With British Prime Minister Liz Truss falling after less than six weeks in office, the ruling Conservative party quickly appointed Rishi Sunak, a former finance minister, to replace her.
At 42, Sunak is both Britain’s wealthiest prime minister and its youngest in over 200 years. He is also the first Hindu and British Asian prime minister who made Britain extremely popular in India.
Coincidentally, Altar was elected as Tory leader in the British Parliament on the occasion of Diwali, the most important festival of the year for Hindus.
India’s ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party has sought to particularly highlight how Sunak embraces and showcases Hindu culture.
“He may be British, but I’m happy he believes in such traditions and that makes us Hindus proud and happy,” BJP leader Parmajeet Singh told DW.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Sunak and said he looks forward to strengthening ties between Britain and India.
“Special Diwali wishes to the ‘living bridge’ of UK Indians as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership,” Modi said. Said.
Opposition Congress party politician Palaniappan Chidambaram praised Britain for embracing “non-majority citizens” and “electing them to high office”.
As Prime Minister, Sunak will enjoy the support of the Indian diaspora, which is likely one of the UK’s largest ethnic minorities and has a population of close to 1.5 million.
“His ascent to prime minister signals the coming of age for the Indian diaspora. Unlike the US, where young professionals make up the bulk of the diaspora, in the UK they have been a part of the country’s heartland for generations. He is part of that. international relations expert Amitabh Mattoo told DW: a remarkable success story.
A practicing Hindu
Altar professes the Hindu religion and was sworn in as finance minister in 2020 putting his hands on the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text. He said it was one of the “proudest moments” of his life to light the Diwali lamps outside 11 Downing Street in November 2020 as the UK’s first Indian finance minister.
“I am now a British citizen, but my religion is Hindu. My religious and cultural heritage is Indian. I proudly say I am a Hindu and my identity is Hindu,” Sunak said when he was a former prime minister in 2017. Theresa May made him a minister in her cabinet.
In August 2022, Altar was seen performing a “gau pooja” (cow worship) in London when Boris Johnson was considered a likely candidate to replace him as prime minister.
Videos of Altar holding a brass cup and offering holy water to a cow, followed by a ritual asking for blessing from the cow, went viral.
Who is Rishi Sunak?
Sunak, who was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time in Yorkshire in 2015, was born in Southampton to a family of Indian descent.
His father, Yashvir, was a general practitioner for the National Health Service (NHS), and his mother, Usha, ran a local pharmacy. He spoke often of the sacrifices they made to ensure his success.
“From working in my mother’s small chemist’s shop to my experience building large businesses, I’ve seen firsthand how politicians must support free enterprise and innovation to ensure our future prosperity,” Sunak writes on his website.
Sunak attended Oxford University and then Stanford University in the USA, where he earned his MBA and was awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship. He worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and various hedge funds.
In 2009, Sunak married Stanford classmate Akshata Murty, a fashion designer and daughter of billionaire Indian tech entrepreneur Narayan Murthy, co-founder of Infosys. Sunak and Murty have an estimated net worth of £730 million (€838 million, $825 million).
The couple held a traditional Indian wedding spanning two days in south Bengalaru and took their vows on a traditional temple porch.
Edited by Wesley Rahn
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