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HomeNewsAsians honoured by Queen in New Year's Honours List

Asians honoured by Queen in New Year’s Honours List

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THE boss of the world’s largest independent cancer charity, who has helped pioneer new treatments to tackle the disease, has received the highest honour from the Queen.
 
Harpal Kumar, chief executive of Cancer Research UK (CRUK) was honoured with a knighthood for services to cancer research.
 
He is one of hundreds of individuals around Britain who have been awarded by the queen for their services to fields such as medicine, entrepreneurship, community cohesion and trade.
 
The New Year's Honours List released on Thursday (31), comprises of 1044 people – 35 of which were from a South Asian background.
From an early age Kumar used to helped his parent’s run their grocery store. 
 
Two decades later he won a place at Cambridge University and Harvard. After training as a chemical engineer, the 50 year-old worked as a healthcare consultant with McKinsey in 1992 and went on to hold senior positions in the field.
 
The citation accompanying his knighthood said that he “has been hugely influential in promoting research into the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and cancer care. CRUK’s income and research spend are at an all-time high”.
 
Kumar told Eastern Eye he was “very surprised and deeply honoured”. 
 
“It's a privilege to lead Cancer Research UK. More than anything, this Honour recognises the extraordinary innovation and dedication of our scientists and clinicians to beating cancer, the creativity and passion of our fundraisers and amazing volunteers with their commitment to maintaining the highest standards, and the tenacity and belief of our policy and information professionals in driving change at all levels and in providing outstanding support for cancer patients and their families. 
 
“I hope this Honour helps to mark both how far we have come in cancer, whilst also raising awareness of how far we have to go.”
The businessmen who were recognised by the Queen include Dr Rami Ranger, who runs the Sun Mark firm and Zameer Choudrey, who is chief executive at the Bestway Group. They were both awarded CBEs.
 
Ranger who started life as a child in a refugee camp in India, is currently worth £175m according to the Asian Rich List 2015. The self made millionaire who was recognised for his services to business and community came to the country in the 1970s at the age of 23. He wanted to study law, but due to lack of funds ended up working in a London branch of KFC for 35p an hour. After seven years he was made redundant and after a brief stint working in retail he set up his own freight forwarding company in 1987 with just £2, a typewriter, a car and a self-storage unit. 
 
He then diversified into exporting major food brands like Cadbury, Nestlé and Unilever before launching his own brand Sun Mark in 1995. Last year he made history by winning Britain's most prestigious award for international trade, The Queen's Awards for Enterprise in International Trade – five years in a row. The award was presented by Prime Minister David Cameron himself.
 
Ranger also does his part in giving back to society – he donated a quarter of million pounds to a London university in a bid to create the next generation of entrepreneurs in 2014, and also runs the British Sikh Association which encourages and promotes interfaith activities.  
 
“I feel very honoured to receive this award but it is not just for me but for the whole team at Sunmark, my family and friends,” Ranger told Eastern Eye.
 
“Awards such as these serve to inspire people to work harder and encourages us to do more. The Indian community is very well respected and this honour is in recognition of all their hard work over the years.”
 
Choudrey worth £415m according to the Asian Rich List heads one of Britain's biggest private companies with a turn over in excess of £3bn.  The Bestway Group who donates 2.5 percent of profits to charity each year and are the second biggest food and drink wholesaler in the country, recently took over Coop Pharmacy chain. Choudrey is highly regarded in industry and was presented with Asian Trader Editors Award this year. He was recognised by the Queen for his contributions to advancing Britain through his services to the UK Wholesale industry and the wide array of philanthropic work he engages in both in the UK and abroad.
 
He originally graduated in Accountancy from the University of Kent in 1981 and joined Bestway in 1984 as Financial Controller, before being appointed to the role of Chief Executive for Bestway Group in 2004.
 
On getting the CBE he said: “I cannot begin to express how honoured I am to have been included by the Queen in her New Years Honours List. It gives me great pleasure to be recognised for my contributions in this manner. These honours represent everything that makes Britain great reinforcing how it doesn’t matter where you have come from, what matters is your work ethic and the impact you can make. It shows what matters is that you contribute and you help to make Britain even better, something many immigrants do on a daily basis across the nation.”
 
The honours list maintained a gender balance with around 578 successful women candidates, representing 48 per cent of the total number of people recognised by the Queen.
 
Leicester based entrepreneur Kala Patel won an OBE for her services to childcare.
 
Her company Kiddycare Nurseries, started after she was prevented from returning to work by the lack of childcare, begun with just a bank loan and Enterprise
Allowance of £65 a week. She converted unused office space into a 15-place nursery. Within days, it was full and she had a growing waiting list. Just months later, Kala went on to move her first nursery into much larger, better equipped premises.
 
Since then, Kiddycare has grown to five settings, providing childcare for under-fives and after-school and holiday care for older children. 
 
 She told EE: “It is really wonderful to be recognised for all the work I’ve done over the years with the children. This honour is about that commitment and I’m blown away by it. But I have to say, none of this could have happened without the support of my tremendously dedicated team, who always give their all.
 
“When I came to this country at a young age, I had no plans for the future, but I have been able, I hope, to make a real difference to the lives of others, particularly families with young children. Getting this recognition from the Queen feels like a really great achievement. I feel genuinely honoured.”
 
Another businesswoman who saw a gap in the market is Rekha Mehr who received an MBE For services to Entrepreneurship and Enterprise.
 
The entrepreneur has received acclaim for her Indian inspired desert from her Pistachio Rose shop in London.
 
She was appointed as a business adviser to the government and has met with former Business ministers Vince Cable.
 
Mehr, who has supplied patisserie to department store Fortnum & Mason, has been focusing on helping small businesses survive the tough economic climate.
She previously told Eastern Eye one of her passions is mentoring.
 
"I didn’t take up a mentor early enough because of the lack of transparency of the services available and the value of those services.
 
“I've stepped into one-to-one start up consultancy, I want to help other small businesses.
 
"A lot of people have great products but it's about pitching it in the right way."
 
If you want to nominate someone for an award go to www.gov.uk/honours/overview for more information.
 
*The full list of Asian winners can be found in next week’s issue of Eastern Eye.
 

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