The unabashed Hindu faith of Britain’s new prime minister Rishi Sunak

The announcement of Rishi Sunack’s election as leader of Britain’s Conservative Party came auspiciously on the October 24 start of Diwali, the highly symbolic "festival of lights" during which he and his fellow Hindus commemorate the victory of good over evil. 

Some in the British press said it was "a small sign of fate", while others saw it as "a wink" to the personal faith of the man who, the very next day, would become their country’s first Hindu prime minister.

Sunak, a 42-year-old English politician who was born in Southampton of Indian immigrants, has never kept his faith a secret. In fact, he regularly refers to it in public. "'British Indian' is what I tick on the census, we have a category for it,” he told the Indian daily Business Standard in 2015. “I am thoroughly British, this is my home and my country, but my religious and cultural heritage is Indian, my wife is Indian. I am open about being a Hindu," he said in that interview. 

"Bhagavad Gita"

Sunak’s grandparents, who were originally from the Punjab province, moved to British East Africa in the 1960s. Not long after, his parents moved to England where he was born in 1980.

When he was elected to Parliament in 2015, he took his oath of allegiance in the Commons Chamber by swearing on the Bhagavad Gita, the most sacred text in the Hindu religion. The Gita, as it is often called, is the central part of the Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata and is considered to be the longest poem - nearly four times longer than the Bible - ever composed in human history.

Rishi Sunak is a former investment banker who is married to a wealthy heiress. The couple’s fortune is estimated at more than 800 million euros. 

But Britain’s new prime minister is also said to be a "devout Hindu". When he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2020 in Boris Johnson's government, he was seen lighting candles for Diwali in his official residence at 11 Downing Street, which is next door to the home he now occupies. "I was very proud of that moment, to be able to do that on the steps of Downing Street,” he told The Times earlier this year.  “(My faith) gives me strength, a purpose. It is part of who I am," he added.

A very diverse interfaith dialogue

Despite what his family history might suggest, Sunak takes a hard line on immigration. In particular, he intends to continue Johnson’s policy of returning illegal migrants to Rwanda. And, in a multi-ethnic and multi-faith society with a very diverse inter-religious dialogue, he has promised to further tighten the statutes for asylum seekers.

"Even if there may be some tensions between the different traditions, it works well overall, between Christian, Sikh, Muslim and Hindu populations, the latter three of which have often been in the country for two or three generations," explained Samata Opatha, a Hindu in her thirties who was born in the United Kingdom and still lives in London.

"The fact that Rishi Sunak has been able to take up this position sends a positive signal, helping to normalize the place of people from different backgrounds and religions than the white Christians historically present here,” she told La Croix. “In my (Hindu) community, we are very proud! For me, it also shows that anti-discrimination campaigns have worked. It would have been difficult to imagine this a generation earlier," said Opatha, whose parents moved to an affluent suburb of the city in the mid-1980s.

"Living bridge"

When Sunak's appointment as British prime minister was announced, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive – especially in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent him a personal message, which did not fail to mention the religious holiday. "Warmest congratulations, @RishiSunak! As you become UK PM I look forward to working closely together on global issues ” he tweeted. “Special Diwali wishes to the ‘living bridge’ of UK Indians” – he added –  “as we transform our historic ties into a modern partnership."