Rishi Sunak made history by becoming Britain’s first Prime Minister of Indian origin and made Indians across the world proud. What many people don’t know is about the extraordinary history of Ram Dass Sunak, Sunak’s grandfather.
Born in 1917, Ram Dass was two years old when police, soldiers and pilots carried out a two-day massacre against unarmed Indian civilians in Gujranwala, his home town. Bombs were dropped on unarmed civilians, including young children, at the Khalsa High School boarding house, Gujranwala town centre and nearby villages.
In 1935, an 18-year-old Ram Dass Sunak left Gujranwala and moved to Kenya, to start a new life as an accountant and was followed by his wife two days later. The couple had six children together, including Sunak’s father, Yashvir. Ram Dass’s sons moved to England and him and his wife followed them, moving to Southampton in 1971. He bought a four-bedroom house for £2,000. He also established the Vedic Society Hindu Temple. Sunak’s parents are still a very active part of the temple and the prime minister still visits the establishment to this day.
Ram Dass passed away in 1980, the year Sunak was born and his grandmother passed away when he was 27-years-old. It is understood that the family, including the prime minister, had no idea about their grandfather’s roots.
