Britain’s first Sikh judge Sir Rabinder Singh is among the most influential Asians in the UK in 2019, next only to home secretary Sajid Javid and London mayor Sadiq Khan, both with Pakistani roots.
The name was revealed in the Eastern Eye GG2 Power List released at the GG2 Leadership Awards organised by the Asian Media Group in London on Wednesday night.
Born in 1964 in Delhi, Sir Rabinder’s parents came to Britain with little more than the contents of their suitcases. Raised in a poor neighbourhood, his academic ability was recognised early on, which led to him winning a local authority scholarship to Bristol Grammar School.
At just 39, Sir Rabinder became the youngest judge to sit in the high court in the UK. His rise to the top of the judiciary continued last year when he was sworn in as a court of appeal judge — the first non-white person to occupy such a position and appointed by the Queen to the privy council.
Other prominent Indian-origin personalities figuring in the 101-strong power list include counter-terrorism chief in Metropolitan Police Neil Basu, chairman of Santander UK Baroness Shriti Vadera, the only woman to be head of a major British Bank, Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for chemistry .
{{/usCountry}}Other prominent Indian-origin personalities figuring in the 101-strong power list include counter-terrorism chief in Metropolitan Police Neil Basu, chairman of Santander UK Baroness Shriti Vadera, the only woman to be head of a major British Bank, Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for chemistry .
{{/usCountry}}Next in the power list is Indian-origin steel baron Lakshmi Mittal.