PORTRAIT – Boris Johnson’s former Chancellor of the Exchequer has been nominated by Britain’s Conservatives to become Prime Minister.
For millions of people in the UK and India, it’s a sign. The country acquires for the first time of a head of government of Indian origin in full celebration of diwali, the great festival of lights celebrated by Hindus and Sikhs. For Rishi Sunak himself, this nod to the calendar is probably not insignificant. In an interview at Timeslast summer, he confided how the ceremony of lighting the diya lamps on the steps of Downing Street, when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, had been one of the moments of his career of which he was the more proud. “It had deep meaning for a lot of people and it was an amazing thing in our country,” he said. Of Hindu religion, he also confided how much his faith “gave him strength, purpose and was part of who he was”.
Beyond the political psychodrama among the Tories and the economic crisis that is shaking the country, the entry into Downing Street of a man of Indian origin…