Perhaps never before has Britain’s South Asian diaspora enjoyed such prominence on the country’s biggest political stage.
During the ruling Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester this week, two of the U.K.’s highest-ranking officials highlighted their Indian heritage in efforts to rally the party faithful. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that "I stand before you today as the first non-white leader in our country’s history,” and his home secretary, Suella Braverman, acknowledged the "wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe.”
But while Braverman contrasted the 20th century’s demographic currents with the "hurricane” of migration now bearing down on Europe, Sunak used his family’s migration from India via East Africa to highlight his debt to British traditions. The message was part of a broader effort by the prime minister to reintroduce himself to the country as he prepares to face voters for the first time as the their leader.