Watch: UK PM Rishi Sunak and his family sing bhajan at UK temple

A video making rounds on social media shows UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his family singing the bhajan Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram at a temple in Southampton. Sunak, who is the first prime minister of India origin, had joined Diwali celebrations in his home city of Southampton, according to a BBC report. He also visited the Vedic Society Hindu Temple on Radcliffe Road for the ceremony of Aarti, joined by wife Akshata Murty, their two daughters and his parents.

Addressing the crowd, Sunak said "I have so many happy memories of my time here as a kid and this was the place the values my parents raised me with were reinforced - the importance of family, faith and service, education and hard work," according to a BBC report. Earlier, the Sunaks had marked Diwali by lighting diya candles at Downing Street.

Rishi Sunak was born in Southampton in 1980 to Indian parents who had migrated the UK from east Africa.


Rishi Sunak has been quite vocal about his Hindu roots. On the sidelines of the G20 meet in Delhi earlier this year, he expressed pride for his 'Hindu' roots and emphasized the importance of faith, stating that it provides strength and resilience during stressful times.


He also spoke about celebrating 'Raksha Bandhan'. Speaking to news agency ANI, Rishi Sunak said, "I am a proud Hindu. That's how I was raised, that's how I am. We just had Rakshabandhan, so from my sister and my cousin, I have all my Rakhis."

He further said that faith is something very important as it gives strength and resilience during stress.

"It is something that is important to me. I think faith is something that helps everybody who has faith in their lives, particularly when you have these stressful jobs like I do. Having faith gives you resilience, gives you strength that is important and it provides an outlook on life which I find particularly valuable," Sunak added.

Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty during the sidelines of the G20 meet had visited the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in New Delhi.