Prime Minister Rishi Sunak India revels, UK shrugs

GBNEWS24DESK//

Rishi Sunak took charge yesterday as Britain’s third premier this year with his Conservative Party floundering in the polls and daunting challenges ahead.

The 42-year-old was born and raised in Southampton, but his appointment as his country’s first prime minister of colour has been cheered by Indians who still consider him a son of the soil.

“I am extremely happy,” Krishna Kumar, an Indian IT worker, told AFP in the capital New Delhi.

“Great Britain is a country which ruled India for more than 300 years — now a person of Indian origin is going to rule UK.”

Sunak’s parents were born into the Indian diaspora in east Africa, and trace their heritage back to pre-independence Punjab in northern British India.

At 42, Sunak also became the youngest prime minister of modern times once he is confirmed in office by King Charles III.

Fabulously rich from his previous career in finance, the former hedge fund investor, an observant Hindu, faces daunting challenges in power, from an economic crisis to uniting his fractious party.

He is married to Indian-born Akshata Murty, whose father co-founded IT giant Infosys.

Sunak’s father was a family doctor in Southampton on England’s south coast, and his mother ran a local pharmacy. Sunak waited tables in a local Indian restaurant, before progressing to Oxford and then Stanford University in California.

He swears his oath of allegiance as an MP on the Hindu Bhagavad Gita.

Sunak’s ascent has been the subject of wall-to-wall television coverage in India, animating discussion during the usually lethargic Diwali holiday season.

“Indian son rises over the Empire — History comes full circle in Britain,” read a news banner splashed on broadcaster NDTV.

Despite Indians hailing Sunak’s appointment as a historic moment for both countries, the political and economic instability he inherits has muted expectations for his tenure.