact was a great team effort supported by many of our dedicated civil servants and diplomats. But to keep 1.5C alive, all countries must redouble efforts to meet their climate commitments”
Other top recipients include Professor Robina Shahnaz Shah who was honoured with a Damehood for her work in patient care. She is considered one of the country’s leading patient care experts, with many firsts to her name, which include helping develop international recommendations for the World Health Organisation (WHO) which were adopted as a set of standards for the UK and establishing the first national patients’ safety ambassadors training programme for NHS Trust Boards.
The South Asians included in the King’s Honours list are as follows:
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Professor Sir Partha Sarathi Dasgupta – Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Cambridge. For services to Economics and to the Natural Environment (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Order of St Michael and St George
Masood Ahmed – President, Centre for Global Development. For services to International Development.
Dr Mohamed Ibrahim – Founder, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. For services to Charity and to Philanthropy.
The Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP – President, the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). For services to tackling Climate Change.
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Professor Robina Shahnaz Shah – Director, Doubleday Centre for Patient Experience. For services to Patient Care (Stockport, Greater Manchester)
Knighthoods
Dr Mayur Keshavji Lakhani – Chair, Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management and General Practitioner, Highgate Medical Centre, Loughborough. For services to General Practice (Rothley, Leicestershire)
Ivan Manuel Menezes – Chief Executive Officer, Diageo PLC. For services to Business and to Equality (London, Greater London)
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Nadra Ahmed – Executive Chair, National Care Association. For services to Social Care (West Malling, Kent)
Professor Vengalil Krishna Kumar Chatterjee – Professor of Endocrinology, University of Cambridge. For services to People with Endocrine Disorders (London, Greater London)
Dr Ramesh Dulichandbhai Mehta – President, British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin. For services to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Bedford, Bedfordshire)
Nageshwara Dwarampudi Reddy – Portfolio Director, Labour Market and Plan for Jobs, Department for Work and Pensions. For Public Service (Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire)
Dr Gurdial Singh Sanghera – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Oxford Nanopore Technologies plc. For services to the Technology Sector (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
Jatinder Kumar Sharma – Principal, Walsall College. For services to Further Education (Perton, Staffordshire)
Jasvir Singh – Chair, City Sikhs. For services to Charity, to Faith Communities and to Social Cohesion (London, Greater London)
Professor Keshav Singhal – For services to Medicine and to the community in Wales (Wenvoe, South Glamorgan)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Usman ALI Lately – Chair, Black Workers’ Committee, Scottish Trades Union Congress. For services to Equality and Cohesion in Scotland (Thornliebank, Renfrewshire)
Rashid Begum – Lately Acting Deputy Director, Home Office. For Public Service (Chelmsford, Essex)
Professor Nishi Chaturvedi – Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Director, Lifelong Health and Ageing Unit, University College London. For services to Medical Research (London, Greater London)
Professor Peter Ghazal – Sêr Cymru II Professor of Systems Medicine, Cardiff University. For services to Systems Immunology (Cardiff, South Glamorgan)
Ravinder Gill – Founder, College of Accountancy Ltd. For services to Higher Education (Weybridge, Surrey)
Puneet Gupta – Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PG Paper. For services to Business, to Charity and to the community in Scotland (Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire)
Mouhssin Ismail – Lately Principal, Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre, London Borough of Newham. For services to Education (London, Greater London)
Saika Jabeen – Assistant Chief Officer, Nottinghamshire Probation Service. For Public Service (Littleover, Derbyshire)
Sharon Kaur Jandu – Director, Yorkshire Asian Business Association. For services to International Trade (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Dr Harren Jhoti – Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Astex Pharmaceuticals. For services to Cancer Research and to Drug Discovery (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Dr Krishna Rohan Kandiah – Founder, The Sanctuary Foundation. For services to Refugee Integration (Henley, Oxfordshire)
Fukhera (Frank) Khalid – Managing Director, Elbrook Cash and Carry. For services to Business, to Charity and to the community in North London (Great Warley, Essex)
Professor Kantilal Vardichand Mardia – Senior Research Professor, Leeds University. For services to Statistical Science (Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire)
Hitan Mehta – Executive Director, British Asian Trust. For services to the British Asian Community (Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire)
Gotz Mohindra – Senior Volunteer, Conservative Party. For Political Service (London, Greater London)
Sheikh Aliur Rahman – Chief Executive Officer, London Tea Exchange. For services to the Tea Industry and to Young People (London, Greater London)
Riaz Shah – Founder and Chair of Trustees, One Degree Academy. For services to Education (Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire)
Professor Sunil Shaunak – Emeritus Professor of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London. For services to Infectious Diseases and Drug Discovery (Hertford, Hertfordshire)
Mahanta Bahadur Shrestha – Philanthropist. For services to the community in the London Borough of Ealing and to the Nepalese community (London, Greater London)
Asrar Ul-Haq – For services to the community in Greater Manchester (Rochdale, Greater Manchester)
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Mesba Ahmed – Founder and Chief Executive, London Tigers Charity. For services to the community in London (London, Greater London)
Syed Samad Ali – Lately Teacher, Thornhill Academy, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. For services to Education (Sunderland, Tyne and Wear)
Dr Minal BAKHAI (Minal JAYAKUMAR) – General Practitioner and Director, Primary Care Transformation, NHS England. For services to General Practice, particularly during Covid-19 (London, Greater London)
Nipa Devendra Doshi – Product and Furniture Designer. For services to Design (London, Greater London)
Saleem Fazal – Co-Chair and Co-Founder, Freehold LGBT+ CIC. For services to Inclusion in the Property Industry (London, Greater London)
Professor Nihal Trevor Gurusinghe – For Charitable Services (Preston, Lancashire)
Shadim Hussain – Chief Executive, My Foster Family. For services to Equality and to the Foster Care System (Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Sarah Johal – Strategic Leader, Regional Adoption Agencies. For services to Adoption and Fostering (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Inderpaul Singh Johar – Co-Founder, Dark Matters Laboratories. For services to Architecture (London, Greater London)
Dr Atiya Kamal – Health Psychologist and Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Birmingham City University. For services to Health Psychology during Covid-19 (Burton on Trent, Staffordshire)
Mohammed Wakkas KHAN DL – Founder, Young Interfaith. For services to Charity, to Young People and to Interfaith Relations (Whalley Range, Greater Manchester)
Dr Shaid MAHMOOD – Chair of Governors, Leeds City College Group. For services to Further
Education in Leeds. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Jaspal Singh MANN – Director, Simply Shred and Recycle Ltd.
