Indian-origin billionaire brothers, academic, Skipping Sikh on Queen's honours list
London: A pair of Indian-origin billionaire brothers, a leading Oxford University academic and a septuagenarian fundraiser fondly referred to as the Skipping Sikh, lead the "most ethnically diverse" Queen's Birthday Honours List released on Saturday.
Zuber and Mohsin Issa, who recently hit the headlines with their multi-million-pound acquisition of the UK's supermarket chain Asda, have both been honoured with CBEs for services to business and charity.
The brothers from Blackburn, whose parents moved to the UK from Gujarat in the 1970s, own the Euro Garages chain of petrol stations as part of their EG Group business.
They are joined by Yadvinder Singh Malhi, Professor of Ecosystem Science at the University of Oxford, who receives a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his services to ecosystem science. Malhi had been appointed Trustee of the Natural History Museum in London earlier this year.
British Indians honoured with an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) include Nilay Shah, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London for services to the decarbonisation of the UK economy, and Dr Sanjiv Nichani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Healing Little Hearts for services to medicine and charity.
The list, which had been deferred from its usual early June release to consider nominations of people playing crucial roles during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, includes numerous British Indians under this category led by Rajinder Singh Harzall.
The 74-year-old Skipping Sikh receives an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his inspirational health and fitness videos during lockdown. Harzall, who has raised nearly 14,000 pounds for the National Health Service (NHS), is joined by Lavina Mehta, who also receives an MBE for services to health and fitness during COVID-19 for her work encouraging people to stay active during the lockdown.
"The hard work and dedication of these local, often unsung heroes has helped carry us through," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Among other community heroes celebrated for their work during lockdown is Sandeep Singh Daheley, who receives his MBE for taking the initiative to create an online portal for prayers whilst gurdwaras were closed, to keep the community spirit alive for British Sikhs.
Among MBE recipients recognised for their wider community work are Manjit Kaur Gill, founder of Binti, for services to the provision of menstrual products to women in developing countries, the UK and the US; dance teacher Pushkala Gopal for services to South Asian dance; Vasant Patel, Senior Policy Officer at the Department for Education, for services to adopted children and their families; and Baljeet Kaur Sandhu, founder of the Centre for Knowledge Equity, for services to equality and civil society.
The honours list, which is traditionally published to coincide with the 94-year-old British monarch's official birthday celebrations in early June, showcases 414 exceptional contributions of unsung heroes in all four nations of the United Kingdom in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
These recipients include Sir Captain Tom Moore, the World War II veteran who also served in India and became a hero earlier this year with his achievement of raising millions of pounds for the NHS by doing laps around his own garden using a walking frame.
However, the majority of the list, dubbed a "bumper list" this year for making up 1,495 honours, was compiled before the ongoing pandemic and 72 per cent go to those who have worked tirelessly for their local community.
The UK Cabinet Office, in charge of compiling the list, said it reflects the huge voluntary effort across the country in response to COVID-19, with recipients cumulatively supplying millions of free meals and clocking up countless voluntary hours to support those at risk.
It described it as the most ethnically diverse list to date , with 13 per cent of recipients from a minority ethnic background.
Sir Philip Barton, former British High Commissioner to India and now the Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, said: I congratulate everyone receiving an honour and thank them for their hard work and years of service.
"The UK's impact around the world depends on exceptional people like those recognised in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours. We are grateful for their outstanding contribution .
Well-known British broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough receives the high honour of a Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in the Order of St Michael and Saint George for his exceptional and sustained international contribution to broadcasting, natural history and the environment.
English actor David Suchet, best known for playing Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot on screen, is honoured with a Knighthood for his services to the arts.
The Cabinet Office said that healthcare and social care workers make up 14 per cent of the list this year, for contributions as diverse as setting up the COVID-19 hospitals to delivering medical care on the frontline, and 740 women are recognised in the list, representing 49 per cent of the total.
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'Engineered narratives': West Bengal guv on alleged molestation charges against him
Kolkata, May 2: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said he will not be cowed down by “engineered narratives” and the "truth shall triumph” after TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against him.
In a statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal,”
To the Raj Bhavan staff "who expressed solidarity with him following some derogatory narratives that were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties," a communication by Raj Bhawan said.
The Governor’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.
Though police sources said they received a verbal complaint, there was no official word on whether a formal complaint had been registered.
“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.
Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also posted on his X account regarding the issue.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is “shameful” that the Governor has maligned his post and has used it to “torture a woman”.
“It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same Governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women’s rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the Governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue,” she said.
According to sources in the Governor's House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.
"When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease," a Raj Bhavan official said.
The West Bengal Governor and the TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.
The BJP said it has to be seen whether this a “conspiracy by the TMC” or has an “iota of truth in it”.
“We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose accused of molesting a woman. How utterly APPALLING and HORRIFYING. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 2, 2024
Shameful that a constitutional office holder should try to prejudice an impartial investigation by attacking the motive of the complainant. We have seen this happen in that infamous Saturday Hearing of the Supreme Court. Respect women! https://t.co/E6eJLQvFXO
— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) May 2, 2024
