Rishi Sunak, a devout Hindu and 'Our Obama moment'

Gulf Today Report

The fact that Rishi Sunak is the new UK Prime Minister is a watershed moment in the annals of the country’s history: he is the first non-white for Britain’s top job and at 42, the youngest Prime Minister in over 200 years. He is also as privileged as privileged can be, particularly where education is concerned.

He studied at the elite Winchester College, a public school in Hampshire, then Oxford and Stanford universities. He is also very religious, and is proud to be a Hindu. He took his oath as a Member of Parliament on the Bhagwad Gita. His Hindu heft has been highlighted by the president of the Vedic Society Hindu Temple in Southampton, Sanjay Chandarana, set up by Sunak’s grandfather.

“It's the Barack Obama moment, “ he said, where a person of colour becomes the Prime Minister for the first time. Sunak makes it a point to come to the temple whenever he is in his hometown. He visited the temple in July, just a couple of days before he resigned as chancellor. He had offered a family prayer and had lunch at the temple.

Chandarana told LBC News that he is sure that Sunak will come to the temple for prayers once he becomes the Prime Minister, according to Indo-Asian News Service. He was also the first resident of 11, Downing Street, the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to celebrate Diwali at its doorstep. Despite growing up in Britain, Sunak has never ignored his cultural roots, remaining as modest as ever, staying away from beef and keeping a statuette of Lord Ganesha on his work table.

"I can proudly say that I am a Hindu and being a Hindu is my identity," he said in a media interview, adding that his faith "gives me strength, it gives me purpose. It's part of who I am," Sunak told The Times earlier this year.

Chandarana said Sunak's appointment as Prime Minister showed that integration was working in the UK. "It will unite the country, because he practises Hindu religion religiously and one of the key values we have is that the whole world is our family and we believe in unity in that respect," the temple leader said.