Sunak hailed for ‘Obama moment’

The UK is undergoing its own ‘‘Barack Obama moment’’ with Rishi Sunak becoming the country’s first Hindu prime minister, says the president of his home temple.

Sunak, a practising Hindu, grew up worshipping with his family at the Vedic Society Temple, Southampton, which his grandfather co-founded 50 years ago and where his extended family still pray.

The Times was present in the temple when the news broke yesterday that Sunak was set to become prime minister. It was also the day of light, the main day of Diwali, the Hindu festival which represents the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. As several families gathered, the temple priest sang a prayer for Sunak in front of the statues of Krishna and Radha as he waved a diya oil lamp and a handbell was rung.

Fireworks are traditionally fired on the third evening of Diwali. ‘‘We are going to need extra fireworks now,’’ Sanjay Chandarana, 41, the temple president, said.

Chandarana said Sunak would be an ‘‘inspiration for youngsters’’ in the community, showing them ‘‘you can really have an impact in the community at the very highest stage’’.

‘‘Rishi becoming prime minister is Great Britain’s Barack Obama moment,’’ he said. ‘‘People are suddenly feeling proud of this moment and they think it’s an icebreaker, just like the Barack Obama moment happened in the US. This is Britain’s moment.

‘‘I have been in this country for 22 years and this country gave me everything. This shows if you have the talent and a skill you get the job.

‘‘This will be a proud moment for everyone who is Hindu. We are no longer just a community that is not part of the mainstream, we are now part of the mainstream.’’ Chandarana, who works at an investment bank in London, said the Sunak family were an ‘‘integral part’’ of life in the temple. ‘‘This is where Rishi belongs without a shadow of a doubt, when he came in July as chancellor he just sat on the floor like anyone else, he came as a normal guy,’’ he said. ‘‘Now he has become prime minister, a thought will cross his mind that ‘I need to go to temple and offer prayer’. It’s a given, I will get a call from his dad saying, ‘make sure no one knows about it’.’’

Ram Dass Sunak, the new Tory leader’s paternal grandfather, arrived in the UK with his family as a British Indian-born migrant from east Africa in the 1960s. Yashvir, Sunak’s father, a

GP, was a trustee of the temple in the 1980s.

Kavita Kapoor, his aunt, has organised prayers in the temple for 11 years.

As a child Sunak went to the temple’s Bal Vikas classes, similar to Sunday school. On July 2, Sunak’s parents organised a private ceremony, called a Hawan, and the following day Sunak, his wife and their daughters joined them for prayers in the temple before serving food to the community.

‘‘Rishi made sure he managed to talk to everyone and took a picture with every single person,’’ Chandarana said.

‘‘He was making chapati in the kitchen and served food, he is a down to earth and humble guy.’’ Chandarana said the central tenets of Hinduism would shape Sunak as prime minister.

‘‘It’s a peaceful religion and the message is the whole world is one family.’’ – The Times