Gujarati woman gets prestigious Member Of Order of British Empire

VADODARA: Gujarat-born Gargi Patel, an officer in the Department of Immigration Enforcement at the home office in London, has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's birthday Honours List 2018. Patel, who has been honoured for her services towards community engagement and immigration for nearly two decades, received the honour of MBE by the royal family member Prince Charles at the Buckingham Palace.


Wife of late Jyotindra Patel, who had his roots in Karamsad town of Anand district and the daughter of Bipin and Manda Patel, who hailed from Bhadran town, 54-year-old Patel has been working with the immigration enforcement department in London since 2002. Her efforts have increased the number of voluntary departures, contributing to over 2.5 million pounds savings in enforcement costs to the UK. "It was an exciting experience to attend the function at the royal palace with my family to receive the award," Patel told TOI afterwards, while thanking her seniors for recommending her name for the coveted award and for their collaborative efforts.

Patel liaisons with the High Commission of India on travel documents related issues. "It has been an opportunity to help voluntary departures of applicants who are struggling in the UK and help them return to their country with dignity and without the fear of being arrested or detained," she said, adding that her work needs her to engage with the communities and use her Indian language skills and cultural background something that she is really proud of. "It is a challenging role. But I enjoyed my job and got great pleasure by working with the Indian community and helping them with my knowledge of the home office policies," she said.

The tradition of honouring individuals by the Monarch dates back to 1860 when Queen Victoria gave out the first ever birthday honours. Honours are handed out twice a year - once at New Year and again to mark the Queen's birthday.