‘PM Sunak said Jai Shri Ram on Aug 15, Lord Curzon would have choked’: UK envoy

British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis on Saturday that India’s rise in the global order can be measured by the benchmark it has set in conducting the G20 presidency and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on India’s Independence Day.

Speaking at the NDTV G20 Conclave in New Delhi, Ellis said, “India tops all three visa categories in the UK – students, visitors, and skilled workers… Did you ever imagine one day a person staying at 10 Downing Street, on August 15, would say Jai Shri Ram?”

“Lord Curzon would have choked,” he added, referring to the Viceroy of India who presided over the Bengal Partition in 1905, a move which was seen as an attempt to “divide and rule” by creating religious and ethnic tensions.

Britain’s Indian-origin Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attended the ‘Ram Katha’ recitation by spiritual leader Morari Bapu at Cambridge University on August 15, the event coinciding with India’s Independence Day.

Starting his address with a chant of “Jai Siya Ram”, PM Sunak said that it was an honor for him to be present at Morari Bapu’s Ram Katha on Indian Independence Day.

“Bapu, I am here today not as a Prime Minister, but as a Hindu,” said Sunak, opening his address at the gathering.

“For me, faith is very personal. It guides me in every aspect of my life. Being Prime Minister is a great honor, but it is not an easy job. There are difficult decisions to make, hard choices to confront and our faith gives me courage, strength, and resilience to do the best that I can for our country,” he said.