The residents of Gujranwala, Punjab, congratulated the first-ever Hindu Prime Minister (PM) of the UK, Rishi Sunak, because of a very special bond they purportedly share with him.
Apparently, the ancestors of Sunak, who is of East African and Indian heritage, hailed from pre-partition Gujranwala.
Locals beamed with pride as they held up banners and posters of the newly elected PM to congratulate him this week.
According to reports, the Sunaks, a Hindu-Khatri family, had lived in Gujranwala for ages. The PM’s paternal grandfather, Ramdas Sunak, had left Gujranwala in 1935 to work as a clerk for the British colonialists in Nairobi, Kenya.
After rumors of Sunak being of Pakistani origin went viral on the internet, experts stepped in to clear the matter. Historians argue that although Gujranwala is located in modern-day Pakistan, it would be wrong to say that Sunak has Pakistani origins as his grandparents were Indian passport holders.
They explained that Pakistan was created in 1947, so there was no Pakistani passport before that. Sunak’s ancestors traveled to Africa with Indian passports only.
Dr. Vikas Pathak, a political columnist said, “By the time Pakistan was created, Sunak’s grandparents had already left”.
A few years ago, Sunak has mentioned in one of his media interactions: “British Indian is what I tick on the census. We have a category for it. I am thoroughly British. This is my home and my country but my religious and cultural heritage is Indian and my wife is Indian. I am open about being a Hindu”.
Rishi Sunak, a former Chancellor under Boris Johnson’s Conservative government, was chosen as the new Prime Minister of the UK on 24 October after Mary Elizabeth Truss resigned from the post. Truss had served as PM for just 44 days, making her the shortest-serving leader in UK history.
