In a rare development, two people of Indian origin have been stripped of their honorary titles in the United Kingdom by King Charles. Rami Ranger, a Conservative peer (Member of the House of Lords), and Anil Bhanot, a chartered accountant and founding member of the Hindu Council UK, were stripped of their titles.
While Ranger, who was nominated by Theresa May in 2019, has been stripped of his CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), Bhanot's OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) has been revoked, according to the London Gazette.
The 76-year-old Ranger, who was born in Gujranwala, in modern-day Pakistan, moved to Patiala with his family during the partition and went to the UK to study law.
In the UK, Ranger established himself as a businessman and founded the FMCG company Sun Mark. He is also a member of the Conservative Party and has donated around ?1.5m since 2009. He was made a Member of the House of Lords in 2019.
Lord Ranger was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party, and his CBE has been cancelled and annulled by King Charles on the recommendation of the Forfeiture Committee on charges including insulting and harassing social media posts against an Indian-origin journalist, and comments against Pakistanis and members of the Sikh community.
Though Ranger has denied any criminal wrongdoing, he had apologised to the journalist and undertaken rehabilitative work regarding complaints that had been made against him. The Forfeiture Committee recommended revoking his title.
Ranger, who will have to return his insignia to Buckingham Palace and can no longer make any reference to having the honour, said he was devastated, adding that he will explore all legal options to restore it.
Bhanot, the other Indian-origin individual, was also stripped of his title for a series of Islamophobic tweets in 2021.
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