The stars align on Diwali festival for Rishi Sunak and Hindu faith

There was serendipity to Rishi Sunak’s eventual rise to the powerhouse of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Diwali was celebrated on Monday 24th October 2022, the same day that Sunak was announced as the new leader of the Conservatives and a struggling British economy.

The most important festival in the Hindu calendar, it is the biggest and most important holiday in India, and celebrates light prevailing over darkness, or good prevailing over evil.

The former chancellor, who first ran for the top job in August 2022, is a man of great faith. There is footage of Sunak lighting candles outside Number 11 Downing Street to celebrate Diwali in 2020. Speaking of his faith after lighting the candles, he said: "It gives me strength, it gives me purpose. It’s part of who I am.

"It was one of my proudest moments that I was able to do that on the steps of Downing Street. And it meant a lot to a lot of people, and it’s an amazing thing about our country."

When taking an oath of allegiance to the crown in 2019, after being re-elected MP for Richmond, Yorkshire, Sunak held a copy of Bhagavad Gita – a scripture which is the most revered of all the Hindu texts.

He said the standard words of the oath. There is no set list of sacred texts MPs may use. Members decide which text they prefer and Sunak chose the Gita.

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world with more than 1.2 billion followers. The faith began in India, where Sunak’s family originates.

Diwali is also associated with the Hindu goddess of wealth, a fact very fitting for the richest prime minister we have seen to take office. Rishi is worth £730 million, thanks in large part to his wife, Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of an Indian billionaire.

Will Rishi be able to change the fortunes for a country that is rapidly slipping into a recession? He has a huge task ahead of him, after the 45-day record-breaking Liz Truss who managed in her short tenure to add to Boris Johnson’s mess and create higher borrowing costs, higher mortgage rates and higher inflation next year after much of the energy price guarantee is scrapped.

Can good triumph evil in the economy stakes for a man who seems the best placed in the Tories to steady a sinking ship? Time will reveal what Rishi can salvage.