From ‘Dogs and Indians not allowed’ to an Indian with a dog in 10 Downing Street; Celebrities open up about Rishi Sunak’s appointment as UK PM

Rishi Sunak’s appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has made all Indians truly proud. Not only him, there are many more Indians who have made a mark globally!

Saanand Verma
Indians are very talented. People who are at the top notch positions are from Indian origins or are the ones who are Indian born. Our ancestors were so knowledgeable, they used to meditate on the Himalayas for years. They used to survive for 200 plus years and had great spiritual connection. Our country is very spiritual and the knowledge base here is greater than any part of the world. Indians are there on the top posts. The place that is so rich in its customs, traditions, culture and knowledge gives the direction to move forward. India is one such country which is rich in everything and we are global leaders and to take humanity on a good path we play an important role in that. Rishi Sunak becoming the PM is the biggest achievement. I would like to congratulate Mr Rishi Sunak for providing such inspirational leadership and it’s great news for all of us.

Arun Mandola
It’s a proud moment for every Indian that Rishi Sunak has become United Kingdom prime minister. Before this there were lots of people who were ruling International positions with humbleness. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, another big name in the Silicon Valley, Satya Nadella, who was born in Mumbai. Then there is Amrapali Gan, who is an alumnus of California State University. She was appointed as the CEO of Only Fans in December 2021 and succeeded founder Tim Stokely to the position. After this one more Indian gets a big position in the United Kingdom and this is a big lesson for everyone. Whenever pure talent will be promoted, everyone will rise.

Nyrraa M Banerji
In the eyes of many Indians, Mr Rishi Sunak’s new job is rich in symbolism: they appear to be convinced that the new prime minister will be good for India. I also want to believe that. Sundar Pichai runs Google, or Satya Nadella runs Microsoft. These successes overseas are nothing less than validation of Indian excellence. India was already global but now we are actually getting the credit. There is no stopping back. We are going to be a superpower super soon.

Anjali Phougat
As a brown person, I have always felt the South Asian community needs global representation. We need representation because we exist. We need representation because we are part of society too. The movies I watched, the books I read; they were all about girls with pale skin and blue eyes. I assume that this was a struggle every person of colour faced growing up. In a rapidly developing world, with modern amenities like social media, we are all more connected today. We now share a global culture in addition to our separate ones. The world is more ‘globalised’. It is easy to imagine a picture of people of all colours. Indian people are ruling the world and Indian-origin CEOs and leaders are widely preferred because they have a tendency to execute as well as plan well and an ability to constantly come up with a Plan B and great leadership skills. Indians are rather adept at managing both diversity and adversity. Additionally, we have an entrepreneurial DNA. Indians have a great business sense when it comes to making profits, taking companies to another level of success. It’s quite inspiring and motivational for our kids and the new generation is ready to conquer the world. We have patience and high tolerance due to our simple parenting and high values and faith in God and our cultural values are taking us places.

Nivedita Basu
Across the corporate world, Indians have been ruling the roost for a very long time. If you see in the USA or Canada, Indians hold more pivotal positions than their people. It does make us proud and we feel immediately connected and somewhere feel that our access to that country will become much easier now. Even though we are a highly-populated country and have many issues to deal with every day to survive, Indians are now everywhere and are moving to different parts of the world. Getting into the mainstream of everything is great and I hope this dream run continues.

Neelu Kohli
Finally India is ruling the world map and how proud we are. Shine on is all I can say. He is such an inspiration to all of us and has set career goals a lot higher. It’s a defining moment. I have been reading the memes of how the law of karma takes an absolute 360 degree turn and I am very happy about it. Kudos to all the Indians of making their places felt on the world map.

Sumit Kaul
Rishi Sunak’s appointment as the Prime Minister of the UK has huge symbolic meaning for every Indian. A man of Indian origin will be the leader of the ruling class of a country that ruled over India for 175 years, is historic. And this has happened without force, or coercion, or manipulation or any immoral or inhuman means. On the contrary it has happened on the basis of hard work, talent and despite his ethnicity and not because of it. The same has been the reason for the rise of Indians world over in the corporate world as well. Of course it gives me immense pride to see this happening but it doesn’t surprise me. I think too many centuries have gone by with leaders leading with force and exercise of control. It’s time for the Indian style of inclusive leadership which comes from a place of love and respect.

Jason Tham
Diwali is considered as the victory of light. Call it coincidence but it was the perfect time for Rishi Sunak to become the PM during the festivities as it was a victory for many of us. We have come a long way where I feel diversity is getting accepted and no matter what different race, colour you are, you will be accepted if deserved. It’s a win for diversity, a super proud moment for many of us.