Salman Rushdie, the Mumbai-born author of the Booker Prize-winning novel ‘Midnight’s Children,’ is among over 40 Indian-origin professionals and community leaders to be recognized in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
In a list announced on Wednesday night as the Jubilee Honours to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years of service to the UK, Rushdie is appointed a Companion of Honour, an exclusive club with membership limited to just 65 people at any given time, for services to literature.
“It’s an honour to be in such distinguished company, both past, and present,” said the 74-year-old author, who was the target of a fatwa issued by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini over 30 years ago for his controversial work “The Satanic Verses”.
The Companion of Honour is a prestigious honour given to people who have made a significant and long-term contribution to the arts, science, health or governance.
Few people earn this honour, which has previously been bestowed on former British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and John Major, as well as famous physicist Stephen Hawking.
The citation for Rushdie, author of 14 books, states, “Born in Bombay, he later attended Rugby School and King’s College, Cambridge, where he read History.”
“‘Midnight’s Children,’ where he began his career in advertising, was twice selected Best of the Bookers by the public (1993 and 2008). In 2007, he was knighted for his contributions to literature. He is also a well-known nonfiction author, essayist, co-editor and humanist,” it emphasizes further.
Avnish Mitter Goyal, Chair of Care England, received a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for contributions to social care and charity throughout the 96-year-old monarch’s 70-year reign.
Hotelier Kishorkant (Vinu) Bhattessa was awarded an OBE for charity and volunteer efforts, notably during COVID-19, and Liverpool schoolteacher Rohit Naik was awarded an OBE for services to education.
