UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, of Indian origin, revealed his childhood experiences with racism during an interview with ITV News. Sunak shared that his parents sent him for extra drama lessons as a child to help him speak without an accent and fit in better. He expressed how he experienced racism and recalled the pain of hearing slurs directed at his younger siblings. Sunak emphasized that racism stings and hurts in a unique way. Despite his childhood experiences, Sunak expressed optimism that such incidents would not happen to his children now.
He highlighted the determination of his parents for him and his siblings to "fit in and not for it to be, in any way, shape or form, a barrier." Sunak's mother was particularly keen on her children speaking without accents and encouraged extra drama lessons for this purpose.
Speaking about his Indian heritage, Sunak acknowledged that he never dreamed there would be an ethnic minority prime minister one day because there were no role models like that at the time. Sunak became the UK's first Indian-origin Prime Minister in 2022 and is the youngest British prime minister in 210 years. He also holds the distinction of being the first Hindu Prime Minister of Indian heritage in the UK.
(With Agency Inputs)
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