A LIFE shaped by service, faith and dialogue has taken one community leader to the red benches of the House of Lords. When Lord Krish Raval rose to deliver his maiden speech there in March last year, he described himself simply as a “doorkeeper”, someone whose purpose was “not barring access, but opening doors” – a phrase that neatly captured decades spent building bridges between communities, faiths and nations.
Baron Raval of Hertsmere took his seat in the Lords in January 2025 after being nominated for a life peerage by prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. In a gesture rich in personal symbolism, he swore his oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita, reflecting the Hindu faith that has shaped his life since childhood, when he attended the Bhaktivedanta Manor temple in Hertfordshire.
On being nominated, he said he was “deeply humbled” and paid tribute to the principle of seva, the Hindu concept of selfless service, which he said had been instilled in him by his parents. “It is this spirit of service that fuels my dedication to fostering community cohesion and championing international collaboration,” he said.
His family story reflects a wider narrative of migration and perseverance. His grandfather, Manishankar, left India aged 15 as a cook’s assistant, alone and with little to his name, but eventually became general manager of a large export business. His grandmother, Kantaben, stood beside him throughout. Raval’s parents, Suresh and Padma, arrived in Britain in the 1970s and ran a family business for three decades. “Dawn prayers, long commutes and ten-hour shifts, yet mum still cooked a fresh Gujarati meal every night,” he recalled in his Lords speech. “That kind of sacrifice not only sustains families; it builds nations.”
Born in Ethiopia, he came to Britain for his education, reading law at Trinity College, Cambridge, and later at the University of Sheffield. Over the next three decades he built a career spanning business, academia and faith leadership.
In 2007 he founded Faith in Leadership, an Oxford-based organisation that emerged in the aftermath of the July 7, 2005 London bombings. The initiative trains faith leaders to serve their communities while strengthening relationships across religious traditions.
His contribution to interfaith cohesion was recognised in 2018 with an OBE.
In his maiden speech he also highlighted the strategic importance of closer UK-India ties, calling for a “New Silk Road” linking India with the Middle East and Britain. “Since Manishankar Raval's maiden voyage nearly a century ago, India, that is Bharat, is rising as an economic and cultural powerhouse. A strong partnership is key to UK security, education, health, climate goals and growth,” he said.
Quoting the spiritual leader Pandit Sriram Sharma Acharya – ‘Our world is one single family’ – he added his own conviction: “Integration is not just living together, but belonging to each other.”
Lord Raval lives in Hertsmere with his wife, Dr Lucy Raval, and their daughters, Lukshmi and Sita.
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