ASIAN doctors, educators and entrepreneurs were recognised as “community change-makers" in the King’s birthday honours list published on Friday (12).
Leading gastroenterologist, Professor Dame Parveen June Kumar, has been conferred the prestigious Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for services to global medical education and health. She is one of the highest-ranked Asian recipients this year.
Dame Parveen, Professor Emerita of medicine and education at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, is known for her work in advancing medical education and healthcare.
She is a co-founder of Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine, a leading medical textbook used by generations of doctors, and previously served as president of the British Medical Association and the Royal Society of Medicine.
Another healthcare professional, Herefordshire-based Sumeshni Tranka, who is of Indian South African descent, has been appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to nursing.
Sumeshni TrankaPhoto:X
Tranka is the chief nursing officer for Wales and nurse director of NHS Wales, a role she has held since 2021. She previously served as deputy chief nursing officer for Patient Safety and Innovation at NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Tranka has more than three decades of nursing experience, in midwifery, general, mental health and community nursing.
More than 1,100 people have been recognised in the list, and 5.29 per cent among them are of Asian ethnicity.
Yasmin Akhtar KhanEastern Eye
Yasmin Akhtar Khan, chief executive officer of the Halo Project, received a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), for her work to end domestic abuse and violence against women.
“I am incredibly humbled and overjoyed to receive this award. At a time when violence against women and girls is a national emergency, this award is for every survivor.
“Honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) are abhorrent, and we must ensure the necessary support is provided,” Akhtar Khan told Eastern Eye.
“I dedicate this award to them and to my late mother, who has always been the driving force and voice supporting fairness for all. Her legacy continues, as does the urgent need for all of us to tackle harm in all its forms.”
Vishal Kumar Marria is also awarded a CBE for his contribution to technology, economic crime prevention and the data and AI sector, while Professor Monder Ram OBE DL, founder and director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship, is honoured for supporting ethnic minority businesses and entrepreneurship.
Professor Ram told Eastern Eye, "I’m deeply honoured, and still taking it in. To be recognised for services to entrepreneurship means a great deal. The work began with ethnic minority business and stays rooted there, but it was always about a larger question: what enterprise looks like when you take seriously the people usually left out of the picture.
"CREME, the centre I founded, was built to work alongside those communities rather than study them from a distance. This honour belongs in good part to them, and to the colleagues and partners who built it with me over thirty years."
Professor Monder Ram OBE DLEastern Eye
He added, "I dedicate it to my late parents. Like so many of their generation, they arrived here with little and gave everything to their children. They would have been overjoyed, and not being able to share it with them is the one shadow on the day. This is for them.Honours recipients include figures from the arts, sport, business, public service and community sectors."
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said, “Across the UK, people are quietly changing lives and strengthening their communities. This honours list is a chance to recognise them.
"Their dedication shows how lasting change is built - through compassion, resilience and a commitment to others. It speaks to the decent, hopeful country we are proud to be, and on behalf of the whole nation, I want to say thank you.”
Kunal Patel, lately deputy principal private secretary to the prime minister, has received a CBE for public service alongwith Dr Damitha Adikaari, director of science and innovation for climate and energy at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, for services to research and innovation to tackle climate change.
For services to children’s social care, Sukriti Prova Sen, director of children and education services at Coventry City Council, is honoured with a CBE.
Rohan Malik, managing partner at EY for the UK and Ireland, was recognised for business and professional services, while Dr Rashmi Mantri received an OBE for services to mathematics education.
Healthcare professionals feature strongly among Asian winners. Professor Mohamed Wasim Hanif, clinical advisor at Diabetes UK and Professor of Diabetes and Endocrinology at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, honoured with an OBE for services to diabetes and health inequalities.
Other medical leaders recognised include Dr Arun Kumar Gupta, consultant in anaesthesia and neuro critical care at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The list also highlights contributions in community service. Nafiza Aktar Anwar, Satbinder Bains and Tahira Ali are among those recognised for foster care and social support, while Hiren Bhimjiyani received an MBE for work in trade, supply chain intelligence and machine learning innovation.
Writers, artists and cultural figures are also included. Anjum Nahid Malik received recognition for services to British south Asian arts, while Parvinder Kaur Matharu and Ravinder Singh Matharu are honoured for contributions to men’s fashion and tailoring.
