Who are the two British Indians stripped of honours by the UK Crown?

It added: “The King has directed that the appointment of Anil Kumar Bhanot to be an Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated 12 June 2010, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order.”

So, who are these two British Indians?

Born in the Pakistani city of Gujranwala, Raminder Singh Ranger’s family moved to India during the partition of 1947. He had arrived in the UK as a law student in 1971.

Lord Ranger is an Indian-origin Tory peer in the House of Lords and the founder of Sun Mark Ltd FMCG company. He was conferred the CBE honour in 2015 for his role in the British business landscape and his contribution towards the British-Asian community.

He was also nominated for a life peerage in the Upper House in former PM Theresa May’s 2019 resignation honours. His company won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade for five consecutive years, from 2009 to 2014.

However, his honour was “cancelled” following findings in June 2023 that Lord Ranger had harassed and bullied Poonam Joshi, an Indian journalist, in a series of tweets.

Poonam Joshi (File Photo)

Joshi had said that following an event at the House of Lords in 2023, he described her several times on social media as a “presstitute” and falsely claimed on X (Twitter at that time) that she had reported her husband, a BBC presenter, for domestic abuse.

Following the annulment, Ranger said via a statement: “Today I lost my CBE for standing up against Khalistanis who wish to break up India and the BBC for producing a two-part documentary with the help of anti-Prime Minister Modi guests to imply that the PM was involved in the Gujarat riots some 20 years after the riots and for which PM Modi was exonerated by the highest court in India.”

Anil Kumar Bhanot

Anil Kumar Bhanot was the recipient of the Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) honour — the fourth highest honour — in 2010 for his contribution to the Hindu community and religious harmony. He was conferred the title in late Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours. Bhanot is an accountant and the managing trustee of Hindu Council UK.