Rishi Sunak is a 'proud Hindu', has taken oath at House of Commons on Bhagavad Gita since 2017
Rishi Sunak is a 'proud Hindu', has taken oath at House of Commons on Bhagavad Gita since 2017
New Delhi: Rishi Sunak likes to be called a proud Hindu and now he is the first non-White person to become the United Kingdom’s India-origin prime minister after Penny Mordaunt pulled out of the race. Born in England’s Southampton, the Conservative party leader is a devout Hindu and it becomes more evident when he was earlier made the finance minister of Britain and he took an oath on Bhagwad Gita.
Not just this, Sunak was the first UK Cabinet minister to place his hands on Bhagwad Gita and embraces his heritage.
Rishi Sunak take oath on Bhagwad Gita
After the 2017 general election, Theresa May gave Sunak his first job in the government and made him a minister of her Cabinet.
“I am now a citizen of Britain. But my religion is Hindu. My religious and cultural heritage is Indian. I proudly say that I am a Hindu and my identity is also a Hindu” Sunak said as he placed his hands on Bhagwad Gita to take oath as Cabinet minister.
Sunak also found time for ‘darshan’ at a temple during his long campaign and had members of the Indian diaspora praying for his success.
Now, at 42 Sunak became the youngest prime minister of the UK in more than 200 years. Because of his youthful looks, confident manner and sharp suits the British media dubs him as “Dishy Rishi”.
William Pitt ‘The Younger’ had been the youngest PM of UK before that. He was just 24.
Rishi Sunak’s political career
Sunak made his debut in politics in 2015 by bagging a safe Tory seat in Richmond, Yorkshire and junior roles in the Treasury. He was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee and parliamentary private secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for two years, from 2015 to 2017.
In 2019, he served as Treasury Chief Secretary under the Boris Johnson government.
It was in 2020, he became the Chancellor of Exchequer when his boss Sajid Javid resigned.
The Chancellor of Exchequer post is most important in the UK Cabinet.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer under Boris Johnson’s leadership, Sunak lit Diwali diyas at his residence on Downing Street.
Rishi Sunak and his Indian roots
Sunak’s grandparents were from Punjab and in 1960s, they emigrated to Britain from eastern Africa.
Born on May 12, 1980, Sunak is the son of a pharmacist mother and doctor father. He was educated at one of England’s most renowned schools, Winchester, and then Oxford.
During his campaign, Sunak said: “I grew up working in the shop, delivering medicines. I worked as a waiter at the Indian restaurant down the street.”
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He is a regular at the temple in Southampton where he was born.
Rishi Sunak and Narayan Murthy connection
Infosys co-founder and one of India’s richest person Narayan Murthy and philanthropist Sudha Murty are in-laws of Rishi Sunak.
Sunak met his wife Akshata Murthy, a fashion designer, when he was pursuing MBA at Sandford University. The two got married in August 2009.
The couple have two daughters – Krishna and Anoushka.
With inputs from agencies
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