PM of Great Britain Rishi Sunak – A wonder of democracy

PM of Great Britain Rishi Sunak – A wonder of democracy

Rishi Sunak, having roots in undivided India, has become PM of Great Britain in a dramatic but democratic way. It is a matter of pride for the Indian sub-continent; more so for India because of historical and also contemporary reasons. Rishi Sunak has scripted history.
Rishi’s grandfather Ram Dass belonged to Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) and migrated to Kenya (East Africa) in mid 1930s for greener pastures and his wife Suhag Rani to Delhi along with her mother-in-law before joining her husband in Kenya. In the wake of growing animosity against Indians in East Africa in mid 1960s, grandparents of Rishi shifted to the UK. Rishi Sunak, 42, is the son of Yashveer, born in Kenya, and Usha, born in Tanzania, a doctor and pharmacist duo. Rishi was born Southampton in 1980. The Indian bonds of Rishi were further strengthened when he married Akshata, daughter of legendary professional and businessman, N.R. Narayana

Rishi Sunak with wife Akshata Murthy

Murthi of Infosys, a giant IT company. The Tribune, quoting an analyst, reported on October 26, “In a departure from other British politicians, Sunak has a different take on ties with India, a nation with whom his connection is both “distant” and “close”. “Distant because his grandfather had moved to Africa from the Indian subcontinent several decades ago. And close as his wife has proudly held on to her Indian citizenship,”

 Rishi is a highly educated and professional in financial and economic matters from the elite Universities of the UK and also fully credited with necessary work experience in renowned financial companies as an investment banker. Besides a dedicated political and public functionary under the wings of the Conservative Party, Rishi and his wife Akshata are among the richest in the UK. Rishi Sunak started his political career a Conservative MP from Richmond in Yorkshire and from the ranks rose to become Chancellor of Exchequer in the government of PM Boris Johnson. An ambitious man, Rishi was suddenly catapulted to the centre stage, first as an opp

Rishi Sunak in audience with King Charles 111

onent candidate against PM Liz Truss just a few weeks ago and now as the first British-Asian unanimously elected PM of the UK, the youngest PM of the UK in 210 years. It is an historical event, indeed. Rishi Sunak has made history, a moment of pride for India. It could become possible only because of liberal democracy and political and constitutional morality of the UK and its political players. The Indian leader, Shashi Tharoor has rightly said, ‘If this does happen 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” He added in a tweet, “As we Indians celebrate the ascent of @RishiSunak, let us honestly ask; can it happen here.”  Anyway, there is no point in taking this further but the fact remains; we are to learn from the ‘mother of democracy’  that is Great Britain as a secular, multi-cultural, multi-lingual and a religiously diverse country that is Bharat.

Not that it is for the first time that a person of Indian origin has reached the top in a foreign land.  Rishi Sunak has hit the sweet spot as the UK’s Prime Minister at a crucial time and joined the big league. Currently, at least nine persons of Indian origin are either heads of state or heads of government in the world. Politicians of Indian-origin taking power are not unusual in a wide swath of developing countries such as Suriname, Singapore, Guyana, Trinidad

Author with First Minister of Scotland

& Tobago, Malaysia, Fiji and Seychelles. But with the addition of Sunak, politicians of Indian-origin are now heading governments simultaneously in developed countries too such as Portugal, Singapore and now the UK.  Large countries like US, Canada and others have several Indians, who have ascended to top leadership positions in the government, inter alia include; Kamala Devi Harris being current Vice President of the United States or the former first Indian origin Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar. According to the Ministry of External Affairs report, there are more than 3 crore NRIs and OCIs residing outside India with around 200+ Indian origin people already serving in their most significant capacity in 15 countries

Indian diaspora is one of the richest minorities in many developed countries, lobbying for favourable terms regarding India’s interests out of their love for their country of origin. For example, US have around 4.2 million people of Indian origin and they are the most educated and richest minority. According to the World Bank, the estimated U.S. 87 billion dollar in official remittances was received in India in 2021, which is the world’s largest such flow and amounted to nearly 15% of all such global transfers. People of Indian origin started migrating overseas in large numbers in the 19th century. This migration was driven by the economic compulsions of the colonial powers. Initially, Indians spread to African, Southeast Asia, Fiji and the Caribbean in response to the enormous demand for cheap labour arising immediately after the abolition of slavery in 1833-1834 by the British and then migrated in the midst of the 20th century in search of better life and livelihood to countries like US, UK and others. Wherever they went for earning their bread and butter while doing their job and duty; people of Indian origin abroad have made a mark not only in politics of their respective countries but also excelled and adorned the high positions in economy, diplomacy, bureaucracy, journalism, cultural and civic life and have added value to the society in the pursuit of the lofty dictum of “Vasudhaiva Katumbkam”. It is a matter of great satisfaction and pride.

In the contemporary history, before our independence, many foreigners from diverse walk of life came to India and made it their home and ‘karambhoomi’ and also made a indelible contribution to our freedom struggle and social life – to name a few; Annie Besant, C.F. Andrews, Madeleine Slade (Mira Behn), S. Stroke, Sister Nivedita, Mira Alphonse (The Mother), Alfred Webb, George Yule, Henry Cotts, William Wedderburn, Mother Teresa among others. We extended them whole hearted welcome and rightly so. But, of late, let us be truthful; there have been some unhealthy abrasions too which gave way to short sightedness and narrow-minded thinking. We feel, and rightly so, proud of Rishis and Kamalas But we could not accommodate Sonia Gandhi. It is a matter of regret and will remain so in the years to come. I would tend to agree with P. Chidambram who commented and said, “First Kamala Harris and now Rishi Sunak, the people of the USA and the UK have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high offices in governments. I think there is a lesson to learn by India and the parties that practice majoritarinism.”

As regards, India-UK relations, it will be an on-going matter. Rishi Sunak, for that matter any other leader of Indian origin in the UK or other countries, will stand, watch and safe-guard interests of the UK and we need to be ready to deal with him to promote our own interests. This is the functional reality for interaction among the comity of nations. The emotional and spiritual bonds, Rishi Sunak being a professed devout Hindu, would remain and should be nurtured to mutual advantage. PM Narendra Modi has congratulated

Rishi Sunak and wished to work with him to further strengthen India-UK historic relations. He tweeted, “Warmest congratulations @RishiSunak! As you become UK PM, I look forward to working closely together on global issues, and implementing Roadmap 2030. Special Diwali wishes to the 'living bridge' of UK Indians, as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership," 

India remained under the colonial rule of Great Britain for 200 years and now a son of Indian ancestry will rule over Great Britain. The

things have come full circle. Rishi Sunak’s elevation to the coveted position of PM of the UK is no less than ‘a wonder of democracy’. We are proud of Rishi Sunak and wish him all the best in the days to come.