UK strips two British Indians of honours allegedly over statements on Khalistan separatists, Islam

Two British Indians were on Friday stripped of their honours conferred by the monarch in the United Kingdom for significant contributions to the nation.

While the Central Chancery of the Order of Knighthood, which administers state honours, did not detail the reasons for the forfeiture, media reports claimed that the action was taken for their comments about Khalistan separatists and Islam, among other reasons.

According to a statement by the committee, the appointments of Raminder Singh Ranger, a Conservative Party member in the House of Lords, and Anil Kumar Bhanot, a managing trustee of the religious group Hindu Council United Kingdom, were “cancelled and annulled”.

King Charles III directed that their names, along with four others, be “erased” from the register, the committee said.

Ranger was appointed a Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2015 for his role in the business landscape and his contribution towards the British-Asian community. Bhanot was conferred as an Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2019 for his contribution to the Hindu community and religious harmony.

According to The Guardian, the honour given to Ranger was cancelled for allegedly ill-treating a freelance journalist named Poonam Joshi, as well as...

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