The appointment of Indian-origin politician Rishi Sunak because the British Prime Minister (PM) final month was celebrated by Indians at house and overseas. But it additionally sparked a raft of rancour — bordering on self-flagellation — whether or not the same occasion might occur in India, particularly the appointment of a Muslim as PM.

Former Union minister P Chidambaram stated the British instance was a template worthy of emulation. “First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak…. I think there is a lesson to be learned by India,” he wrote. “As we Indians celebrate the ascent of Rishi Sunak let’s honestly ask: Can it happen here?” requested Congress chief Shashi Tharoor.

But you will need to do not forget that Sunak bought the highest job as a result of the Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) noticed in him a thoroughbred Briton with a confirmed observe report, together with a profitable stint because the finance minister who steered the nation via Covid-19. They count on him to succeed, the place his two predecessors, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, flopped. Sunak’s cultural and spiritual identities have been utterly irrelevant to the context.

Sunak’s grandparents moved from Punjab to East Africa within the Nineteen Thirties after which to Britain within the Nineteen Sixties. Born, introduced up and educated within the United Kingdom (UK), Sunak’s Hindu roots and the English mores of the adopted land of his mother and father by no means clashed. Both Sunak and his household moulded themselves to seamlessly merge into the native milieu.

The UK, plural and secular in on a regular basis life, is a declared Christian nation with the Church taking part in a pivotal function. The British monarch is the supreme governor of the Church of England, and 26 bishops (Lords Spiritual) sit within the higher home of presidency, the House of Lords. These bishops can (and do) vote on laws, make interventions, and lead prayers initially of every day’s enterprise.

In England and Wales, some clergy members outrank the PM workplace within the order of priority. The record is understandably headed by the royal household, adopted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Then come, assuming the put up of lord excessive steward is vacant (because it normally has been since 1421), the lord chancellor, and the Archbishop of York, adopted by the PM.

Under the 1944 Education Act (revised in 1996), a 3rd of State-funded colleges are designated with a spiritual character. The Church has a clearly outlined function in governance preparations and the preservation of the spiritual character of a religion college. One million kids are educated in church-run establishments on the State’s expense. Neither Sunak, nor different British domiciled Hindus, have ever questioned any of those practices.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been touted as a logo of British multiculturalism. By legislation, every family within the UK has to pay a licence payment of £159 a yr for color for TV units. Almost £3.7 billion was raised in licence charges in 2019, accounting for about 76% of BBC’s whole earnings of £ 4.9 billion. Notwithstanding its impartial pretensions, the media organisation is an extension of English tender energy; in Rudyard Kipling’s phrases, shouldering the “white man’s burden”.

Isn’t the Indian media (tv, print and movies) additionally a smorgasbord of assorted communities and ethnic teams that enrich the nation’s variety collectively? Muslims, because of their expertise and networking, determine prominently in all sides of Bollywood – manufacturing, music and appearing.

When we ask whether or not an occasion such because the appointment of Sunak could be repeated in India, some extra questions beg a solution. Why has there been no non-Sikh chief minister of Punjab when 40% of the inhabitants is from different faiths? Why, within the aftermath of Captain Amrinder Singh’s resignation final yr, did studies emerge that Sunil Jakhar was ignored in favour of Charanjit Singh Channi? At the time, some senior leaders hinted that the occasion wished to see one other Sikh within the prime job, not a Hindu chief.

The erstwhile state of Jammu Kashmir had over 30% non-Muslim inhabitants. Why, then, in its total historical past, might it not have a Hindu or Buddhist chief minister? The same query could be posed within the Christian-dominated Northeastern states of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, which have by no means had a non-Christian chief minister.

In distinction, a number of predominantly Hindu states have had Jain, Muslim or Christian chief ministers – Mohammad Koya (Kerala), Abdul Rahman Antulay (Maharastra), Syeda Anwara Taimur (Assam), Abdul Ghafoor (Bihar), Barkatullah Khan (Rajasthan), MO Hasan Farook (Puducherry), Mohammed Alimuddin (Manipur), YS Rajasekhara Reddy and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) and Vijaybhai Rupani (Gujrat). Similarly, Manmohan Singh was PM of India for a decade. No questions have been requested about their religion, and rightly so.

India additionally had three Muslim presidents, Zakir Husain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and APJ Abdul Kalam. Mohammad Hidyatullah was the one particular person within the historical past of the Indian Republic to function Chief Justice of India, vice-president after which President, albeit in an appearing capability.

Can a Muslim change into India’s PM? There’s no bar, and the Constitution and the timeless plural Indian ethos enable it.

Balbir Punj is a former Member of Parliament and a columnist The views expressed are private.