World News | British Indian Entrepreneur Conferred Freedom of City of London Honour

London, Jan 19 (PTI) A British Indian entrepreneur and founder of an ethnic minority focussed marketing agency has been conferred the Freedom of the City of London honour for his contributions to the financial hub of the UK capital.

Manish Tiwari, founder of Here and Now 365, read the “Declaration of a Freeman” and signed the Freeman's Declaration Book recently, when he was presented with the Copy of the Freedom — a parchment document inscribed by a calligrapher, along with a copy of the “Rules for the Conduct of Life” which date from the mid-eighteenth century.

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The honour is steeped in history and traditionally the recognition gave a "Freeman" the right to trade in the Square Mile or financial heart of London.

“On the strength of its multi-cultural legacy, the City of London continues to grow and prosper. It remains at the forefront of global finance by leveraging its past and embracing change and I am honoured to be a part of this legacy,” said Tiwari.

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As one of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies of the British capital still in existence today, the tradition of conferring the title is believed to have started in 1237. The title of Freeman is more symbolic today and comes with certain corresponding duties associated with the Lord Mayor's office.

Before 1996, the Freedom of the City was only open to British or Commonwealth Citizens and has since been extended globally and persons of any nationality may be admitted. Today, the honour is conferred upon individuals by the City of London Corporation to help celebrate a significant achievement, or to pay tribute to their outstanding contribution to London life or public life.

A previous Indian recipient of the honour is Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, and other prominent recipients include South African leader Nelson Mandela and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Tiwari became the latest to join the ranks at a solemn admission ceremony at the Chamberlain's Court in the iconic Guildhall in London earlier this month.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)