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Disraeli and Sunak faced similar barriers, but their stories are not the same

Both Jews and Hindus deserve their own heroes

October 26, 2022 12:30
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LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 26: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leaves 10 Downing Street for his first Prime Minister's Questions on October 26, 2022 in London, England. It was Mr Sunak's first Prime Minister's Questions since taking office yesterday, following the resignation of Liz Truss. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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Congratulations, Rishi Sunak, on becoming the first British-Asian Prime Minister.

Listen out, and you’ll hear plenty of British Asians, particularly young ones, tell us that a billionaire public school boy doesn’t represent them. Those voices need to be heard. But there are also hundreds of thousands of British Asians celebrating loud and clear this week. Those who want to downplay Mr Sunak’s achievement are, without wishing it, downplaying the racism he will have faced within the Conservative Party over the course of his career.

JC readers know what an achievement it is to overcome the prejudices that still lurk within the British Establishment. Unlike Nicola Sturgeon, the Washington Post and too many others, we also know that Mr Sunak is not “the first ethnic minority prime minister”.

The Guardian even carried a quote from Tariq Modood, Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy at Bristol University, asserting that few would have expected Mr Sunak’s achievement until recently, “nor would anyone have predicted that the first ethnic minority prime minister would be a Tory.” Except, of course, that the first ethnic prime minister already was a Tory, long ago. His name was Benjamin Disraeli.