Viswanathan K's Thoughts

Andrew Sullivan is a Britisher-turned-American and thus perfectly positioned to write this piece when Rishi Sunak became the British PM (You’ll see what I mean as you read ahead).   Sullivan starts off by taking a stab at Joe Biden for getting Sunak’s name wrong (Biden called him Rashid Sunak): “He got the name wrong, but he’s Joe Biden. He gets names wrong. ” But, says Sullivan tongue-in-cheek, at least Biden is old enough to understand that Sunak as PM is a historic event. In what way? “(Britain) was defined by empire… and nothing defined that empire more than India… And it is simply a remarkable fact that a grandson of that distant colonized country now runs the former colonial power.” To drive the point home, he adds: “Imagine what Gandhi might have thought of that. Or Churchill for that matter. ”   I thought Sunak was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Not so, says Sullivan: “Sunak’s family was middle class — his father was a doctor and his mother...

Second time lucky. Rishi Sunak became the British PM so suddenly that the Indian media didn’t get any chance to publish reams on what his chances were. His father-in-law, Narayan Murthy’s statement is what triggered this blog. Murthy said: “We are confident he will do his best for the people of the United Kingdom.” Put the other way, don’t expect Sunak to be any more India friendly than any other British PM. In fact, Sunak may have to be extra careful that he doesn’t get seen to be favourable to the country of his ancestors, esp. since his wife is still an Indian citizen (in case you wondered, it’s for tax saving reasons – by not becoming a British citizen, her income from Infosys dividends remains tax-free in Britain – in 2022 alone, that amounts to ₹126.61 crore ($15.3 million): “Caeser’s wife must be above suspicion.”   That line reminds me of the tale behind it from Mary Beard’s SPQR . In 62 BC, there was a scandal in Rome. At a solemn, all-women, religious festival h...