Naipaul, Malala among U.K’s most influential 500

http://www.thehindu.com/

Nobel Prize-winning author of Indian-origin, Sir V.S. Naipaul, and Pakistani teenage campaigner Malala Yousafzai have been named among Britain’s 500 most influential people.

The first-ever ‘Influential 500’ list, compiled by specialist publisher Debrett’s and The Sunday Times, includes personalities in 25 areas chosen by experts in their field.

While Ms. Yousafzai makes the cut in the ‘charity and campaigning’ category, Sir Naipaul stands out as the only Indian-origin author to be featured in the list.

“Shot in Pakistan by the Taliban, she recuperated in the U.K. Now 16, she was the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize,” the list says about Malala, now a Birmingham-based “blogger and campaigner for girls’ education.”

Trinidad-born Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was singled out for his Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

Other Indian-origin professionals to make their mark include Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association GP Committee, in the healthcare category, architect Sunand Prasad and Anshu Jain, the Jaipur-born chief executive of Deutsche Bank, the world’s fourth-largest investment bank. Among some of the other famous names to feature include Prince Charles for his work with more than 350 charities, Victoria Beckham for fashion, novelist Hilary Mantel and Sir Elton John, for both his music and charity work. In sports, footballer David Beckham and Olympic champions Jessica Ennis-Hill and Mo Farah are named as being among the most influential figures.