UK Asian Achievers Awards announced, Rami Ranger among winners

H S Rao

London, Dec 4 (PTI) Leading Non-Resident Indian (NRI)
entrepreneur Rami Ranger has won the Asian Achievers Award for
Community Service while the Woman of the Year Award was bagged
by Kamel Hothi,Head of Asian Markets and Event of the Lloyds
TSB bank.

According to the citation, Rami Ranger was chosen for
the award for being successful in business, society and
politics. He runs two of UK's fastest growing companies and
is a recipient of the Queen's Award for Export. He works to
make Asians more publicly and politically spirited.

Hothi has been a role model within the bank and the
Asian Community, the citation said. A child of the partition
of India and Pakistan, Kamel Hothi migrated to England with
her family to build a better life. She worked hard to be
recognised for her achievements with numerous awards, the
citation said.

Other recipients of the 8th Asian Achievers Awards
held at the Radison SAS Portman Hotel last night were Ravi
Sharma, Sunrise Radio anchor and commentator for achievements
in media, art and culture and Yogesh Mehta, Managing Director
of Amertrans Shipping. He was named the Business person of the
year.

Nishma Gosrani, an ambassador on the Merrill Lynch was
adored with 'Professional of the year' award. 'The Young
entrepreneur of the year' award was bagged by Kuljinder Singh
Bahia, Managing director of Southall Travel.

Among the other awardees were Dak Patel, Maiyuran
Ratneswaran, PC Mebs Ahmed and Reeta Chakrabarti, BBC
political Correspondent. A minute's silence was observed in
memory of those killed in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Speaking on the occasion, Lord Karan Billimoria,
Chairman of the UK-India Business Council described the attack
on Mumbai as "ruthless and deliberate." and nothing could
justify it.

Billimoria said, "It is not only an attack on India,
but an attack on Britain, America and Israel. This attack is
on everything that we stand for - an attack on
freedom,democracy and secularism."

He said the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has
assured him that his Government would extend its full support
to India to deal with terrorism.

The NRI entrepreneur further said that Britain's Trade
Secretary, Peter Mandelson assured him to lead a major
delegation to India next month. Describing it a shame that the
England's cricket tour of India was disrupted, he hoped
England would tour India to play the test series.

He hoped that India would bounce back economically as
it did after the terrorists' attack on Indian parliament.
Keith Vaz, leading NRI Labour MP and former minister said one
of the people caught up in the terrorists attack on Taj Mahal
was Sir Gulam Noon, founder of the Noon products.

Sir Gulam Noon said it was the good-wishes of the
people that saved him from the terrorists bullet. He said
terrorists were neither Muslims nor Hindus. "They just wanted
to create havoc. Indian Muslims did not want to bury the
bodies of terrorists and asked the government to send the
bodies to Pakistan."

Ed Balls, MP Secretary of State for Children, Schools
and Familes, who was the Chief Guest, said UK would stick
together with India, along with the international community to
tackle the menace of terror.

"We must not be diverted from the task of moving ahead
with the progressive agenda," he said. PTI HSR
SAK
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