Detective Sergeant Jagjivan Singh Khangura, of the Metropolitan police’s special protection department, has been recognised with the Royal Victorian Order for his services to royalty and specialist protection. Khangura (often referred to as "Jag") was a highly recognised, bearded Scotland Yard royalty protection officer who served as a personal bodyguard to King Charles. Known for his distinctive moustache, he recently stepped down and retired from his duties with the Metropolitan Police.
Jagjivan Singh Khangura (R) served as a personal bodyguard to King Charles. In this picture, the King greets people after a ceremonial tree planting during an official two-day visit to Canada on May 26, 2025 in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Blair Gable - Pool/Getty Images)
For services to education of disadvantaged children in India, Jayne Elizabeth Grimshaw, founder and chair of Mango Tree Goa, has recevived an MBE in the overseas and international honours list.
A UK-based charity, Mango Tree Goa supports disadvantaged children from slums and similar conditions in Goa state. Their Mango House project provides pre-primary schooling, afternoon tuition class, lunch and extra curriculum activities.
Leah Chowdhry, the first British Asian woman to swim the English Channel, has been awarded an MBE in the list for services to charitable fundraising and philanthropy. The businesswoman and philanthropist, who is also chief operating officer of Savran, raised more than £250,000 for Cancer Research UK after completing the 24-mile Channel crossing in nearly 15 hours at the age of 26, following her father's diagnosis with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia.
Her charitable work also includes running the London Marathon, authoring a children's book that raised over £50,000 for Cancer Research UK for Children in its first week, and delivering funded resilience and mindset talks to thousands of young people across the UK. She is also a recipient of the British Citizen Award.
Leah Rani ChowdhryEastern Eye
Prominent personalities in this year’s birthday list are Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Donald McCullin, who become Members of the Order of the Companion of Honour.
Beauty entrepreneur Charlotte Tilbury received a CBE, while DJ and broadcaster Carl Coxconferred an OBE. Rugby star Kevin Sinfield is awarded a knighthood for services to rugby and the motor neurone disease community.
England footballers Jess Carter, Hannah Hampton, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo, along with 20-year-old Michelle Agyemang, are among the Lionesses recognised with MBEs for services to football.
According to the Cabinet Office, this year’s birthday honours list reflected a rise in representation, with 11.5 per cent of recipients coming from ethnic minority backgrounds.
The government said the list reflect the diversity of the UK, with 15.6 per cent of recipients declaring a disability or long-term health condition and 49 per cent of recipients at CBE level and above being women.
The honours system allows anyone to nominate people who have made outstanding contributions to their communities.
Asians in King's birthday honours list
Order of the British Empire
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Professor Dame Parveen June KUMAR DBE
Professor Emerita of Medicine and Education, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London. For services to Global Medical Education and Health (London, Greater London)
Order of the British Empire
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Sumeshni TRANKA
Chief Nursing Officer, Welsh Government. For services to Nursing (Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire)
Order of the British Empire
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Dr Damitha ADIKAARI
Director, Science and Innovation for Climate and Energy, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. For services to Research and Innovation to Tackle Climate Change (Guildford, Surrey)
Yasmin Akhtar KHAN
Chief Executive Officer, Halo Project. For services to Ending Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women (Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire)
Vishal Kumar MARRIA
For services to Technology, Economic Crime Prevention and to the Data and AI Sector
(London, Greater London)
Kunal PATEL
Lately Deputy Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. For Public Service (London, Greater London)
Professor Monder RAM OBE DL
Founder and Director, Centre for Research in Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship. For services to Ethnic Minority Business and Entrepreneurship (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Sukriti Prova SEN
