Rishi Sunak on the 'Hindu concept of dharma'

Prime minister says he was brought up by parents who had come to Britain with an 'immigrant mind set'


Amit Roy | London | Published 04.02.23

Rishi Sunak spoke of the Hindu concept of “dharma” when he was interviewed by the high profile TV presenter Piers Morgan on the occasion of his 100th day as Britain’s first Indian origin prime minister.

Rishi said that when he resigned as Boris Johnson’s chancellor last summer and after he had been defeated by Liz Truss in the Tory leadership contest in the autumn, he had thought he was returning permanently to the backbenches and “that my career in frontline politics had come to an end”.

Morgan cut in: “Which begs the question, why on earth did you want to do this?”

Rishi said he was brought up by parents who had come to Britain with an “immigrant mind set”.

“There’s no point sugarcoating it,” Rishi agreed. “It’s not an easy situation. And, you know I do ask myself the same question on occasions. For me, it’s about duty. And actually, there’s a concept in Hinduism called dharma, which roughly translates into duty. That’s how I was raised. It was about doing the things that are expected of you, and trying to do the right thing. And even though it was going to be a nightmare job for all the reasons that you outlined, I felt that I could make a difference. And I was the best person to make a difference at that moment, especially given the challenges that people were facing.”

He gave Morgan the chance to come back in a year and check whether he had kept the five promises he had made – halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce the national debt, and cut NHS waiting lists and illegal migration by boat.

He had been dismissed by his critics as a “geek” and a “nerd” without the qualities of leadership. “I was reflecting on it. But what does that mean? To me that means somebody who is getting up early, who’s working hard, who’s on top of things, who’s trying to actually solve problems, and be diligent about that and throw themselves at it and give absolutely everything they’ve got day and night to try and do it. And sure, that is who I am. I’m not going to run away from that. And quite frankly, that’s what the prime minister should be. That’s what the country deserves.”

It is odd that Rishi chose to give an interview to the Rupert Murdoch-owned TalkTV which has a small audience though Morgan himself makes sure he is always in the public eye, for example with his obsessive attacks on Prince Harry’s wife, the erstwhile Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.

Should she be invited to the coronation?

Rishi did not fall for that one: “You know I can’t talk about the royal family. One of the great privileges of this job is spending time with the monarch and also championing what is an amazing British Institute…. King Charles does an incredible job, we’re lucky to have him. The coronation is going to be superb. And we’re going to have a great time.”

At the end of the interview, “Uncensored”, conducted near the kitchen in 10, Downing Street, Morgan stood outside the famous black door, and declared: “I don’t know what you thought of him, but I felt he was more candid and open in that interview than I’ve ever seen him before. I also think that he means it when he says he’s determined to fix our problems.”

Rather like a headmaster, Morgan, who is 57, concluded by telling 42-year-old Rishi that he liked his ambition: “Prime Minister, wish you all the best. I want you to succeed. I think most people would like you to succeed. We have had enough chaos, enough failings. We need this country back on its feet, and I hope you are successful.”

Rishi would not tell him just how rich he was – “I’m financially fortunate”.  But he did get Rishi to confirm he would be releasing his tax returns.

“The tax filing deadline’s (January 31) just passed,” Rishi said. “So they’re just being prepared and they will be released.”

It was an interview aimed wholly at a domestic audience, so Morgan didn’t touch on the BBC documentary on Narendra Modi or what Rishi made of his Indian counterpart or how the negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement were going.

He asked Rishi about the pay demand by nurses and why they were charged for parking when they went to hospitals to save lives, the would be immigrants arriving in small boats across the channel from France, controversial colleagues who were causing him trouble like Suella Braverman, Nadhim Zawahi and Dominic Raab, and whether he would supply fighter jets to Ukraine.

Morgan, however, was focused on what he considered more pressing issues.

“We share a love of cricket,” he began. “And I don’t mean this as an insult, prime minister, but when it comes to your wife (Akshata Murty), you’re batting above your average. Would you agree?”

“Yes, 100 per cent,” concurred Rishi.

He reminded Rishi that one interview had got him into trouble with Akshata  “because (you had said) you’re tidy, she’s messy, you’re organised, she’s not,  you’re teetotal (he is addicted to the Mexican brand of Coca Cola made with sugarcane), she likes to drink – did opposites attract?”

“You’re probably better off to ask her,” advised Rishi.

He revealed: “We got engaged in a place called Half Moon Bay (in California). It was a place – we were students that we met when we were studying together in the States – that we used to walk in this area and because of this nice fancy hotel that we never could stay in and then I surprised her and we did go and stay there. But before that we went for a walk along the cliffs and we were alone and that’s where I proposed.”

“Bended knee?”

“Of course.”

“You are a little romantic!”

Morgan also asked him: “What does love mean to you?”

Rishi pondered the question: “Love? What does love mean? Well, I mean, there’s lots of different aspects to it.. over the past couple of months, in the past couple of years, I wouldn’t be able to do his job without her love and support.”