The two events that attracted extensive media attention in late October 2022 were the resignation of British Prime Minister Liz Truss after only 44 days in office and the appointment of Indian descent Rishi Sunak as the new prime minister of the UK.
Many Indian immigrants and their descendants or Indian diaspora, as they call it, are showing spectacular accomplishments in the corporate world for quite some time. For example, the CEOs of Google, Microsoft, FedEx, IBM, Starbucks, Adobe, and Twitter (sacked by Elon Musk on October 27, 2022, after he acquired Twitter) are all ethnically Indian. These corporations are global giants and it can only be imagined what level of competence is required to get to the top of these organizations.
To rise the ladder of hierarchy in a corporation you need competence and potential and have to win the heart of some board of directors. But to become the head of the government of a country, the responsibility of leading a nation, you have to win the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people with diverse views, principles, and prejudices. Think about Rishi Sunak, former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, or finance minister who has become the Prime Minister of the UK on October 25, 2022. Of course, the appointment of Rishi Sunak is not the result of a general election but it’s more or less the same. He had to be elected as an MP and had to earn the support of the other elected MPs of his party. Since his conservative party holds the majority in parliament with 357 seats out of 650, he has become the Prime Minister.
According to CIA World Factbook, 87.2% of the UK population is white and 59.5% are Christians. We have recently seen the extraordinary fanfare and trappings surrounding the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the outpouring of love and grief of the British people for their Queen. It’s a nation that attaches huge importance to history, heritage, and tradition. And in this country, Rishi Sunak an ethnic Indian and Hindu who lit candles to mark the start of Diwali outside his Chancellor’s official residence at number 11 Downing Street in 2020 took over the office of the Prime Minister.
If you have watched the live coverage of Rishi Sunak’s becoming Prime Minister on Sky News, you must have noted the repeated mentioning by the commentator that Rishi Sunak was British Asian and Hindu: “. . .what a historic moment this is because Rishi Sunak is the first British Asian prime minister, he’s the first Hindu prime minister . . . “
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This article was published in the Daily Sun on November 2, 2022. Please read the full article here or here.