 "Two prominent figures from the British Indian community — Tory peer Rami Ranger and Hindu Council UK managing trustee Anil Bhanot — have had their honours revoked by King Charles III. Image courtesy: 5pillarsuk.com, X/@ramiranger")
Two prominent figures from the British Indian community — Tory peer Rami Ranger and Hindu Council UK managing trustee Anil Bhanot — have had their honours revoked by King Charles III in a dramatic move.
Ranger, a multi-millionaire and member of the House of Lords, was stripped of his coveted Commander of the British Empire (CBE) title after reportedly “bringing the honours system into disrepute.”
Meanwhile, Anil Bhanot, a chartered accountant, saw his Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) honour “cancelled and annulled,” by the King, reported the London Gazette on Friday.
Both individuals will now be required to return their insignia to Buckingham Palace and will no longer be permitted to make any reference about having an honour.
But what led to this decision, and how have they responded? Here’s what we know.
What are CBE and OBE honours?
The CBE, or Commander of the Order of the British Empire, is the highest-ranking honour in the United Kingdom.
It is followed by the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
According to the BBC, the British Empire honours system was established by King George V during World War I to recognise the contributions of individuals who supported the war effort from the home front in the UK (i.e, not on the battlefield).
Today, these awards are given to individuals in recognition of their significant positive impact in various fields.
Why were Ranger and Bhanot awarded?
Rami Ranger was awarded the CBE for his services to British business and community cohesion by the late Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year’s Honours list of December 2015.
Born in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) and later moving to Patiala during the partition, Ranger moved to the UK to study law. He went on to establish himself as a successful businessman, founding the FMCG company Sun Mark.
A member of the Conservative Party, Ranger has donated around £1.5 million to the party since 2009. A decade later, he was made a member of the House of Lords.
Anil Kumar Bhanot, meanwhile, was awarded the OBE for his services to the Hindu community and inter-faith relations in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of June 2010.
According to The Times of India, Bhanot is a founding member of the Hindu Council UK and a chartered accountant. He also runs a community arts centre in Leicester.
Why was Ranger’s title revoked?
Rami Ranger was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party, and his CBE was “cancelled and annulled” by King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the recommendation of the Forfeiture Committee, following various charges.
Ranger had been under investigation by the Commissioner for Standards for the House of Lords due to accusations of “bullying” and posting derogatory tweets about Indian journalist Poonam Joshi
He had called Joshi “toxic,” “a total nutcase,” and “the epitome of filth and garbage.” After the incident, Ranger expressed “remorse” and apologised, as did Joshi for “a share of the responsibility for the circumstances which have arisen.”
Further controversy arose when Ranger questioned whether “Pakistani-origin” BBC staff were behind the allegedly critical coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’. The Forfeiture Committee received a complaint regarding this matter.
Additionally, the committee obtained a complaint from Sikhs for Justice, a US-based organisation banned in India, after Ranger referred to the group as “enemies of India.” Another complaint was related to a tweet he made about a trustee of a Southall gurdwara.
How did he respond?
In response to the revocation of his title, a spokesman for Lord Ranger condemned the “unjust decision” as an attack on free speech, calling the manner in which the CBE was taken “shameful.”
“Lord Ranger has not committed any crime nor has he broken any law. 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,” the spokesman was quoted by GB News.
He continued: “He is looking at all options for redress via various legal avenues open to him and will challenge this unjust decision in order to vindicate himself and clear his name in the UK and abroad.”
What happened with Bhanot?
Anil Bhanot told The Times of India that he was contacted by the Forfeiture Committee in January and given the opportunity to make his representations.
He explained that the complaint, accusing him of Islamophobia, was related to tweets he had posted about violence against Hindus in Bangladesh in 2021.
The website 5 Pillars had previously filed complaints about these tweets with the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Charity Commission, but both organisations cleared him on the grounds of free speech.
“I thought it would be alright, but apparently not,” he said.
Bhanot stated that he does not know who raised the complaint with the Forfeiture Committee and firmly denies any Islamophobic intent.
“At the time our temples were being destroyed and Hindus were being attacked and killed. The BBC wasn’t covering it and I felt empathy for those poor people. I felt someone had to say something. It was similar to what is happening now but on a smaller scale. I was calling for dialogue and legislative measures. I did not do anything wrong and I have not put the honours system into disrepute.
Free speech is a thing of the past now in England. I am quite upset about it. Because it’s an honour, it’s political,” he told the publication. “I don’t think they looked at my representations at all.”
The Cabinet Office guidelines clarify the role of the Forfeiture Committee, stating: “The Committee is not an investigatory body – it does not decide whether or not someone is guilty or innocent of a particular act. Instead, it reflects the findings of official investigations and makes a recommendation of whether or not the honours system has been brought into disrepute.”
With input from agencies