[CarNerd]

I'm surprised nobody is talking about Rishi Sunak! He has become the PM of UK after being a MP for just 7 years at the age of 42 years! He is the youngest PM of UK in 200 years. Can you imagine that in India? I know Rajiv Gandhi became PM at 40 but his situation was different. Did you know William Pitt the Younger was the youngest PM of UK in 1783 aged 24!

Now Rishi Sunak is the first PM of South Asian Heritage replacing Liz Truss who lasted for 44 days as the PM. She clearly needs to take lessons from Indian politicians about resignation.

Rishi worked for investment bank Goldman Sachs and at two hedge funds and is thought to be one of the richest MPs of UK. He lives in a $7.4 million mansion in Kensington with his wife Akshata Murthy and two daughters. Previously he lived in an apartment above 10, Downing Street. He has a holiday home in the Chelsea neighborhood. Also, the Sunak family own a 12 acre rural country estate named Kirby Sigston Manor in North Yorkshire. Outside UK, the family own a penthouse apartment in Santa Monica, California.

He claimed that his family drives a Volkswagen Golf and is reported to have an unspecified BMW, a top-of-the-range Lexus and a high-end Range Rover.

Rishi Sunak faced scepticism over his personal wealth, expensive jackets, watches and trainers. He was also involved in a row over his wife's non-domicile status which allowed her to avoid taxes on her overseas income. He even held a US Green Card while being a MP which he returned last year.

Rishi Sunak with the kind of wealth he has is now expected to solve Britain's economy which is on the brink of recession with fears of spending cuts and tax rises while keeping his party united. Unlike India, Rishi Sunak will face immense scrutiny of his decisions and under tremendous pressure to save the economy!

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

I'm surprised nobody is talking about Rishi Sunak!

It's because we don't discuss politics on this forum. Or we would all be discussing and dissecting his racist, classist, and anti-poor beliefs, politics and policies.

[extreme_torque]

I am just wondering can you make that amount of wealth working as a hedge fund manager? I know its his combined wealth along with his wife but Rishi himself has a net worth of around $100m. Am I missing something?

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I am just wondering if can you make that amount of wealth working as a hedge fund manager? I know it's his combined wealth and his wife, but Rishi has a net worth of around $100m. Am I missing something?

We don't know the interpretation of hedge fund management which Rishi practiced, no reasons for emotions in India. He may last for a couple of months as soon there will be elections.

[SmartCat]

Meanwhile, Portugal always had an Indian-origin Prime Minister.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B3nio_Costa

Costa was born in 1961 in São Sebastião da Pedreira, Lisbon, the son of writer Orlando da Costa and journalist Maria Antónia Palla. Costa is half Portuguese and half Indian; his father was born in Maputo, Mozambique, to a Goan family. In Goa, Costa is affectionately known as Babush, a word in Konkani meaning a young loved one.

Costa also holds an Overseas Citizenship of India

[shankar.balan]

Lets give the guy a chance!
Im hoping also that his India policies are favourable.
But he has his work cut out there in the UK.

The superb Yes Minister/ Yes Prime Minister series encapsulates their situation beautifully especially in that episode where Sir Humphrey says that they can halve unemployment if they have to, but no politician has the guts. So frankly they can have as much unemployment as they are prepared to pay for, in a nation awash with layabouts on the dole!

https://youtu.be/I5ejPn8I8Lo

[am1m]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

I'm surprised nobody is talking about Rishi Sunak!

Well, for the same reason we didn't discuss Liz Truss or Boris Johnson I guess.

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Meanwhile, Portugal always had an Indian-origin Prime Minister.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Im hoping also that his India policies are favourable.

I don't understand why we think Mr. Sunak is Indian or any more Indian than any other British PM (apart from the fact that he's married to an Indian). He was born in the UK, his parents were born in Africa. He was educated in the UK, all his formative experiences and politics that will influence his decision making and direction are likely to be the same as any politician of Caucasian origins.

I guess it is a significant change as far as the politics of the UK is concerned and it makes sense to be a buzz there, and of course we belong to a connected world, so a new UK PM is a matter of news.

