Page 14 - The Indian EYE 102822

OP-ED OCTOBER 28, 2022 | The Indian Eye 14

UK, history, prejudice and the rise of Sunak

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

unak will have to develop a po-
litical persona. Everyone will
Sgive him a lot of space since
the country is in dire straits. I do not
recall in the nearly 60 years I have
been here of the country being at a
lower ebb in its national confidence
and international reputation. So, he
will have to demonstrate that he is in
charge. Jeremy Hunt, who stepped in
as chancellor for Liz Truss after she
sacked Kwarteng calmed nerves, but
then the manner of Liz Truss’s last
day in the commons once again sank
the ship. Sunak can leave the financ-
es to Jeremy Hunt and turn his atten-
tion to addressing the people who are
bemused and worried as to who, if
anyone, is in charge.
Indian commentators are all
talking of an Indian running the UK
and hoping that the free trade agree-
ment will now be an easy walkover.
Steady on, I would advise. The UK
needs its new prime minister to look
after itself. It is a matter of pride that
a person with ancestral roots in India
is now the prime minister of the UK.
But he will be no more Indian than
Barack Obama was Kenyan. United Kingdom’s King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak MP upon his arrival, at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday.
We have just celebrated Diwali.
The New Year will be a happy one He was appointed as the UK’s 57th Prime Minister (ANI)
for all.
these families are phenomenally suc- that confronts Sunak. As someone Between 2014 and 2017, TFP growth
-- Lord Meghnad Desai, The Indian cessful in various spheres of activity. who does not endorse Sunak’s ideol- received a boost from non-market
Express
Sunak’s rise is linked to both ogy and policies, I will watch with in- services like public administration.
A BIG CHANGE these processes. Even though by col- terest how he walks the razor’s edge. It’s not a durable source of growth.
or of skin and by lineage he may not Moreover, by 2018-19, TFP growth
he presence of racial discrim- be considered by some to be “Brit- -- Rudrangshu Mukherjee, The Tele- began to lose momentum. Produc-
graph (India)
ination notwithstanding, Brit- ish” yet he comes from the heart of tivity enhancement is the pathway to
Tish society has been subject the British establishment. He went THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGE prosperity. When seen in this context,
to some far-reaching changes. The to Winchester and Lincoln College, India’s agricultural sector presents
most important of this is the recog- Oxford and then to Stanford. He is estern economies began the biggest challenge.
nition of merit over birth – a process among the richest individuals in Brit- to experience a decline in Agriculture contributes about
that is integrally tied to the declining ain and has been a pillar of the Tory Wtotal factor productivity 18% of the economy’s annual gross
influence of the landed aristocracy. party. Sunak embodies the triumph (TFP) in the 1990s, with the problem value addition but employs about
This process enabled someone like of history over prejudice and that of getting acute after the 2008 financial 41% of the workforce. A substantial
Clement Attlee or Margaret Thatch- merit over birth. crisis. China and India provide inter- number of workers are relatively un-
er to get the top job. Another factor is The path before Sunak is not a esting contrasts. China’s TFP annual productive, producing a small part
the influx of people from the former smooth one. Britain’s economy is on average growth in the 2000s was 3.5% of the economic output. India’s eco-
colonies – a process that was encour- the verge of a collapse and Britain as the WTO membership helped it nomic advancement depends crucial-
aged by various British governments is now an object of ridicule. Sunak become the world’s factory. The next ly on getting them out of agriculture
after the Second World War for a va- in his time has been an enthusiastic decade TFP growth slowed to 0.7%, to more productive sectors.
riety of economic reasons, principally Brexiter. His predecessor during her a phase of property bubbles and a fall -- Editorial, The Times of India
a supply of cheap labour. The arrival short tenure introduced a bill to do in the share of private consumption
of people from African countries, In- away with all EU regulations. Will Su- in relation to GDP. India in the 2010s
dia and Pakistan has made Britain a nak stay with this and be a “little En- recorded a much higher TFP growth Every week, we look at what the top
multicultural society. Families who glander” or will he open up channels of 2.2%. commentators in the Indian media are
were previously considered immi- to negotiate with the EU, Britain’s Parsing India’s performance over talking about and bring to you a slice
grants have now become integral largest trading partner? The color of the last decade however shows that of their opinions and comments
parts of British society and some of his skin is the least of the challenges we too are in danger of losing steam.

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