Indian-origin ‘unsung heroes’ on King Charles’ 2025 New Year Honours List
London: Community leaders, campaigners, academics and medics are among over 30 Indian-origin professionals to be recognised in King Charles’ 2025 New Year Honours List released in London in time for New Year’s Eve.
Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena, a Conservative member of Parliament of Sri Lankan and Indian heritage, has been conferred a Knighthood for political and public service along with recently resigned England men’s football team manager Gareth Southgate, for services to the game.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street are also among those receiving Knighthoods among more than 1,200 recipients on the 2025 honours list released on Monday night across all sectors, with particular commendation to role models in sport, healthcare, academia and voluntary service.
“Every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.
“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,” he said.
The list, released annually by the Cabinet Office in the name of the British monarch, includes Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBEs) for Satwant Kaur Deol for services to further education, Charles Pritam Singh Dhanowa OBE for services to Competition Law, and surgeon Professor Sneh Khemka for services to healthcare, science and innovation and technology.
Others of Indian heritage receiving CBEs include Leena Nair, Global Chief Executive Officer of Chanel, for services to the retail and consumer sector; Mayank Prakash, President of the British Computing Society, for services to the advancement of technology professionals; and Purnima Murthy Tanuku OBE, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, for services to early years education.
Among the 2025 Indian-origin Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBEs) include cardiologist Professor Sanjay Arya for services to black and minority ethnic doctors and healthcare in north-west England; Nandini Das, Professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture and Tutorial Fellow at Exeter College, University of Oxford, for services to interdisciplinary research in the humanities and to public engagement; Tarsem Singh Dhaliwal, CEO of Iceland Foods, for services to the Welsh economy, retail and charity; Jasmine Dotiwala for services to broadcasting, music, equality, diversity and inclusion; Monica Kohli, President of Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association UK and Chair of the Indian Maritime Association UK, for services to promoting diversity in the maritime industry; and Soumya Majumdar from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for services to law and order.
Others making the cut for OBEs include Seema Misra for her campaign in favour of scandal-hit subpostmasters, Prime Minister’s diary manager Ushma Manhar Patel MBE, mental health campaigner Gian Singh Power and Sravya Rao from the Department for Business and Trade for Public Service.
