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To some, Sunak’s appointment is just the latest in a series of events to highlight the contrasting fortunes of a rising India and the recent economic woes of Britain, its former colonial ruler. In the wake of Britain’s exit from the European Union, London has repeatedly looked to its former colony for a boost; wooing it in search of a free-trade deal and granting more visas to Indian nationals than any other country. And now, just weeks after the United Kingdom ceded to India its title of the world’s fifth largest economy, it is former finance minister Sunak that London is turning to in the hope of repairing the economic carnage wrought by the policies of his short-lived predecessor, Liz Truss, which roiled markets and crashed the pound. Given Britain’s actions during the colonial period – when Indians were excluded from top jobs in their own country and barred from many institutions – it’s perhaps not surprising that there might be a sense of Schadenfreude.

But experts say it would be wrong to suggest this is the only emotion in India. Many in the nation of 1.3 billion see the moment as a reason to celebrate progress in both countries and hope Sunak can act as a bridge between India and Britain by ushering in a new era of ties. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested as much in a tweet welcoming Sunak’s appointment. “Special Diwali wishes to the ‘living bridge’ of UK Indians, as we _________our historic ties into a modern partnership,” the Indian leader tweeted Monday. Others see Sunak’s triumph as reflective of a growing role in British politics for people of South Asian descent. “For a long time, the question was asked whether Britain was ready for Sunak to be Prime Minister,” said Harsh V. Pant, vice president of studies and foreign policy at the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation. “And the fact that he is indeed now, is an enormous tribute to British democracy and to the role the South Asian diaspora has played in British politics. ”The relationship between Britain and India is complicated, given the history of inequality and exploitation during the colonial era.

“Some people are still perplexed about why Rishi Sunak’s race matters. It matters because of the imperial context,” tweeted Sathnam Sanghera, author of “Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain”. Many Indians have not forgotten the chaos that followed the country’s independence in 1947 and its subsequent bloody partition during which between 500,000 and 2 million people were killed and an estimated 15 million uprooted. Pant said that until relatively recently it would have been “unimaginable” for a person of Indian origin to rule Britain, but Sunak’s appointment was the latest piece of evidence that the relationship today is “much more about the 21st century than about the past. And that has allowed both to take it forward in a much more productive manner.” Economic considerations are at the heart of this more modern relationship, with London looking increasingly to India and its $3 trillion economy for opportunities in the post-Brexit era. Britain remains one of the largest investors in India with British companies employing close to 800,000 people in the country, according to a 2017 report, and politicians in both countries hope economic ties will grow under Sunak. Among the biggest prizes on offer is a highly anticipated free-trade agreement, aimed at more than tripling bilateral trade, from $31 billion to $100 billion by 2030.