‘Brown Hindu’ and British: Rishi Sunak’s warning over race, identity and immigration

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Sep 21, 2026 05:00 PM IST

Sunak is the first politician of Indian heritage to serve at No. 10 Downing Street. (AP Photo)

Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has triggered a debate over immigration, raising questions about whether people who are non-white can truly be English or British. Writing a column in The Sunday Times, Sunak cautioned against linking skin colour with nationality and highlighted his own dual English and Hindu identity.

The former UK PM, the first British politician of Indian heritage to serve at 10 Downing Street, referenced a recent lecture he delivered at Lord’s Cricket Ground in the column. Sunak, while delivering the Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) Cowdrey Lecture, had said that sports in general, especially cricket, are a unifying force, PTI reported.

Sunak flags immigration and integration concerns

“I worry that Britain’s great democratic achievement is coming under strain. There are challenges that we must address: those posed by Islamism and exposed by the reaction to October 7 [attack in Israel], alongside those caused by the failure of those of us in government in recent years to adequately control immigration,” Sunak wrote in the column.

What is the Tebbit Test?

Sunak referenced the infamous Tebbit Test, which was a sociological concept initiated by Tory MP Norman Tebbit in April 1990, that claimed immigrants who continue to support the countries of their heritage over the England cricket team lacked integration and assimilation within British society.

“For all the criticism it received, this was a Test that anyone could pass. If you supported England because you now saw it as home, you were part of the team regardless of the colour of your skin,” Sunak wrote.

Sunak recalls questions over his British identity

Sunak, 46, was born in Southampton and became the Prime Minister of the UK in October 2022. He continued until July 2024, when he lost the general election to Keir Starmer. He expressed his sadness over comments from some sections of British society during his tenure as PM about whether he can be English while being a “brown Hindu”.

‘Reverse Tebbit test’ for non-white Britons

“In this world, if you’re not white it doesn’t matter who you support at the cricket: you can never be English. This reverse Tebbit test is impossible for any non-white person to pass. We cannot allow race to be reintroduced into our politics…We cannot allow Briton to be set against Briton,” Sunak reflected at the conclusion of his column.

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