...
Skip to content

Indian or Pakistani: What is the actual origin of Rishi Sunak’s family?

Indian or Pakistani: What is the actual origin of Rishi Sunak’s family?
Indian or Pakistani: What is the actual origin of Rishi Sunak’s family?

REPORTED BY

Follow our coverage on Google News

India and Pakistan are on the cusp of history to share the pride that Rishi Sunak has become Britain’s first non-white prime minister. Rishi Sunak overtook Penny Mordaunt on Monday to become the UK’s first Asian prime minister.

His political rise and ascendancy have become the talk of the town. Although Sunak was born to Hindu-Punjabi parents in Southampton, his grandparents hailed from a place called Gujranwala, now in Pakistan.

Gujranwala, known for its good food and wrestling culture, is located an hour and a half from the provincial capital of Punjab province, Lahore.

Before Partition, when Rishi’s grandparents lived in Gujranwala, the city used to be a locality, which was surrounded by at least seven gates, which were the entry and exit points. It is now known as the center of Gujranwala.

Rishi was born in 1980 in Southampton. Although nothing has been officially said about Sunak (42) in Pakistan, some people on social media have suggested the government reclaim him.

Only on social media, where both Indians and Pakistanis express their views on his rise to power amid heated political disputes in the UK, are scant details about his ancestry available.

 “Going to bed in the US with hopes that a #Punjabi from #Gujranwala will be the #PrimeMinister of the #UK in the morning! Both #Pakistan and #India should be jointly proud of this moment!” tweeted Yaqoob Bangash.

Where is Rishi Sunak from?

Rishi is originally from Southampton, but now has a portfolio of impressive homes, including his grand home in Kensington.

During family breaks, Rishi and his family are believed to retire to his stately home in North Yorkshire. They also own a property in Santa Monica, California, and a flat in central London.

Rishi’s paternal grandfather, Ramdas Sunak, left Gujranwala to work as a clerk in Nairobi in 1935. His wife, Suhag Rani Sunak, moved to Delhi first from Gujranwala, along with her mother-in-law, before traveling to Kenya in 1937.

Sunak is a graduate of the University of Oxford and Stanford. He is married to the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, Akshata Murty. The couple who married in 2009 have two daughters, Anoushka and Krishna.

Also Read

Follow Ground Report for Climate Change and Under-Reported issues in India. Connect with us on FacebookTwitterKoo AppInstagramWhatsapp and YouTube. Write us on GReport2018@gmail.com

Author

Support Ground Report to keep independent environmental journalism alive in India

We do deep on-ground reports on environmental, and related issues from the margins of India, with a particular focus on Madhya Pradesh, to inspire relevant interventions and solutions. 

We believe climate change should be the basis of current discourse, and our stories attempt to reflect the same.

Connect With Us

Send your feedback at greport2018@gmail.com

Newsletter

Subscribe our weekly free newsletter on Substack to get tailored content directly to your inbox.

When you pay, you ensure that we are able to produce on-ground underreported environmental stories and keep them free-to-read for those who can’t pay. In exchange, you get exclusive benefits.

Your support amplifies voices too often overlooked, thank you for being part of the movement.

EXPLORE MORE

LATEST

mORE GROUND REPORTS

Environment stories from the margins