A Face of Indian Soft Power

Rishi Sunak is leading the post of Prime Minister in Britain. However, the discussion of a citizen of Indian origin for the post of PM of the UK underlines the growing importance of India's soft power.

 

 

Controversial Boris Johnson resigned as Prime Minister of Britain on July 7 and a power struggle began in Britain. The process of selecting the new Prime Minister has reached its final stage. In this, the name of Rishi Sunak, an Indian origin, is at the forefront. As of now, a name for PM will be finalized on Thursday. Hence, there is enthusiasm among the South Asian population, including citizens of Indian origin in Britain.

 

Riding on the 'Brexit' public sentiment, Boris Johnson became the Prime Minister of Britain. However, during the coronavirus outbreak, cases of partying in government residences came to light, and their popularity began to ebb and flow. After that, Johnson had to resign due to many reasons like increased taxes, and the misbehaviour of a cabinet member. Now he is just a caretaker Prime Minister, while the process of selecting a new Prime Minister is being carried out within the ruling Conservative Party. As of Tuesday, four candidates remain, including Sunak. These include Commerce Secretary Penny Mordant, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Kimmy Badenoch in Johnson's cabinet. From this, one name will be whittled down in stages and the finalist will be announced on Thursday. Sunak is at the forefront of all these, till Wednesday. In the second round, he got the support of 31 per cent of the party members, while 115 MPs from the party favoured his name.

 

42-year-old Rishi Sunak, who belongs to a Punjabi family, was born in Southampton, UK. His grandfather had migrated from Punjab to East Africa, and then came to Britain in the 1960s. Rishi Sunak's father was a doctor in the National Health Service, while his mother runs a local pharmaceutical business. Rishi Sunak has studied at both Oxford and Stanford universities. He also received the prestigious Fulbright Fellowship. He also worked in 'Goldman Sach'.

In 2009, he married Akshata, daughter of Infosys founder Narayan Murthy. While doing well in financial services, he entered politics in 2015 and achieved remarkable results in a short period. Both his links to Indian ancestry and his relationship with Narayan Murthy gave Sunak a sense of belonging to Indians as a whole. Hence, the process of appointing the post of Prime Minister started, which is reflected in social media as well.

 

For Sunak, the responsibility of the Prime Minister could be challenging for several reasons. He was appreciated for his performance as chief secretary to the Treasury  (Finance Minister) during the Corona epidemic. At the time, he announced a £350 billion bailout package to help British citizens; Also, the steps were taken by him to save employment also increased his popularity to a great extent. On the other hand, increased taxes are also a factor in the growing dissatisfaction with Johnson. It is alleged that the tax burden is the highest since 1940. It is said that Sunak was the one who opposed the tax reduction. This situation is constantly pointed out by their current competitors; Supporters of Truss allege that the current inflation is also caused by usury. Besides, his wife Akshata is still an Indian citizen and has also been accused of paying taxes. The dispute is now settled after he agreed to pay tax in Britain on his worldwide investments.

 

After India's independence, at the age of 75, a citizen of Indian origin will become the Prime Minister of Britain. A major reason behind this is the increasing percentage of citizens of Indian origin in the UK. According to the Indian High Commission, there are 16 members of Indian origin in the current British Parliament, while four of them were members of Johnson's cabinet. There are currently 1.6 million citizens of Indian origin in Britain, while 3 lakh are non-resident Indians. So, the contribution of these citizens of Indian origin to Britain's GDP is up to six per cent.

 

The India-UK relationship is also an important issue in terms of trade. Between October 2020 and September 2021, trade between the two countries was £21.5 billion. Of this, exports from India to Britain were £13.8 billion, while exports to India were £7.7 billion. India invested in 99 projects in the UK in 2020, creating 4830 jobs. India became the second country after the US to invest in Britain that year. According to the figures at that time, 850 Indian companies are operating in Britain. Its revenue is £50.8 billion and it has created employment for 16,046 citizens. On the other hand, Britain ranks sixth in terms of foreign investment in India. Britain's investment in India for the period April 2000 to December 2021 is $31.69 billion. Nearly 600 British companies are operating in India, creating more than 8,00,000 jobs. Apart from the historical threads in the relationship between India and Britain, economic cooperation between the two countries is the most important issue. Trade and investment are two of the most important of these. London is a major centre for global financial services and is considered to be India's gateway to Europe. As the number of citizens of a country increases, it affects the economic, commercial, and cultural sectors of the other country as well. India is seeing a positive effect due to the increasing number of Indians in other countries. The increasing importance of soft power in international politics is again highlighted in this. The same thing is highlighted by Sunak's possible choice.