Director of Children and Education Services, Coventry City Council. For services to Children Social Care (London, Greater London)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Asif Jahangir BHATTI
Headteacher, Town Farm Primary School and Nursery, Staines, Surrey. For services to Education (Leatherhead, Surrey)
Javid Soli CANTEENWALA
Trustee and Honorary Treasurer, The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe and Trustee and Chair of the Audit, Finance and Investment Committee, The Coutts Foundation. For services to Philanthropy and Charity (London, Greater London)
Dr Urshla DEVALIA
President, British Society of Paediatric Dentistry. For services to Children's Oral Health (Watford, Hertfordshire)
Professor Mohamed Wasim HANIF
Clinical Advisor, Diabetes UK and Professor of Diabetes and Endocrinology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Diabetes and to Health Inequalities (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Dr Geeta KUMAR
Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board North Wales. For services to Women's Health (Chester, Cheshire)
Rohan MALIK
United Kingdom and Ireland Government and Public Sector Managing Partner, EY. For services to Business and Professional Services (London, Greater London)
Dr Rashmi MANTRI
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, British Youth International College. For services to Mathematics Education (Glasgow, Dunbartonshire)
Ifty NASIR
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vestd. For services to Share Schemes and the Energy Sector (London, Greater London)
Ashfaq Ahmed RAHMAN
Chief Executive Officer, Nova Education Trust, Nottingham. For services to Education
(Nottingham, Nottinghamshire)
Mukesh SHARMA MBE DL
Deputy Chair and Trustee, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Chair, Northern Ireland Committee, National Lottery Heritage Fund. For services to Heritage (Newtownabbey, County Antrim)
Nikita SHARMA
Head of Targeted Outreach and Research, Judicial Appointments Commission. For services to Improving Judicial Diversity (Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey)
Dr Inderpal SINGH
National Clinical Lead, Falls and Frailty. For services to Osteoporosis Care in Wales (Cardiff, South Glamorgan)
Muhammed Fazan TAHIR
Managing Director, Tahir Group. For services to Young People and to Social Mobility (London, Greater London)
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Faria ALI
Senior Associate Solicitor, Herbert Smith Freehills. For Charitable and Voluntary Service
(Caterham, Surrey)
Tahira ALI
Foster Carer, Birmingham Children's Trust's Fostering Agency. For services to Foster Care
(Birmingham, West Midlands)
Nafiza Aktar ANWAR
Co-Founder and Director, Association of South Asian Midwives. For services to Charity and to Healthcare (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Satbinder BAINS
Foster Carer, City of Wolverhampton Council. For services to Foster Care (Willenhall, West Midlands)
Hiren BHIMJIYANI
Programme Director, Global Supply Chain Intelligence Programme, Department for Business and Trade. For services to Trade, to Data-Driven Supply Chain Intelligence and to Machine Learning Innovation (London, Greater London)
Aditya CHAKRABORTTY
Senior Economics Commentator, The Guardian. For services to Public Understanding of the Economy and Wider Social Issues (London, Greater London)
Dr Azhar Mahmood CHAUDHRY
General Practitioner, Thistlemoor Medical Centre, Peterborough. For services to the community in Peterborough (Peterborough, Cambridgeshire)
Leah Rani CHOWDHRY
Philanthropist. For services to Charitable Fundraising (Slough, Berkshire)
Dr Arun Kumar GUPTA
Consultant in Anaesthesia and NeuroCritical Care, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Director, Cambridge Digital Health and Surgical Training Centre and Affiliated Associate Professor, University of Cambridge. For services to Medical Education
(Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Professor Sunil GUPTA
Photographer, Activist and Writer. For services to Art and to the LGBTQ+ Communities
(London, Greater London)
Imran HAFEEZ
Head, National Literacy Trust Bradford Hub. For services to Literacy Development and Social Inclusion in Bradford, West Yorkshire. (Bradford, West Yorkshire)
Sundas KHALID
Co-Founder and Director, Association of South Asian Midwives. For services to Charity and Healthcare (Darlington, County Durham)
Nadia Zunobia KHAN
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Women in CTRL. For services to Women in the Music Industry (London, Greater London)
Sakilbabu Vali KOLA
Founder and Director, Bri-Tek Technologies LTD. For services to Export Growth
