The London borough of Southall, home to the UK’s largest Indian community, has been celebrating for two days. Not only was Diwali, the most important Hindu holiday, celebrated yesterday, but suddenly there was something else to celebrate: the news that Rishi Sunak, a son of migrants from India, has become Prime Minister of the UK. The appointment makes many people of Indian origin proud – even outside the UK.

“I’m so happy,” says Kajal, while frying Indian delicacies at a corner market stall. The Southall neighborhood is nicknamed Little India. “When we heard that it had become Sunak, it felt like a double celebration for us. It was two big moments, Diwali and Sunak as Prime Minister coming together.”

More than a million and a half people of Indian descent live in Britain, the second largest ethnic group after the native Britons. According to Kajal, Sunak is “a role model for all of us,” especially for the younger generations. “We can learn from him, be inspired by his work and his achievements.”

British Barack Obama moment, Janpal Basran names appointment of Sunak. He runs a charity in Southall. “When you see someone of the color of your skin, your background, can get the highest job in the country, that’s just amazing.”

It is a great moment not only for the British Indian community in the UK but also for India “given its colonial past”. The newspapers in India today were full of it. “The former colony strikes back,” joked The Shillong in Star Wars terms. This year marks the 75th anniversary of India’s independence from the United Kingdom.

Sunak, who was born in Southampton in 1980, has both Indian and African roots: his parents were born in the former British colonies of Kenya and Tanganyika (part of today’s Tanzania). There, too, it has not gone unnoticed that Rishi Sunak has now become prime minister.

Sunak’s father was a general practitioner and his mother worked in a pharmacy. With the money they earned, they were able to send their son to a prestigious British boarding school and then to Oxford. Sunak worked for the bank Goldman Sachs and later for hedge funds.

He owes his massive fortune of $850 million largely to his marriage to Akshata Murty, the only daughter of Indian tech giant and billionaire Narayana Murthy.

Measured by deeds

Still, Sunak will be judged mainly on how he steers the country through the economic storm, says Janpal Basran. “Rising inflation, high energy prices and a looming recession are affecting everyone in this country.” The radical tax plan of Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss led to one crisis after another; something Sunak now has to solve.