Summary
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) is the second highest honour in the UK’s annual New Year Honours List
Ajay Kumar Kakkar is a professor of Surgery at University College London
Ajay Kumar Kakkar, a British Indian academician and House of Lords peer, has been conferred the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). It is the second highest honour in the United Kingdom’s annual New Year Honours list released on December 31, 2021.
Kakkar is a professor of surgery at University College London. He has been recognised for services in healthcare and public service in a list that honours about 50 other Indian-origin professionals, entrepreneurs and philanthropists throughout various sectors.
The KBE citation for Kakkar read, “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 other 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 services to education and Amritpal Singh Maan for services to the Sikh community and to charity.
The Order of the British Empire was also conferred on Mahendra Gulabbhai Patel for services to pharmacy; Rizwan Patel for services to the disadvantaged communities in the UK and abroad, specially during COVID-19; Arti Prashar for charitable services to people living with dementia; Rohini Sharma Joshi for services to equality, diversity and inclusion; Rekha Thawrani for services to infrastructure and British exports; Sanjiv Vedi for public, charitable and voluntary service.
Several other Indian-origin achievers have been honoured as Medallists of the Order of the British Empire, including Hardip Singh Atwal for charitable service, Sulakhan Singh Dard for services to healthcare in the Sikh community, Rabinder Singh Dhami for services to fire and rescue.
The United Kingdom Cabinet Office has said the New Year Honours List 2022 has 15.1% of recipients from an ethnic minority background. It is the most ethnically diverse honours list to date.
Last updated on 01 Jan 2022
