List of British Indians

This is a list of notable British people of Indian descent (British Indians).

Historical

Dean Mahomed (1759–1851), British Indian traveller and writer originally from Patna in modern-day Bihar^[1]
Elizabeth Sharaf un-Nisa (1758–1822), Mughal noble married into the aristocratic Ducarel family. Originally from the town of Purnea in modern-day Bihar^[2]
Duleep Singh (1838–1893), last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire who was born in Lahore and was exiled to the United Kingdom at the age of 15
Kitty Kirkpatrick (1802–1889), daughter of James Achilles Kirkpatrick and a Hyderabadi noblewoman. Muse of philosopher, Thomas Carlyle.
Sukhsagar Datta (1890–1967), medical doctor, Indian Independence activist and Labour Party official, living in Bristol.
David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre (1808–1851), Anglo-Indian politician held to be the first person of Indian descent to be elected in British Parliament.
Sheth Ghoolam Hyder (1776–1823), born in Darbhanga, Bihar, professor of Persian at the East India Company College. One of the first Indians to teach in the UK.
Shapurji Saklatvala (1874–1936), communist activist and British politician of Indian Parsi heritage.

Academia and medicine

Jas Pal Singh Badyal, professor of chemistry, Durham University
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, chemist and Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Cambridge
Baron Kumar Bhattacharyya, former engineer, professor of manufacturing systems at University of Warwick and founder and chairman of the Warwick Manufacturing Group
Dinesh Bhugra, professor of mental health at King's College London, former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the World Psychiatric Association, and President-elect of the British Medical Association
Jagjit Chadha, economist, professor and Director of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR)
Krishna Chatterjee, professor of endocrinology, University of Cambridge
Rangan Chatterjee, medical doctor, author, television presenter and podcaster
Dame Pratibha Gai, microscopist, professor and Chair of Electron Microscopy, University of York
Hari Hundal, Professor and Chair of Molecular Physiology, University of Dundee
Mukesh Kapila, diplomat, former civil servant and professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs at the University of Manchester
Dame Parveen Kumar, medical doctor, professor of medicine at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, former President of the British Medical Association and the Royal Society of Medicine, and former vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians.
Mayur Lakhani, medical doctor and President of the Royal College of General Practitioners
Sir Ravinder Maini, rheumatologist, academic and professor at Imperial College London
Yadvinder Malhi, professor of ecosystem science, University of Oxford
Kantilal Vardichand Mardia, statistician
Anand Menon, professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs, King's College London
Chaand Nagpaul, medical doctor and Chair of the Council of the British Medical Association
Baron Narendra Patel, obstetrician and former President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Rahul Potluri, medical doctor and epidemiologist
Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and President of the Royal Society
Babulal Sethia, medical doctor, cardiac surgeon and former President of the Royal Society of Medicine
Aditi Shankardass, clinical neuroscientist, Harvard Medical School
Simon Singh, theoretical physicist and popular science author
Ashok Venkitaraman, cancer researcher, director of the Medical Research Council Cancer Unit and Ursula Zoellner Professor of Cancer Research, University of Cambridge
Sir Tejinder Virdee, professor of physics, Imperial College London.

Arts and entertainment

Artists

Sir Anish Kapoor, sculptor
Poulomi Desai, photographer, sound artist and curator
Siramdasu Venkata Rama Rao, painter

Media

Naveen Andrews, actor
Gabrielle Anwar, actress (father and grandfather had Indian ancestry)
Mina Anwar, actor
Ritu Arya, actress
Samir Bhamra, theatre director
Sanjeev Bhaskar, actor, comedian, radio commentator, Chancellor of the University of Sussex
Viveik Kalra, actor
Upinder Randhawa, producer, director, actor, journalist
Jas Binag, actor
Gurinder Chadha, movie director
Ameet Chana, actor
Anya Chalotra, actress (father of British Indian ancestry)
Sarita Choudhury, actress (father and grandfather of British Indian ancestry)
Bobby Friction, radio presenter
Kulvinder Ghir, actor
Neelam Gill, model
Mandip Gill, actress
Shobna Gulati, actor
Krishnan Guru-Murthy, television presenter
Jasmine Dotiwala, television / radio presenter, reporter, producer, journalist, columnist
Waris Hussein, film and television director
Saeed Jaffrey, actor
Avan Jogia, actor (father was British Indian)
Indira Joshi, actor
Juggy D, singer
Katrina Kaif, actress
Rani Khanijau, television presenter
Rahul Kohli, actor
Ismail Merchant, producer
Jimi Mistry, actor
Rhona Mitra (1976–), actress and model
Neet Mohan, actor
Naga Munchetty, television presenter and journalist
Parminder Nagra, actress
Kunal Nayyar, actor
Archie Panjabi, actress
Dev Patel, actor
Himesh Patel, actor
Upen Patel, model
Aaron Phagura, actor
Anita Rani, television and radio presenter
Amber Rose Revah, actress
Laila Rouass, actor
Sunetra Sarker, actor
Naomi Scott, actress
Amit Shah (actor)
Pooja Shah, actor
Sonali Shah, television presenter
Babita Sharma, television presenter
Indira Varma, actor
Saffron Vadher, model

