Rishi Sunak dominated the headlines as he was anointed as the Finance Minister of the UK, propelling him to the second most important post in the Boris Johnson cabinet. A strong proponent of Brexit, Sunak is all set to lead the United Kingdom through one of the trickiest phases that the country has ever faced. Besides, Sunak, Britain’s Home Secretary too is a woman of Indian origin and powerful politician Priti Patel.
One cannot help but notice the rise of the Indian diaspora in Britain, where men and women of Indian descent have secured important positions of power. Indians or People of Indian origin are between 1.5 to 2.5 per cent of the United Kingdom’s population, depending on how one calculates. But they are extremely influential in United Kingdom’s business community.
As per a report titled ‘India in the UK: The Diaspora Effect’, British Indians have the highest media wealth in the country. “British Indians have the highest total median wealth at £178,980 and British Indian households are the second wealthiest among major British ethnic groups,” said Indian high commissioner Ruchi Ghanshyam.
Indian businesses are highly concentrated in the metropolis of London and they dominated particularly the hospitality, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and retail sectors.
As per data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics, only Indians are Chinese are among the Ethnic groups which have higher than average earning. The data under the report titled ‘Ethnicity Pay Gaps in Great Britain: 2018′ revealed that minorities earn 3.8 per cent less than white ethnic groups but Indian and Chinese buck this trend.
“Overall, employees from certain ethnic groups such as Indian and Chinese, have higher average earnings than their white British counterparts,” said Hugh Stickland, senior ONS analyst.
In 2015, the then India’s High commissioner to the United Kingdom, Navtej Sarna said that Indian diaspora is an asset for India-UK relations. He also argued that Indian punch at least three times above their weight, and contribute 6 per cent to the UK’s GDP with 1.8 per cent of the population. “The India diaspora in the UK is one of the largest ethnic minority communities in the country equating to around 1.8 per cent of the population and contributing 6 per cent of the country’s GDP,” Sarna said.
In April 2019, a report was published by Anuj Chande in Grant Thronton titled ‘Indian companies’ contribution to the UK economy surges’, which argued that the Indian companies are growing above the average, with 10 per cent revenue growth rate. “There are now a record 842 Indian companies operating in the UK, with combined revenues of over £48 billion (up from £46.4 billion in 2018). Together, they paid almost £684 million in corporation tax (£360 million in 2018) and employed 104,783 people (104,932 in 2018),” wrote Chande.
The British Indians are dominant in British politics too. In the Boris Johnson ministry, two most important ministries, finance and home, went to British Indians, Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel respectively. Many people of Indian origin are among the richest people of the United Kingdom with Lakshmi Mittal being the prime example. Sanjeev Gupta of Liberty House Group is also among the most influential businessperson in the United Kingdom. The list does end here; the Hinduja brothers of Hinduja Group are also India. Anshu Jain, Head of Global Markets, Deutsche Bank AG is also British India.
With Sunak as finance Minister, Indians are not just controlling the British economy, but managing it too. Sunak, 39 is a former Goldman Sachs banker and has been viewed as a rising star in the Conservative Party, with the Conservative Home website anointing him “the next prime minister” earlier this year. In July, he was made chief secretary to the Treasury — the second most important job in the finance ministry. Sunak, during his oath as an MP – didn’t shy away from embracing his heritage as he took an oath by placing his hands on the Bhagavad Gita.
Sunak attended Winchester College, one of the country’s most prestigious private schools, before studying at Oxford and Stanford Universities. After his graduation, Sunak worked for Goldman Sachs and continued to work for a couple of more firms where he went to hone his skills and enhance his reputation.
Sunak is married to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Indian billionaire, Infosys Ltd. co-founder Narayana Murthy but his rise to the upper echelons of the British government has solely been because of his talent and hard work.
As the Finance Minister, the MP from Richmond, Yorkshire, is all set to occupy 11, Downing Street, which is next to the Prime Minister’s Office i.e. 10, Downing Street. It is heartening to see that Sunak continues to embrace his heritage despite the protests from a certain section of Britishers.