Indians and members of the Indian diaspora have been vociferously cheering for Rishi Sunak as he takes charge as Britain’s first non-white Prime Minister on Tuesday, with some seeing the British-Indian’s elevation as symbolic and historic retribution against the UK’s brutal colonial legacy in India and beyond.
Sunak is of Indian origin and will also be the first British-Asian and the first Hindu to take the top political job in the United Kingdom that once ruled most of the Indian subcontinent and vast regions in Asia, Africa and the Americas as a colonial power at the peak of the British Empire. India, as the biggest and richest colony, was considered the “jewel in the crown” of the British Empire.
“India has finally conquered Great Britain,” Atirath Aich, a Washington-based media professional of Indian origin posted on Facebook – a sentiment shared by many Indians who see Sunak’s rise to the top political role as a symbolic victory against Britain’s colonial excesses.
Concurrently, a video of South African comedian and host of the popular “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, Trevor Noah, suggesting India should colonize Britain went viral, gleefully circulated by Indian media portals and social media users as they vividly lauded Sunak’s rise.
Screenshot of a Twitter post sharing a video of South African comedian and host of the popular “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, Trevor Noah, suggesting India should colonize Britain. The video clip went viral on social media following Indian-origin Rishi Sunak’s confirmation as Britain’s next prime minister. /via Twitter
Sunak became the ruling Conservatives’ new leader on Monday after rival contender Penny Mordaunt failed to secure enough nominations from Tory MPs, and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson dramatically aborted a last-minute comeback bid.
Sunak ranks among the wealthiest people in Britain and, along with Indian tech heiress wife Akshata Murthy, jointly holds a fortune of about 730 million British pounds ($830 million). Many Indians, however, proudly cited that he will not only be the richest British prime minister but perhaps also the most academically qualified of all time.
Sunak was educated at Winchester College, one of Britain’s most exclusive private schools. He went to Oxford University to study philosophy, politics, and economics. He then earned a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Stanford University in the U.S., where he was a Fulbright Scholar. At 42, Sunak will also be the youngest British prime minister in modern times.
Some Indians also suggested that Sunak becoming prime minister this year is even more significant as India recently celebrated 75 years of its independence from British colonial rule.
The symbolism of Diwali
The fact that Sunak’s confirmation as Britain’s prime ministerial choice came on a day when millions of Indians across the world were celebrating Diwali – the Hindu festival of lights celebrating the triumph of good over evil – added to the symbolism.
“It is remarkable to see @RishiSunak, an Indian British of Hindu faith become PM on Diwali. Regardless of politics, this is a symbolic step in moving beyond a colonizer’s world,” tweeted Ro Khanna, an Indian-American Democratic member of Congress representing a slice of Silicon Valley in California, adding that his own grandfather spent years fighting British rule in India.
Screenshots via Twitter
India’s Hindu nationalist Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, congratulated his co-religionist on Twitter while extending special Diwali wishes to the “living bridge” of UK Indians and hoping to transform the two countries’ “historic ties into a modern partnership.”
U.S. President Joe Biden also chose a White House Diwali celebration to congratulate the new British prime minister, saying Sunak’s nomination is “pretty astounding, a groundbreaking milestone and it matters.”
Sunak is a practicing Hindu and is known to celebrate Diwali in public. Two years ago, at the peak of COVID-19 restrictions in the UK, Sunak – the then chancellor of the exchequer in Johnson’s government – lit candles to mark Diwali on the doorstep of No. 11 Downing Street. He described the incident as one of his “proudest moments” of his term as the chancellor. “My faith gives me strength, it gives me purpose. It is part of who I am.”
Also, after the 2017 general election, he swore his oath to parliament upon the sacred Hindu text the Bhagavad Gita.
‘Important social change’
The British-Indian community basked in Sunak’s ascent, at the same time taking a moment to reflect on the significance of the historic event.
“It’s a great day for the Indian community… but more so it’s a time where we look back and think ‘how can we move forward from here?'” financial analyst Kirtan Patel told AFP.
“The UK now has a Hindu prime minister of Indian descent and a Muslim mayor of London of Pakistani descent [Sadiq Khan],” noted British Journalist Mehdi Hasan, himself of Indian origin, in a tweet.
“Am I delighted that a nonwhite Brit of Indian descent managed to become PM? Yes. But is Rishi Sunak or the Conservative Party going to actually help minorities in the UK? Don’t be silly,” he remarked in another tweet, reflecting the prevalent skepticism among the community.
When Sunak was born in 1980, there had been no Asian or black British MPs since World War II. While a few were elected for the opposition Labour party in the following years, the Conservatives had none until 2001, when Sunak graduated from the University of Oxford.
Today, the dominant view in Britain, and quite rightly so, is that ethnicity and faith of the prime minister should not matter. Sunak, who is poised to inherit a UK economy in turmoil, will be judged on whether he can pull the country out from the mess it is in right now.
While all eyes will be on the prime minister to see if he can control the chaos in Westminster, deliver on managing the public finances and restore much-needed integrity to politics, one should not underestimate the important social change that Sunak’s elevation represents.
‘Can this happen in India?’
Indians are known to take enormous pride when people tracing their roots back to the country of 1.4 billion people achieve international acclaim, including figures such as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela and former NASA astronauts Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.
However, some Indians wondered if such success is possible for politicians from minority communities in today’s India ruled by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had staunchly blocked the Italian-born Congress opposition leader Sonia Gandhi’s likelihood of becoming the prime minister on grounds of her foreign origin.
“The people of the U.S. and the UK have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government. I think there is a lesson to [be] learned by India and parties that practice majoritarianism,” tweeted India’s former home minister P. Chidambaram.
“I think all of us will have to acknowledge that the Brits have done something very rare in the world, to place a member of a visible minority in the most powerful office,” Congress lawmaker and former U.N. diplomat, Shashi Tharoor, said on Twitter. “As we Indians celebrate the ascent of @RishiSunak, let’s honestly ask: can it happen here?”
Abhishek G Bhaya is a senior journalist and international affairs commentator. The article reflects the author’s opinions and not necessarily the views of The Southern African Times.
