15 Indian-Origin Men, Women In Queen's New Year's Honours List

The honours system recognises people who have made achievements in public life and committed themselves to serving and helping Britain. The list, founded in 1917, is decided by an honours committee, which goes to the Prime Minister who then recommends the names to the Queen for the official award.

The Queen releases two honours lists every year – her Birthday Honours in June and News Year's Honours in December.

In line with the overall theme this year, women are well represented among the Asian set too with OBE for Gill Harjagbir Bal, headteacher of Wembley High Technology College in London, for services to education, and entrepreneur Priya Lakhani for services to business, community and voluntary initiatives.

Others on the OBE list include pharmacist Ashok Soni for services to community pharmacy and the NHS, and Shahed Ahmed Battiwala, head teacher at Elmhurst Primary School in Newham, London, for services to education.

Next in order of prominence are the Member of the British Empire (MBE) awards which also feature women prominently, including Ranjana Bell, chair of Strategic Independent Advisory Group at Northumbria Police, honoured for services to minority ethnic groups in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, and Liverpool-based Bisakha Sarker for services to South Asian Dance in Merseyside.
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