With Rishi Sunak on the verge of becoming Britain’s first non-white Prime Minister, arch-rivals India and Pakistan stand on the cusp of history to share a common pride, though neither of them played a part in it.
Sunak’s grandparents are from British India, but her birthplace of Gujranwala is in what is now Pakistan’s Punjab province. So, in a strange way, the new British leader is both an Indian and a Pakistani.
So far, the scant details of his parentage are only available on social media, where both Indians and Pakistanis are voicing their views on his rise to power amid bitter political infighting in Britain.
“The Sunaks are a Punjabi Khatri family from Gujranwala, now in Pakistan,” one Queen Lioness 86 tweeted, adding: “Ramdas Sunak, Rishi’s paternal grandfather, left Gujranwala to work as a clerk in Nairobi in 1935.”
Ramdas’ wife, Suhag Rani Sunak, along with her mother-in-law, first moved from Gujranwala to Delhi before traveling to Kenya in 1937, according to Queen Lioness 86, who has provided full details about the family, including the migration to UL and the birth by Rishi in 1980 in Southampton.
Although nothing has been officially said about 42-year-old Sunak in Pakistan, some on social media have suggested the government lay claim to him.
“I think Pakistan should also claim Rishi Sunak because his paternal grandparents were from Gujranwala who migrated from there to Kenya and then to the UK,” tweeted one Shafat Shah.
Someone with a Twitter handle like Grand Finale wrote: Wow! What a great achievement. Now a Pakistani has risen to the highest office in England. Anything is possible if you believe.”
But others suggested that both Pakistan and India should be proud of the new British leader.
“Going to bed in the US hoping that a #Punjabi from #Gujranwala will be the #Prime Minister of #Britain by morning! Both #Pakistan and #India should be proud of this moment together! Yaqoob Bangash tweeted.
There are also fears the two countries could live up to their reputation for hostility and even try to cross borders while claiming Sunak is the son of their respective countries, said 35-year-old Zulfiqar Jatt.
“Because Gujranwala is in Pakistan, everyone who belonged to this city 100 years ago is now a Pakistani,” Jatt told PTI.
Others, like Akhtar Saleem, are more down-to-earth and want Sunak to address the long-standing issue of the Kohinoor diamond.
“As he becomes prime minister, I think Pakistan should ask him to return the Kohinoor diamond that was stolen from Lahore,” Saleem said.
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