Comedians

Nish Kumar, comedian
Paul Chowdhry, comedian
Sanjeev Bhaskar, comedian
Nina Wadia, comedian
Meera Syal, comedian
Danny Bhoy, comedian
Ahir Shah, comedian
Hardeep Singh Kohli, comedian
Paul Sinha, comedian, doctor and quizzer most known for starring in The Chase
Adil Ray, British-Indian and British-Pakistani

Music

Anoushka Shankar, sitar player and composer
Kanika Kapoor, singer
Swami, rap/rock band
Tjinder Singh, lead singer of Cornershop
Talvin Singh, dance musician
Nitin Sawhney, dance musician
Jay Sean, R & B singer
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, classical composer
Panjabi MC, real name Rajinder Rai, dance music
Rishi Rich, music producer
H-Dhami, singer-songwriter
Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen
Veronica Mehta, singer
Charli XCX, pop singer
Anthony Ghosh, DJ
Bally Sagoo, record producer
Shri, musician
Susheela Raman, musician
Nik Thakkar, multi-disciplinary recording artist
Panjabi Hit Squad, Rav & Dee are producers, DJ's and broadcasters for BBC Asian Network & BBC 1Xtra
Steel Banglez, record producer

Business and industry

Amit Bhatia, businessman, owner of Swordfish Investments and Chairman of Queens Park Rangers
Anshu Jain, Head of Global Markets, Deutsche Bank AG
Anurag Dikshit, co-founder of PartyGaming
Ashish Thakkar, businessman and entrepreneur, founder of Mara Group, and Chair of the Global Entrepreneurs Council of the United Nations Foundation
Avtar Lit, founder of Sunrise Radio
Dheeraj Hinduja, businessman and chairman of Ashok Leyland
Dinesh Dhamija, entrepreneur and politician
Firoz Kassam, former owner of Oxford United F.C.
Gopichand Hinduja, billionaire and co-chairman of Hinduja Group
Gulu Lalvani, founder of Binatone
Kamel Hothi, director at Lloyds Bank
Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer
Lakshmi Mittal, steel magnate
Nina Bracewell-Smith, non-executive director of Arsenal F.C.
Param Singh, entrepreneur
Sanjeev Gupta, billionaire and founder and executive chairman of Liberty House Group
Srichand Parmanand Hinduja, billionaire and chairman of Hinduja Group
Tom Singh, founder of New Look
Vikrant Bhargava, co-founder of PartyGaming
Neville Wadia, Bombay Industrialist and philanthropist

Literature and media

Anita Anand, journalist and author
Anushka Asthana, journalist and editor
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, columnist
Lord Waheed Alli, television producer
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, playwright
Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri, author
Rana Dasgupta, author
Vish Dhamija, author
Sonia Faleiro, author
Janan Ganesh, author and columnist
Krishnan Guru-Murthy, television journalist
Mehdi Hasan, political journalist, broadcaster and author
Sunny Hundal, journalist, political blogger
Maya Jaggi, writer, literary critic and editor
Manjit Kumar, author of mathematical and scientific interest
Sir V.S. Naipaul, author and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Literature
Sir Salman Rushdie, author, writer and winner of the 1981 Booker Prize
Sunjeev Sahota, novelist and winner of the 2017 European Union Prize for Literature
Angela Saini, science journalist and author
Sathnam Sanghera, journalist and author
Sasthi Brata, writer
Vikram Seth, author
Nikesh Shukla, author
Jay Shetty, author, podcaster and motivational speaker
Tasha Suri, writer
Umesh Prasad, science journalist and editor

Politics

Prime Ministers

Rishi Sunak, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, current Leader of the Conservative Party and MP for Richmond (Yorks).

Members of Parliament

Kanishka Narayan, current Labour MP in the Vale of Glamorgan and the first ethnic minority MP in Wales
Mancherjee Bhownagree, former Conservative, second Indian MP in British Parliament
Dinesh Dhamija, former Liberal Democrat MEP
Parmjit Singh Gill, Liberal Democrat MP
Piara Khabra, former Labour MP (deceased)
Ashok Kumar, former Labour MP
Seema Malhotra, Labour MP
Lisa Nandy, Labour MP, current Shadow cabinet Minister for International Development
Dadabhai Naoroji, former Liberal Party MP, first Indian MP in British Parliament
Navendu Mishra, Labour MP
Priti Patel, Conservative MP and former UK Home Secretary
Shapurji Saklatvala, former Communist MP
Alok Sharma, Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Virendra Sharma, Labour MP
Marsha Singh, former Labour MP
Rishi Sunak, Conservative MP, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (first British Indian prime minister) and Leader of the Conservative Party
Suella Braverman, Conservative MP and former UK Home Secretary
Shailesh Vara, Conservative MP
Keith Vaz, former Labour MP
Valerie Vaz, Labour MP

