Rishi Sunak carries the distinction of being the first prime minister of Indian origin to rule Britain. But among the Indian diaspora in different parts of the globe, he is not the only Indian boy reaching the higher ranks in politics. This distinction gets shared by others also.
For example, the current prime minister of Portugal, António Luis Santos da Costa, has been ruling the country since 2015. He is half Indian and half Portuguese.
Chan Santokhi has been the president of Surinam since 2020. Leo Varadkar has been the Ireland PM since 2020. Pradeep Singh Roopun has been the seventh President of Mauritius since 2019, along with prime minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth whose family has roots in Uttar Pradesh. Mohammed Irfaan Ali has been the president of Guyana since 2020.
In May 1999, Mahendra Chaudhry became Fiji’s first prime minister of Indian ancestry.
If the trend goes, next in line is Kamala Harris, the US vice-president, who will seek the presidential nomination if Joe Biden decides to retire.
And here in Canada, Mr. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party, may get his chance to be the prime minister if the party wins an absolute majority or through some political adjustments with the Liberal Party. One never knows!
Promod Puri
Promod Puri.com 