(Bolton, Greater Manchester)
Shuvo LOHA
For Parliamentary and Political Service (London, Greater London)
Sanjiv MAHAJAN
Supporting Editor, 2025 United Nations System of National Accounts. For services to Economic Statistics (London, Greater London)
Anjum Nahid MALIK
Writer and Lecturer. For services to British South Asian Arts (Manchester, Greater Manchester)
Parvinder Kaur MATHARU
Co-Founder, clothsurgeon. For services to Men's Fashion and Tailoring (Slough, Berkshire)
Ravinder Singh MATHARU
Co-Founder and Creative Director, clothsurgeon. For services to Men's Fashion and Tailoring
(Slough, Berkshire)
Benash NAZMEEN
Co-Founder and Director, Association of South Asian Midwives. For services to Charity and to Healthcare (Manchester, Greater Manchester)
Dakshesh Harivadan PARIKH
Lately Consultant Paediatric Surgeon, Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Paediatric Surgery (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Dr Kavitha PASUNURU
Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Divisional Director, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. For services to Neurodiversity Services in Gwent (Cardiff, South Glamorgan)
Beena PURI-DAYALJI
Digital Equity Senior Principal, Greater Manchester Combined Authority. For services to Digital Inclusion (Manchester, Greater Manchester)
Professor Lakshminarayan Rao RANGANATH
Trustee and Co-Founder, Alkaptonuria Society. For services to People with Alkaptonuria
(Liverpool, Merseyside)
Dr Nadeem Hasan RIZVI
Managing Director, Laser Micromachining. For services to Industrial Laser Applications in Manufacturing (Buckingham, Buckinghamshire)
Kamal Jit SHARMA
Managing Director, Hindu Cultural Society of Bradford. For services to the community in Bradford, West Yorkshire (Pudsey, West Yorkshire)
Neerasha SINGH
Headteacher, Northfleet Nursery School, Kent. For services to Early Years Education
(Greenhithe, Kent)
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire
Sharifa BEGUM
Employment Adviser, Department for Work and Pensions. For services to Women (London, Greater London)
Sudha BHATT
For services to Community Cohesion in Wales (Cardiff, South Glamorgan)
Kabir KAUL
Conservationist, Urban Nature Campaigner and Writer and lately Youth Council Member, RSPB. For services to Nature (London, Greater London)
Farida LAEEQ
Care Coordinator, Brownlow Health. For services to Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers (Liverpool, Merseyside)
Hitesh MEHTA
Special Constable, West Midlands Police and Charity Trustee, Shree Krishna Temple. For services to Policing, to Charity and to Volunteering in Coventry, West Midlands (Coventry, West Midlands)
Dharmesh MISTRY
Police Constable, West Yorkshire Police. For services to Policing and to the community in Bradford and Leeds (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Regina Parveen OLIVER-LAWLOR (Rosina Oliver-Lawlor)
For Parliamentary and Political Service (Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester)
Alpa RAJA
Member, Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee. For services to Veterans' Welfare
(London, Greater London)
Pundrique Radheyshyam SHARMA
Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Children and Young People (Southport, Merseyside)
Nirmal SINGH
Community Cook, Eastside Community Trust, Bristol. For services to the community in Bristol (Bristol, City of Bristol)
Irfan Aslam SYED
Councillor and Chair, Salford Forum for Refugees. For services to Refugee Resettlement
(Eccles, Greater Manchester)
ORDER OF SAINT MICHAEL AND SAINT GEORGE
OVERSEAS AND INTERNATIONAL LIST
C.M.G.
Sarbjit Singh UPPAL, Director, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. For services to National Security.
THE ROYAL VICTORIAN ORDER
M.V.O.
Jagjivan Singh KHANGURA, Inspector, Metropolitan Police Service. For services to Royalty and Specialist Protection.
ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
(Military division)
Ministry of Defence (Royal Air Force)
M.B.E.
Warrant Officer Murugesvaran SUBRAMANIAM, Royal Air Force, H8434864
ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
(CIVIL DIVISION)
OVERSEAS AND INTERNATIONAL LIST
O.B.E.
Professor Ronjon NAG, Stanford University and Founder, R42 GroupFounder. For services to Entrepreneurship and to Artificial Intelligence.
Sohail Ahmed RAHMAN, lately Anchor, Al Jazeera News. For services to Journalism and to Charitable Fundraising.
M.B.E.
Jayne Elizabeth GRIMSHAW, Founder and Chair, Mango Tree Goa. For services to the Education of Disadvantaged Children in India.
KING'S POLICE MEDAL
ENGLAND AND WALES
K.P.M.
Yasmin LALANI, Detective Chief Inspector, Metropolitan Police Service
Mohammed Munim UDDIN, Sergeant, Metropolitan Police Service
