Bhikhu Chotalal Parekh, Baron Parekh, (born 4 January 1935) is a British political theorist, academic, and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

. He is a Labour Party

member of the House of Lords This is a list of members of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Current sitting members Lords Spiritual 26 bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Lords: the Archbishops of Canterbury and ...

. He was Professor of Political Theory at the University of Hull from 1982 to 2001, and Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Westminster from 2001 to 2009. He served as president of the

Academy of Social Sciences The Academy of Social Sciences is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The Academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of matters, a ...

from 2003 to 2008.

Early life and education

Parekh was born in the village of Amalsad in the province of Gujarat, India;Biography
as the speaker for the Justice KT Desai Memorial Lecture 2009, Bombay Bar Association. Retrieved 25 March 2010. his father was a goldsmith with a basic education. Parekh was admitted to the University of Bombay at the age of 15, and earned a bachelor's degree there in 1954 and a Master's in 1956. He began his graduate studies at the London School of Economics in 1959, and received his PhD in 1966.

Career

He taught at the London School of Economics and at the University of Glasgow before finding a long-term position at the University of Hull. Between 1981 and 1984 he was Vice-Chancellor at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in India. He also held the Centennial Professorship in the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics and a professorship of political philosophy at the University of Westminster. In 2002, he served as president of the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences. Parekh has also served on the Commission for Racial Equality (including a spell as vice-chairman) and has held membership of a number of bodies concerned with issues of racial equality and multiculturalism – most notably as Chairman of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain from 1998 to 2000. The report of this body (often referred to as the "Parekh Report") has been the basis for much of the debate on multiculturalism in the UK in the early 21st century.

House of Lords

He was appointed a

on 10 May 2000 as Baron Parekh, of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Parekh sits in the Lords as a Labour Party peer. From July 2001 to December 2003, he was a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

Publications

* * * * * * * * * * He also wrote an account of "The Rushdie Affair and the British Press; Some Salutary Lessons" for the Commission for Racial Equality in 1990. *''Colour, Culture and Consciousness: Immigrant Intellectuals in Britain'', Allen & Unwin, 1974,

Awards and honours

Parekh was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 1988, and a Fellow of the Academy of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 1999. In 2003, he was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

(FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Essex in 2003.Honorary Graduates: Orations and responses – Lord Parekh of Kingston upon Hull
University of Essex, 9 July 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2010. In 2008, he was awarded an Honorary DUniv From The University of Hull. On 11 July 2011, Parekh was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Social Sciences (DSoc Sci) from

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as a new university in 1992, although its roots go back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design, w ...

. On 20 July 2011, Parekh was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from Edge Hill University. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Bristol in July 2022. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2007.

Personal life

Parekh has three sons, including

Anant Parekh Anant B. Parekh is professor of Physiology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford.Anant Parekh's Education Parekh was a student at Hymers College and University College, Oxford. He was awarded a Doctor of Philosop ...

, they were all awarded scholarships to study at the University of Oxford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parekh, Bhikhu Parekh, Baron 1935 births Academics of the London School of Economics Academics of the University of Hull Academics of the University of Westminster British political philosophers Indian emigrants to England Labour Party (UK) life peers Living people People from Vadodara Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education British politicians of Indian descent Fellows of the British Academy Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Life peers created by Elizabeth II