A Brown Man to Guide the Destinies of a White West

A prim, trim, athletic man with  evident Indian features is now having the reins of the a nation where sun did not set! Rishi Sunak according to the British citizens of Indian origin, is the 'Obama hour' for them.  From 'the asian dirt to be rightly cursed' to the Tory Prime Minister! What a destiny, what an irony! It was the occupier of the same chair who described the father of Indian nation on his visit to England as the 'half-naked fakir' (which Gandhi took as a compliment to the principles he adhered to).  

Rishi, a 3rd generation Indian on foreign soil, traces his roots to the undivided Punjab of British India.  His grand parents from both sides were in East Africa (Kenya & Tanganyka).  His maternal grandparents  migrated to Engliand in the 60s.  Both his parents were health professionals - father Yashvir, a general practitioner and mother Usha, a pharmacist, and ensured good education to Rishi.  He has an Oxford Philosophy, Economics and Politcal science undergrad degree and a Stanford MBA with a Fullbright scholarship.  His leadership traits where visible even as a school boy at Winchester College, where he was the headboy.  In spite of being the richest ever Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he has to his credit, the experience of come up the hard way the British culture instills - as a youth earning by serving as a waiter at a local restaurant. 

At 42, in the prime of his youth, as he assumes the very influential prime ministerial office of the mother of democracy, it is a sort of diwali gift to the Indian nation. The name Rishi (sage/seer) itself is indicative of the cultural richness of Indian heritage. He is said to have been the first member of the  parliament, and the first prime minister to have taken the oath of office pledging on the Bhagawat Gita, which he claims to be the source of his strength in adversities. 

He is married to Akshata Murthi, the daughter of a great Indian entrepreneur of Infosys fame, Narayana Murti. They met during their studentship at Stanford. He is said to have cricket as his key to keeping himself fit!! 

While Indians feel proud about somebody of Indian origin in this key office, whether that will further positively contribute to the furtherance of Indo-UK relationships is yet to be seen.  That a 'person of colour and of Indian origin', professing himself to be a Hindu,  is being chosen to carry the burden of a beleagured white Christian nation which considered 'the poor south' of the globe as the whiteman's burden, is the irony.  In spite of all that Indians generally speak against England, and its racism, this politcal development without a great deal of discussion on the Indian origin (race), is an indicator of the growth of this grand old democracy in egalitarianism and democratic values.