For services to the Environment. (Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands)
Syed Khaja Mohi MOINUDDIN – Customs Cooperation Agreements Lead, HM Revenue and Customs. For Public Service. (Westcliff on Sea, Essex)
Hammad NASAR – Curator, Author and Art Historian. For services to the Arts. (London, Greater London)
Dr Nooralhaq NASIMI – Founder, Afghanistan and Central Asian
Association. For services to Refugees. (London, Greater London)
Anisah OSMAN BRITTON – Founder, 23 Code Street. For services
to Diversity in the Technology Sector. (Margate, Kent)
Bhavena PATEL – Senior Relationship Manager, Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical
Education. For services to Further Education (Coventry, West Midlands)
Veejaykumar Chimanlal PATEL – Founder, Business 2 Business UK
Limited. For services to Employment and Training (Leicester, Leicestershire)
Professor Prashant PILLAI – Director, Cyber Quarter and Associate Dean, University of Wolverhampton. For services to Cyber Security and to Education (Solihull, West Midlands)
Aneeta PREM JP – Founder and President, Freedom Charity. For Charitable Service
(Norwich, Norfolk)
Dr Mohammed QASIM – Lecturer and Welfare Officer, Gower College, Swansea. For services to Academic Research and to Young People
(Swansea, West Glamorgan)
Abdul Aziz QAZI – Imam and Founder, Jamia Islamia Ghousia Trust. For services to the
community in Luton. (Luton, Bedfordshire)
Zebina RATANSI – Director of Nursing, Whipps Cross University Hospital, Barts Health NHS
Trust. For services to Nursing Leadership (London, Greater London)
Dr Jyotiben SHAH – Macmillan Consultant Urological Surgeon, University Hospitals of Derby
and Burton NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Medicine (Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire)
Keranjeet Kaur VIRDEE – Chief Executive and Artistic Director, South Asian Arts UK. For services to the Arts, particularly South Asian Music and Dance. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire
Nura Omar AABE – Founder, Autism Independence. For services to People with Autism
(Bristol, City of Bristol)
Zulqarnain Tony ASLAM – Councillor, Wellingborough Town Council. For services to the community in Wellingborough during Covid-19. (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire)
Shah Sheikh Shepali BEGUM – Lately Outreach and Impacts Manager, Commonwealth Games Legacy Team. For services to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Dr Wirinder Kumar Amar Nath BHATIANI – Lately Chair, NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group. For services to Health and to Diversity in Greater Manchester
(Birchanger, Essex)
Ziana Ayesha BUTT – For services to Netball and to Diversity
(London, Greater London)
Zakaria Arif DADA – For services to the community in the London Borough of Merton during
Covid-19. (London, Greater London)
Reena GUDKA – Senior Executive Officer, Department for Levelling Up Housing and
Communities. For services to Civil Servants Affected by Eating Disorders
(London, Greater London)
Javaid IQBAL – Foster Carer, Birmingham Children’s Trust. For services to Fostering
(Birmingham, West Midlands)
Samina Qasim IQBAL – Foster Carer, Birmingham Children’s Trust. For services to Fostering
(Birmingham, West Midlands)
Dr Sayyada MAWJI – For services to Healthcare during Covid19.
(London, Greater London)
Amarjit Singh SOORA – For services to the community in Ilford, London Borough of Redbridge. (London, Greater London)
Jagraj Singh SRAN – For services to Charitable Fundraising and to the community in Cranford, London Borough of Hounslow. (Middle Green, Buckinghamshire)
King’s Ambulance Service Medal
Salman Desai – Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Transformation, North West Ambulance Service.
Overseas & International List
Order of the British Empire
Sonashah Shivdasani – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Soneva; and Founder, Six Senses. For services to Tourism, to Sustainability and to Charity.
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Vineet Bhatia – Chef. For services to UK Cuisine, to Hospitality and to International Trade.
Faraz Khan – Founder and Director, Social, Entrepreneurship and Equity Development (SEED) Ventures. For services to UK/Pakistan relations.