But IMHO, "celebrating" this or the achievements of any 'Indian-origin' person in the West, especially when India had little or nothing to do in shaping their success, is an indicator of our need to still find some sort of vindication for how important we are in the eyes of the West.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

There is absolutely no need of any vindication at all. My point was only that I wish the UK could have some favourable policies towards India -

I was just quoting the two posts to make a point, wasn't referring to those posts directly. I meant the ridiculous media articles that always come out during these times when something like this happens. "xyz's aunt in some small town in India", "ABC ate in this Bangalore restaurant when he was here". "123 Indian politician leads the congratulations for the son-in-law of Bangalore", etc etc. Not to mention the silly WA forwards- India, reverse colonization, etc etc.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by am1m

But IMHO, "celebrating" this or the achievements of any 'Indian-origin' person in the West, especially when India had little or nothing to do in shaping their success, is an indicator of our need to still find some sort of vindication for how important we are in the eyes of the West.

There is absolutely no need of any vindication at all. My point was only that I wish the UK could have some favourable policies towards India - notably in terms of bilateral trade, visa rules and such. Nothing else.
Frankly I personally couldnt care less if the UK PM had two horns and a tail - provided the UK’s policies towards India are favourable or at least facilitative rather than strait-jacketed.

[Sk8r]

I can only think of this!

[RaghuVis]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

Now Rishi Sunak is the first PM of South Asian Heritage replacing Liz Truss who lasted for 44 days as the PM.

Off-Topic Rant!

One thing we all do is get influenced by western media and their biases. The latest bias in the last few years have been the term South Asian. I don't understand what they would lose by calling it specific to that country. Why can't western media use the term Indian in this context?

Just go and google how many times North Asian and East Asian or West Asian has been used by politicians and top media houses ? Almost close to Nil.

PS: Imagine calling Hitler as European and not just a German. Or Imagine Calling Federer/Nadal/Ronaldo just a European. Or Messi just as a South American.

PPS: Imagine our forum. Toyota and Honda will no longer be Japanese but East Asian. BMW/Merc/Audi just European and not the German engineering marvels. Mahindra and Tata will be just South Asian.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by RaghuVis

One thing we all do is get influenced by western media and their biases. The latest bias in the last few years have been the term South Asian. I don't understand what they would lose by calling it specific to that country. Why can't western media use the term Indian in this context?

Not just a few years. Goes back decades too. I remember picking up books printed in the UK,USA in the 90s and 2000s and they would go to lengths to avoid mention of India. Even when mentioning geographical features or animals, they would mention Sri Lanka or Nepal or Bangladesh instead of India.

The North Americans had the excuse of the Colombus blunder to avoid naming us, while the Brits couldn't help but mention colony when the term India was used.

Reminds me of my cousins studying in USA who had 'East Indian' mentioned in their social media of the 2000s and I
indignantly reminding them that we were from South India.

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

He claimed that his family drives a Volkswagen Golf and is reported to have an unspecified BMW, a top-of-the-range Lexus and a high-end Range Rover.

IIRC the guy drove in a borrowed Kia Picanto to show his connection to the masses.

There is another first that no-one talks about, he's possibly the first PM who is richer than the King!

Anyway, I know we have folks saying that it doesn't matter because he's British etc etc, but it surely does. The symbolism is just hard to beat! I mean, the Brits pretty much bet that it's colonies will collapse without a white hand at its helm and this was well into the 40s - we have grandparents from that era who are still alive! Having a brown person at the helm of the highest office (in practice) of the UK, whether his origins are Indian, Pakistani or even African for that matter is really something. Also, have to appreciate the Brits, imagine having an Algerian-origin French President, an Indonesian-origin Dutch PM or a Latin American-origin Spanish PM. It should be said that despite all the criticisms, the Anglosphere has been much more successful in integrating immigrants that other Western countries. It's especially funny considering that he is a member of the Tories and is generally anti-immigration & small government (though not as outspoken as the last two home secretaries - Priti Patel and Suella Braveman).

Also, like someone pointed out, the Portuguese beat the Brits to it. And the Irish beat both - Leo Varadkar was the Irish PM between 2017-2020.

[lonetraveller89]

Chill, guys! It's only instinctive to call the coconut a "brown" fruit.

[binand]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Lets give the guy a chance!

That he retained Suella Braverman does not augur well, in my opinion.

[RunGaDa]

Rishi Sunak was *announced* as Prime Minister. It’s only sensible to wait till the elections are over and not hurry into judging short terms.
There is surely lot of talk about “Non-Domicile” loophole to tax evasions.
It’s best not to get into stuff like faith/politics etc on this forum. My 2 cents.