Cancer expert Harpal Singh Kumar knighted

JALANDHAR: UK-based cancer expert Harpal Singh Kumar was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday while six other Sikhs or Punjabis were awarded New Year's Honours. Kumar was knighted for his "influential work in preventing and treating cancer, while UK-based Sikh author and commentator Gurmukh Singh, who is a former civil servant and has been writing about Sikh faith and issues of the community, was conferred an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to community cohesion and charity.
Other prominent Indian-origin individuals honoured with civilian awards such as Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) include Raminder Singh Ranger, whose company Sun Mark Ltd has won several export awards from the British government. Gurmeet Singh Kalsi has been presented with a MBE (member of Order of the British Empire) for Building Services Engineer, Palace of Westminster, for parliamentary services and voluntary services to the Sikh Community in Surrey. Satpal Singh NAHL, officer, Bradford Group, HM Revenue and Customs, an MBE for his services to Taxpayers and Public Administration and Karnail Singh Pannu for his services to the community in Windsor and Maidenhead, Berkshire. Gurdev Singh Rayat has been honoured with a BEM (British Empire Medal) for his services to the community in Greenwich, London.
Kumar's parents came to India after Partition and later moved to England. In a 2013 interview, Kumar had revealed that his father had to sweep floors when he landed in the UK. Subsequently he started his own grocery store where he (Kumar) would work in the afternoons and on weekends. Kumar attended St. John's College, University of Cambridge, where he gained an M Eng degree and an MA degree. Then he enrolled for an MBA at Harvard Business School where he won the Ford Prize and the Wolfe Prize.
He joined the Cancer Research Technology Limited as chief executive in 2002, was elevated to chief operating officer of Cancer Research UK in 2004 and the chief executive officer in April 2007.
Gurmukh Singh who has his roots in Bassian, near Raikot in Ludhiana district, is the patron of Khalsa Aid. He was the first senior ethnic and Sikh identity Civil Servant to represent UK abroad during a changing race relations environment.
He told TOI, "For interfacing with the government departments effectively, I have always promoted the idea of a 'round-table' of UK Gurdwaras and organisations, first as the open BritishSikh Consultative Forum started in 2002 and more recently the Sikh Counci UK".
Raminder Singh Ranger also known as Rami Ranger was born in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) in July 1947, two months before death of his father Nanak Singh in communal riots. His family migrated to Patiala where he joined Mohindra College after completing his schooling. He emigrated to England in 1971.