Rami Ranger and Anil Bhanot Raja, two prominent figures of the British Indian community, were robbed of their honour

London: Two leading figures in the British Indian community – Tory Peer Rami Ranger And Hindu Council UK Managing Trustee Anil Bhanot – Dramatically stripped of their honor.
The multi-millionaire Ranger has been stripped of his CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) by King and Bhanot, a practicing accountant who runs a community arts center in Leicester, has been stripped of his OBE (Officer of the Order). of the British Empire). The announcement appeared in the “London Gazette” on Friday.
They will be asked to return their insignia to Buckingham Palace and will no longer be able to make any reference to their honour. The Confiscation Committee considers cases referred to it when the honor holder is deemed to have defamed the honor system.
The committee’s recommendations for confiscation were submitted to the King by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Ranger and Bhanot condemned the move as an attack on freedom of speech. Bhanot, who received his OBE for community engagement, told TOI that he was approached by the confiscation committee in January and made his representations. “I thought it would be OK, but apparently not,” he said. He said the complaint, accusing him of Islamophobia, was about tweets he wrote about violence against Hindus in Bangladesh in 2021. The website “5 Pillars” complained about the tweets to both the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Charity Commission. They cleared it on free speech Maidan did not know who had complained to the confiscation committee and denied saying anything Islamophobic.
“At that time our temples were being destroyed and Hindus were being attacked and killed. The BBC didn’t cover it and I sympathized with 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 action. I have done nothing wrong and I have not disgraced the honor system. Free speech is now a thing of the past in England. I am very upset about it. Because it is an honor, it is political,” he said. “I don’t think they watch my presentations at all.”
Ranger was awarded his CBE in 2016 for services to British business and community service. “I don’t care about CBEs but I think freedom of speech has been undermined and they are rewarding the wrong people, making them more powerful than upstanding citizens. “He said he plans to seek a judicial review of the decision and take it to the European Court of Human Rights. These include complaints against him by the banned US-based organization Sikhs for Justice in India. One is his defense of PM Modi and the BBC documentary, ” India: The Modi Question” was about comments he made against the Southall Gurdwara Trustee.
A spokesman for the Lord Ranger said: “The Lord Ranger has not committed any crime or broken any law. It is a sad indictment that the honor system, which is designed to empower individuals who go the extra mile and consequently contribute greatly to the nation, should be used to curtail the basic fundamental rights of freedom of speech. The Lord Ranger was a worthy recipient of his CBE. The way it has been taken from him is shameful.