Mayors

Chaman Lal - First British Indian Lord Mayor of Europe's largest council, Birmingham City Council.^[3]^[4]
Ram Parkash Lakha - Former Lord Mayor of Coventry.^[5]
Mohinder Kaur Midha - Former Mayor of the London Borough of Ealing.^[6]
Bishan Dass - Elected as first British Asian Lord Mayor of Wolverhampton in 1986.^[7]

Peers

Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya of Moseley, former engineer, government advisor and Labour peer in the House of Lords.
Shami Chakrabarti, Baroness Chakrabarti of Kennington, Labour Party politician, barrister and former director of Liberty
Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai
Tarsem King, Baron King of West Bromwich
Bhikhu Parekh, Baron Parekh
Adam Patel, Baron Patel of Blackburn
Dolar Popat, Baron Popat of Harrow
Diljit Rana, Baron Rana
Indarjit Singh, Baron Singh of Wimbledon, Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords
Raj Loomba, Baron Loomba, Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords

Members of Scottish Parliament

Sandesh Gulhane, first male MSP of Indian descent
Pam Gosal, first female MSP of Indian descent

Members of the Senedd

Altaf Hussain, first AM of Indian descent

Members of European Parliament

Nirj Deva, former Conservative MP and MEP
Claude Moraes, former Labour MEP

Others in politics

Raheem Kassam, conservative British political activist
Neeraj Patil, Mayor of Lambeth

Sports

Naiktha Bains, tennis player
Ravi Bopara, cricketer
Michael Chopra, footballer, Newcastle United
Yan Dhanda, footballer
Isa Guha, cricketer
Nasser Hussain, cricketer, former England captain
Ronnie Irani, cricketer
Jazz Juttla, footballer
Monty Panesar, cricketer
Kishor Patel, cricketer
Mark Ramprakash, cricketer
Harpal Singh, footballer, Leeds United AFC
Vikram Solanki, cricketer
Neil Taylor, Welsh footballer
Simranjit Thandi, footballer

Others

George Edalji, barrister falsely accused of horse killing, defended by Arthur Conan Doyle
Seema Jaswal, British sports journalist
Dina Jinnah, daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Atul Kochhar, Michelin star chef
Zion Lights, British-born activist
Sunand Prasad, architect, former RIBA president
Balwinder Rana, activist
Buck Ruxton, 1930s murderer, born a Parsi
Saira Shah, journalist, daughter of Idries Shah
Sophia Duleep Singh, suffragette
Karam Sethi, founder of JKS restaurants

References

^ Narain, Mona (2009). "Dean Mahomet's "Travels", Border Crossings, and the Narrative of Alterity". Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. 49 (3): 693–716. doi:10.1353/sel.0.0070. JSTOR 40467318. S2CID 162301711.
^ Robb, Megan (2023). "Becoming Elizabeth: The Transformation of a Bihari Mughal into an English Lady, 1758–1822". The American Historical Review. 128 (1): 144–176. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhad008.
^ "Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Chaman Lal". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ "Hoshiarpur-born Chaman Lal becomes Birmingham's first British-Indian Lord Mayor". The Tribune. PTI. May 29, 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ Jaoul, Nicolas (15 December 2021). "Beyond Diaspora: Ambedkarism, Multiculturalism and Caste in the UK". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (27). doi:10.4000/samaj.7489. ISSN 1960-6060. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
^ "Councillor Mohinder Midha appointed Mayor of Ealing - Southall News". www.visitsouthall.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ Rawat, Vidya. "How upper castes in UK tried to defeat me : Bishan Dass Bains, Former Mayor Wolverhampton". Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[1] Narain, Mona (2009). "Dean Mahomet's "Travels", Border Crossings, and the Narrative of Alterity". Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. 49 (3): 693–716. doi:10.1353/sel.0.0070. JSTOR 40467318. S2CID 162301711.

[Robb2023-2] Robb, Megan (2023). "Becoming Elizabeth: The Transformation of a Bihari Mughal into an English Lady, 1758–1822". The American Historical Review. 128 (1): 144–176. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhad008.

[3] "Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Chaman Lal". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[4] "Hoshiarpur-born Chaman Lal becomes Birmingham's first British-Indian Lord Mayor". The Tribune. PTI. May 29, 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[5] Jaoul, Nicolas (15 December 2021). "Beyond Diaspora: Ambedkarism, Multiculturalism and Caste in the UK". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (27). doi:10.4000/samaj.7489. ISSN 1960-6060. Retrieved 14 January 2024.

[6] "Councillor Mohinder Midha appointed Mayor of Ealing - Southall News". www.visitsouthall.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[7] Rawat, Vidya. "How upper castes in UK tried to defeat me : Bishan Dass Bains, Former Mayor Wolverhampton". Retrieved 29 August 2024.

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