Rishi Sunak’s descent from Indians has received a lot of attention in the commentary on his rise to the pinnacle of British power. And in a manner that makes sense. Britain’s first non-white prime minister is a 42-year-old descendant of travelling Punjabis. He is also the nation’s first Hindu (a point underlined by his elevation to the role on the holiest day of Diwali). Few OECD nations have been able to achieve such diversity. It was a “global milestone,” according to Joe Biden, an unusually scathing critique of Britain for an American president.
The similarity between Sunak’s political views and skin tone is also noteworthy in British political circles. The Conservatives have a long history of being linked to the nativist edge of British society as the party of Enoch Powell and Brexit. Even yet, they had a much better track record of supporting non-white talent than their biggest adversary, the Labour Party, who had the support of the majority of non-white Britons, even before Sunak’s rise. The Tories have nominated three non-white chancellors of the exchequer, including Sunak himself from 2019 until earlier this year, three non-white home secretaries, and a non-white foreign secretary in James Cleverly, the current chancellor.
Sunak’s heritage may be the most notable aspect about him because it was from India that his grandfathers Ramdas Sunak and Raghubir Sain Berry travelled to East Africa before making their separate ways to Britain in the 1960s. And it goes beyond the surface. The components of Indian identity and culture that the new prime minister has kept are things that excite him. He describes himself as British Indian, took the Bhagavad Gita as his sacred text when taking the oath of office as chancellor, lit Diwali candles in Downing Street, speaks rudimentary Hindi and Punjabi, and has vague memories of playing cricket as a youngster in a Delhi park. He is also wed to Akshata Murty, who is descended from Indian corporate aristocracy NR Narayana Murthy. Furthermore, many Indians must be delighted with Sunak’s success given that Britain ruled over Sunak’s grandfather’s birthplace for two centuries. In spite of this, Sunak’s ethnicity isn’t very noteworthy.