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HomeIndiaWhy UK has 'annulled' honours of British-Indians Rami Ranger & Anil Bhanot

Why UK has ‘annulled’ honours of British-Indians Rami Ranger & Anil Bhanot

Rami Ranger, a businessman, has been stripped of his ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire’, while Anil Bhanot, an accountant, lost his ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’.

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New Delhi: The UK has revoked the honours of two leading British Indian community figures—Tory peer Rami Ranger and Managing Trustee of Hindu Council UK, Anil Bhanot.

The London Gazette Friday announced that while Ranger, a multi-millionaire, has been stripped of his ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire’ (CBE), Bhanot has lost his ‘Officer of the Order of the British Empire’ (OBE).

Bhanot, an accountant, runs a community centre in Leicester.

According to the London Gazette notification, King Charles III directed that their honours be “cancelled and annulled”. Media reports said that Ranger’s CBE honour was stripped due to “bringing the honours system into disrepute”.

With this revocation, both now have to return their insignia to Buckingham Palace. Moreover, both of them are no longer permitted to reference their honours.

While the Forfeiture Committee of the UK Cabinet Office does not specify its reasons behind such recommendations, the move follows a Lords probe concluding last year that Ranger had breached the parliamentary Code of Conduct relating to “bullying and harassment”.

“The King has directed that the appointment of Raminder Singh, Baron Ranger to be a Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated December 31, 2015, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order,” reads the official public notice in ‘The London Gazette’.

The revocation orders came reportedly after a review of the forfeiture committee. The committee examines cases of individuals with honours, whose action might ruin the reputation of the honorary system. The forfeiture committee’s recommendations were then conveyed to King Charles III through UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Both Ranger and Bhanot have criticised the move terming it an “attack on free speech”.

Ranger, who has openly criticised the Khalistan movement, in a statement to the media following the revocation said, “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”.

He also mentioned that he has plans to take this up legally, seek a judicial review and added that he would be appealing against the decision with the European Court of Human Rights.

“The decision of the Forfeiture Committee has serious implications for all upstanding citizens, that they should not speak their mind in case they forfeit their honour for standing up against those who wish to harm us and our country,” Ranger said. “If you think I have been wronged, then please express your feelings to the Forfeiture Committee,” he added.

The Forfeiture committee had reportedly received complaints against Ranger, who was subjected to probe by the Commissioner for Standards for the House of Lords after he faced allegations of “bullying” and also writing “derogatory” posts on Twitter (now X) about Indian journalist Poonam Joshi. Other complaints included a post on the Southall Sikh Gurdwara Trustee, and criticising the BBC’s documentary, ‘India: The Modi Question’. A spokesperson for Ranger said that the Forfeiture committee had also taken into account complaints received from the Sikh separatist group Sikhs for Justice.

“It is a sad indictment that the honours system, which is designed to empower individuals who go the extra mile and as a result contribute a great deal to the nation, should be used to curtail the basic fundamental rights of free speech. Lord Ranger was a worthy recipient of his CBE. The manner in which it has been taken from him is shameful,” GB News quoted the spokesperson.

Bhanot on the other hand told a media outlet that he was accused of Islamophobia, pertaining to certain tweets he had regarding Hindus in Bangladesh in 2021. However, according to Bhanot, he doesn’t know who raised the complaints with the Forfeiture Committee as after the website ‘5 Pillars’ filed complaints with the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Charity Commission, but both entities had cleared him on the grounds of free speech.

ThePrint reached Bhanot via email. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.


Also read: ‘What about my domestic lobby’ — Jaishankar dismisses ‘naysayers’ narrative’ on India-UK FTA talks


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1 COMMENT

  1. Khalistani extremists and Islamists have their tentacles everywhere. They have built these connections and contacts over the last several decades. And they use it very effectively against everyone who stands up to them.
    The liberal-Left’s weakness for Islamism and Khalistani radicalism has made it a soft target for such lobbying groups. It has, for all practical purposes, been hijacked by these religious fanatics. The Islamists and Khalistanis have become experts in using the fundamental tenets of a free and open society for their own nefarious agenda and have mastered the art of propaganda.

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