British Indian the PM of Britain; denial of stark truths

Tables have been turned by a single individual descendant of lineage from exploited India. And on whom have the tables been turned? On the British whose Raj lorded it in the subcontinent for almost a century until finally they departed in 1947 leaving India partitioned and blood-shed. I refer here to Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister of the UK. BBC reported this reversal as ‘coming full circle.’ Cass uses common parlance – hers – and says: super-duper! India has now exacted retribution, wreaked vengeance and squared accounts. And this has happened within 80 years of the British Raj leaving India to govern itself, quite believing it could not manage to do so. Of course, the subject discussed will never speak so, nor even think thus. Sunak promised to do the best possible by his country Britain which he so loves and got so much from, he acknowledged. Good and proper, but Cass has imbibed a nasty turn of mind. Must have caught the bug from pugnacious and worse politicos who we have to listen to daily.

One may say the ruled becoming the ruler is poetic justice or Fate or Destiny decreeing that retribution must be rendered the Indians for all the exploitation and deep trauma suffered due to repressive shootings, imprisonment of leaders, and finally Partition, as decreed by the Brit government. I prefer my harsher phrases. It will be fine to know what a hugely sharp criticicer of the British Raj – Sashi Tharoor – has to say about the fortuitous turn of events. How would it turn out if in the next American presidency election votes Kamala Harris, the President of the US of A?

Sunak also exhibited magnanimity, good breeding and even the right dash of humility when in his short acceptance speech after being elected Leader of the Conservative Party, he acknowledged Liz Truss having been PM at a very difficult time and resigning because she could not carry out her promised mandate of leading the country. No mention of Boris Johnson but Sunak spoke on Truss very early in his short acceptance address. This in spite of how she made her way to the stage at the Conservative Party meeting when election results were announced as the winner against Sunak, on September 6. She did not give him even a passing glance though he was seated next to her and she had to pass him. No nod or even gloating look. In Cass’ parlance, she was cocky!

Another point noticed and commented on by Cass in her Cry in mid-September soon after Truss become Prime Minister, was the dearth or absence of faces of colour at the meeting of Conservatives. Cass surmised colour and prejudice had entered the picture, though no one at all dares mention it. These two mean surmises are due to cattiness in Cassandra.She feels personally this second generation Britisher of Indian descent was far superior in every way to Elizabeth Truss when they were in the running for Party leadership and premiership around six weeks ago. And not even two months later she suffered her downfall, and the loser then became the winner now.

Bio

Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton on May 12. 1980, to Punjabi parents – father a doctor and mother, a pharmacist – who had migrated to Britain from East Africa in the 1960s. Rishi first schooled at prestigious Winchester College; read philosophy, politics and economics at Lincoln College, Oxford; and gained an MBA from Stanford University, Californaia, a Fulbright scholar. While there he met his future wife Akshata Murty, daughter of N R Murty, Indian billionaire founder of Infosys. They have two daughters. The couple are ranked as the 222nd richest in Britain. A few years ago, scandal arose as his wife, retaining her Indian identity, had not paid British taxes. That fortunately blew over and did no permanent damage to Sunak’s political career.

He worked in three business firms, Goldman Sachs included, and then won his House of Commons seat from Richmond, North Yorkshire, in 2015. Under Theresa May he was a Parliamentary Under-Secretary. In February 2020, after a Cabinet reshuffle, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer, the second highest government post, under PM Boris Johnson. He was not for Johnson when the latter’s partying during Covid lockdown came to the forefront. Sunak was a party-er at least once, and was fined by the London Metropolitan Police. In the recent election Johnson said he was contesting and had 102 members of the Party who would vote for him, (another little lie?!), while Sunak had 154. The woman contestant with only 25, withdrew her name at noon on Monday, paving the way for the unanimous choice of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister for the next two years till general elections are held.

To end this written passage of jubilation, Cass mentions a friend who was not for Sunak becoming PM of Britain, even when Sunak was in the running against Liz Truss, this friend who has lived overseas, was against the premiership going to a non-pure Britisher. Cass backed Sunak as he was Indian.

“How can the British tolerate an Indian as head?”

“Why ever not?” I queried accusing my friend of bigotry. “Sunak is a Brit through and through”

“Will you tolerate a Britisher becoming our President?” he countered?

“Yes, if he is Sri Lankan, now.” I affirmed, reminding him that our ex-Prez was an American citizen who gave up that to run for presidency and was hailed a hero. (He’s finding it difficult to revert, we hear). Also, we had a ‘kaluwa’ aka ‘kaputa’ as the second most powerful after the PM – Finance Minister – although he chose to be an American citizen, commuting over there whenever he feels the heat here or it pleases him or wifey. Even if he has dual citizenship, he is a foreigner. However, he strongly pulls government and party puppet strings from across the oceans. So why not a second generation fully Brit person as PM of Britain? Imagine the glory if another Indian descendent wins a second bastion of White supremacy – the US.

Incidentally, Cass is all for the prevention of dual citizens winning votes to enter Parliament as the 22nd Amendment, aka 21st in the new Amendment to the Constitution. Some of those who voted hands down for 18th have seen sense and said ayes this time to the citizen clause.

Denying reputedly reported truths

Dr Suren Batagoda received plenty verbal guti bata and derision because of his public remarks made at an interview on October 21: “Even today there is no food crisis in this country. And those who say so are lying. There is no reason to say this”

Crisis is defined as a time of intense difficulty or danger; a time when a difficult or important decision must be made.

Does not this Presidential Advisor, formerly a top bod in the fuel field and wildlife, ever go food buying? Has he never seen Gammadda programmes on TV One? Has his wife or kussi amma not told him how food prices have shot up and rice unavailable on one day, another necessity on another? Was and is he deaf to the crying complaints of paddy farmers for their need of manure and fuel to drive their farm vehicles? Or is he too much of a puppet on a string, echoing plaudits to be on the good side of his boss and mouthing lies to please him? The new breed of public administrator?

He accuses those who say we are in food crisis as liars. The WHO, FAO, UNICEF and our scientists and agriculturists too? And on July 30 as reported in a Sunday Ceylon Today he said malnutrition was rampant in our land. Isn’t malnutrition a lack of sufficient nutriments and therefore usually connected to lack of proper meals; food shortage.We oldies remember how some sycophants gave false info to gracious and trusting PM Dudley Senanayake, showing him a luscious stretch of paddy fields grown under supervised conditions and multiplying that area, said all of Ceylon was thus and paddy was in plenty. The rice issue brought him down, lied to as he was, and misled. The derisive term ‘buth gotta’ came in to use then.