Rishi Sunak’s grandfather helped Kenyans stage revolt against British rule: Report

The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s grandfather reportedly helped Kenyan freedom fighters organise a revolt against brutal British rule in the 1950s. As per revelations made by the Daily Mail, Rishi Sunak’s grandfather Ramdas Sunak was involved in training Kenya’s Mau Mau fighters in guerrilla techniques.

Ramdas Sunak was able to carry out pro-freedom activities while being on the British payroll. He first worked as a clerk and then as a senior administrator in the finance and justice departments, as reported by the UK’s media outlet.

The Daily Mail report also claimed that Ramdas was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s nationalist group associated with the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Ramdas Sunak’s involvement in Kenya’s freedom movement

Ramdas reportedly went to Kenya’s Nairobi from India’s Punjab as a young man and later participated in the country’s freedom movement through a childhood friend named Makhan Singh. The latter also hailed from Punjab, who became a prominent trade unionist in Kenya and a supporter of the Mau Mau fighters. 

After independence, Ramdas decided to move to Britain after facing racism in Kenya, where his two sons were already studying at the university. As per the report, he later settled in Southampton, where he helped to establish the Vedic Society Hindu Temple.

Who were Mau Mau fighters?

The Mau Mau fighters were a group of Kenyan nationalists who played a significant role in the struggle for independence from British colonial rule in the 1950s. The term "Mau Mau" originally referred to the Land and Freedom Army, which was an armed movement composed primarily of members of the Kikuyu ethnic group, the largest ethnic group in Kenya.