- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
WHILE the UK remains witness to a heated-up contest for the post of the prime minister after Boris Johnson stepped down earlier in July, the race for 10 Downing has not remained something limited to the UK. Indians, for instance, can’t stop discussing the election, thanks to the fact that a number of names connected to South Asia were in the fray and Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor of the British exchequer, still has the possibility of becoming the first British premier of Indian-origin.
Sunak’s battle will not be easy as his opponent Liz Truss, the current foreign secretary, has taken a lead over him, yet Indian netizens are closely following the race. The reasons are varied. While some are more emotionally charged up, saying it would be ironic completing a full circle if a person of Indian-origin became the topmost leader of British politics on India’s 75th year of independence, others felt it would help New Delhi if a leader like Sunak became the next British PM. Though there were also less optimist voices that felt the UK is still not ready for a non-white or brown prime minister.
Manoj Joshi, a Delhi-based columnist and political commentator told The South China Morning Post that while the rise of South Asian candidates in British politics is something fascinating and shows a tectonic shift in the country’s political history, yet British might not be ready for a brown prime minister, even if it is Sunak.
“Racism is still rampant and entrenched in the island nation. And it’s unlikely that the British masses will accept a non-white PM,” he was quoted as saying.
Ashok Sajjanhar, a former Indian ambassador to Sweden, told the Post that the UK could benefit from having non-white candidates in its politics as they bring a “deeper understanding of issues and nuances due to their cultural affinity with India”. He also said that the relationship between the UK and India has benefited from ties related to key issues such as climate change, migration, etc.
However, there are others who feel that not too much should be read into Sunak’s rise and popularity, just as it has been seen in former US president Barack Obama and former prime minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that immediate benefits will start accruing to India due to their positions. These candidates will obviously be catering to their domestic constituency and not a country they now share only tenuous ties with,” The Post quoted Srikanth Kondapalli, dean of the School of International Studies and a professor of China Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, as saying.
He gave the example of US vice president Kamala Harris whose mother was from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. But the vice president has been careful about not getting projected as one with having a pro-India image or making friendly overtures to the South Asian country.
“We should also keep in mind that occasionally, contrary to expectations, cultural ties can also boomerang, leading to such candidates being critical of India,” he told The Post.
However, there is still a euphoria among Indians who want history to take ‘revenge’ with Sunak becoming the prime minister of Britain. Even though the man’s paternal ancestral roots are more linked to current-day Pakistan (his paternal grandfather was born in Gujranwala in today’s Pakistan), people in India still celebrate him as a proud Hindi — one of their own.
Sunak’s parents-in-law are also revered figures in India — Narayana Murthy, who is often called India’s Steve Jobs, and Sudha Murthy, a noted philanthropist. His wife Akshata Murthy is also a successful businesswoman. The identity of being ‘India’s son-in-law’ also makes Sunak a popular face among the Indians.
