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Who is Britain's next prime minister?
Sunak’s
wealth and right-wing politics mean he is far from representative, British
Asians say
By Sana Noor Haq, CNN
Updated 11:04 AM EDT, Fri October 28, 2022
London CNN —
Orange and pink fireworks colored the skies over
south London on Monday, as members of the local South Asian community
celebrated Diwali.
This year, the holiday aligned with Rishi Sunak, 42, becoming
Britain’s first prime minister of Indian descent, as Hindus like him
celebrated the festival of lights.
Sunak’s rise to power has split opinion among
South Asians in the UK. Some believe his historic appointment is a moment of
pride and sign of social progress in Britain, while others point to his immense
wealth, privately educated background and adoption of hard right-wing
policies.
Evidence of this wide range of views was clear
when CNN spoke to South Asians in the London neighborhood of Tooting – home
to a bustling migrant community within the British capital.
Flamboyant fabric shops, places of worship and food vendors offering
syrupy Indian desserts alongside fresh fruits and vegetables line the streets,
with family-run convenience stores dotting nearly every corner.
The London suburb is steeped in
the richly diverse heritage of its residents, where people of color comprise
over half of the population, according to the 2011 UK census.
The same data found that nearly
30% of people in Tooting identify as “Asian” or “Asian British,” and after
English, Urdu and Gujarati are among the most common languages spoken.
“It is a sign of progress, but only at the
top. Rishi Sunak comes from a very privileged background,” the 58-year-old
solicitor said, his glasses tucked behind his bright orange turban.
Singh said he believed Sunak’s
ascent is a sign that only South Asian politicians with immense social and
economic privilege can “break the glass ceiling.”
Earlier this year, Sunak and his
wife Akshata Murty, the daughter of an Indian billionaire, appeared on
the Sunday Times Rich List of the UK’s 250 wealthiest people. The newspaper estimated their joint
net worth at £730 million ($826 million).
Outside the capital, Sanjay
Chandarana, who heads a Hindu temple in Southampton, southern England,
co-founded by Sunak’s grandparents in 1971, told CNN that
Sunak’s elevation was “a Barack Obama moment” for the UK, in a nod to America’s
first Black president.
“I think it’s something of
importance to the South Asian community … seeing that he is the first South
Asian prime minister of the UK. It’s something that I think all South Asians
should be proud of,” Irtaza Nasir, a 24-year-old restaurant director in
Tooting, said. “I never thought this day would come.”
Sunak’s premiership has sparked
a debate among many British Asians that lies at the intersection of race,
class and politics.
The new prime minister has
entered Downing Street as one of its richest ever occupants, yet he has the
task of leading a country where marginalized communities are falling deeper into poverty in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
During his time as chancellor
of the exchequer, Sunak was criticized for proposing a negligible 1% pay
rise to staff for Britain’s National Health Service, despite the institution crumbling under government cuts
and staff shortages.
Sunak may be the first British
prime minister with Indian heritage, but his race alone does not qualify him to
represent the diverse and nuanced views of the 4.2 million people with South Asian heritage who live in Britain today.
“Seeing someone brown becoming
prime minister is something to be proud of, and yet it is also possible to
vehemently disagree with the politics or the individual,” Jasvir Singh, a
barrister and co-founder of South Asian Heritage Month, wrote by email.
“Politics is much, much more than
just about color and race.”
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1. Read the
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2. Write out words in bold and translate them in written form.
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