British Indian academician and House of Lords peer professor Ajay Kumar Kakkar has been conferred the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), the second-highest honour in the UK’s annual New Year Honours List released on Friday.
The 57-year-old Professor of Surgery at University College London has been recognised for healthcare and public service services in a list honouring around 50 Indian-origin professionals, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists across diverse sectors.
“These recipients have inspired and entertained us and given so much to their communities in the UK or in many cases around the world. The honours are an opportunity for us to thank them, as a country, for their dedication and outstanding contribution,” said prime minister Borris Johnson.
“Lord Kakkar has distinguished himself in public and voluntary service through his membership and chairmanship of a range of public and charitable bodies, as well as through his services to the medical field,” the citation for Kakkar’s KBE read. “An outstanding and valuable advocate for public health and clinical research, he has served on the Science and Technology Select Committee and an ad hoc Committee on the future of the NHS [National Health Service],” it added.
According to the UK Cabinet Office, the New Year Honours List 2022 has 15.1 per cent of recipients from an ethnic minority background, making it for the fourth time running the most ethnically diverse honours list to date.
Of 1,278 individuals, 612 are women, representing 47.9 per cent of the total.
Indian-origin Officers of the Order of the British Empire OBEs include Dr Hindpal Singh Bhui for services to custody facilities during COVID-19; Alpesh Chauhan for services to the arts; Dr Japinder Dhesi for public service; Davinder Singh Dhillon for services to the commemoration of Indian forces’ contribution in the First World War; actor Nitin Ganatra for services to drama; Jagtar Singh Gill for services to the British Sikh and interfaith communities; Sharath Kumar Jeevan for education services and Amritpal Singh Maan for services to the Sikh community and charity among others.
