The Asian Awards 2011 Winners Announced
London, 19th October 2011

Acclaimed urban music artist Jay Sean, Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle, sitarist Ravi Shankar, boxer Amir Khan, cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan, actress Meera Syal and the lead singer of rock band 'Queen', the late Freddie Mercury were among those honoured at the Asian Awards 2011 on 18th October at The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane London. Lord Sebastian Coe, hosted the awards show that saw former cast members of the West End show 'We Will Rock You' (based on songs by Queen) perform to the 1000 guests in attendance including Freddie Mercury's family and former band-mate Brian May, Anoushka Shankar, The Mayor of London Boris Johnson, former Dragon James Caan, and many more. Opening the ceremony the British Home Secretary Theresa May said the winners of "the Asian Awards were an inspiration to all - with honours not just from their home countries but from all over the world."

Recognising decades of excellence and cross-cultural impact, new honours were created this year. Legendary sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar won The Fellowship Award for his pioneering work in bringing Indian music to the West; while Freddie Mercury (Freddie Balsara) was recognised posthumously with The Founders Award to mark the 20th anniversary of his death and celebrate the musical legacy of this iconic and inspirational star who was born in Zanzibar and educated in Bombay.


Google's Amit Singhal, named by Fortune as one of the smartest people in tech, was presented with the UBM Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science & Technology, while Anand Mahindra, who has built a US$12.5 billion organisation, Mahindra & Mahindra, as Vice Chairman and Managing Director, was awarded the Lloyds Banking Group Business Leader of the Year accolade. It was Amir Khan, the youngest British World Champion boxer ever, who won the coveted Lebara People's Choice Award. In the Arts categories, comedian, producer and actress Meera Syal received the honour for Outstanding Achievement in Television, while Jay Sean, the most successful British/European male urban artist in US chart history, won the Lebara Outstanding Achievement in Music Award.

Dr KP Singh, Chairman of DLF, the world's largest real estate company, won the PwC Entrepreneur of the Year Award, while Asha Bhosle, one of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood history with over 13,000 songs to her credit, was awarded the Kingfisher Airlines Lifetime Achievement Award. World-class cricketer and legendary bowler Muttiah Muralitharan received the honour for Outstanding Achievement in Sport, while Shiv Nadar was honoured the Lloyds Banking Group Philanthropist of the Year prize.

The Asian Awards in partnership with Lebara, were an ambitious idea conceived in 2010 by Paul Sagoo, Entrepreneur and Founder of Lemon Group, and realised by co-founder Caroline Jackson Levy, Managing Director of UBM Awards. "The Asian Awards are about celebrating and rewarding exceptional endeavour," said Jackson Levy. "We are honoured to have been joined by so many world figures - with the support of our Chair of Judges Baroness Verma."

Other judges included: Surinder Arora, MD of Arora Hotels; BBC DJ Nihal Arthanayake; Broadcaster Mihir Bose; former Dragon James Caan, Con Gornell, Executive Vice President of Warner Brothers; Anwar Hassan, Managing Director of Tata UK; Kamel Hothi, Asian Markets Director for Lloyds Banking Group; Daljit Jagait, VIP Relationship Manager at Jaguar cars; Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO of Mitie Plc; Graham Palmer, Managing Director of Intel UK; Alpesh B Patel, Founding Principal at Praefinium Partners; Bhikhu Patel, co-founder of Waymade Healthcare; Yoganathan Ratheesan, CEO of Lebara Group; Remo Rehman, International Project Manager at Wizcraft International; Nav Sidhu, Founding Partner at Sidhu & Simon and Sonny Takhar, Managing Director at Syco Entertainment.

The Asian Awards 2011 Winners

The Fellowship Award Winner: Ravi Shankar
The Chivas Regal Outstanding Achievement in Sport: Muttiah Muralitharan
The UBM Outstanding Achievement in Science and Technology: Amit Singhal
The PwC Entrepreneur of the Year: Dr. KP Singh
The Lloyds Banking Group Philanthropist of the Year: Shiv Nadar
The PR Newswire Social Entrepreneur of the Year: Bunker Roy
The Lebara Outstanding Achievement in Music: Jay Sean
Public Servant of the Year: Irene Khan
Outstanding Achievement in the Arts: Russell Peters
The Lloyds Banking Group Business Leader of the Year: Anand Mahindra
Outstanding Achievement in Cinema: Akshay Kumar
The Kingfisher Airlines Lifetime Achievement Award: Asha Bhosle
The Lebara People's Choice Award: Amir Khan
Outstanding Achievement in Television: Meera Syal
The Founders Award: Freddie Mercury

About The Asian Awards

A celebration of excellence among the global Asian community, the Asian Awards in partnership with Lebara were launched in 2010 to recognise and reward the outstanding achievements of individuals born in or with direct family origin from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan or Bangladesh across all disciplines of life - from business to the arts, culture, sport and public service.

Visit www.theasianawards.com for the further information.