The headlines in India about Rishi Sunak say it all. The elevation of the 42-year-old Indian-origin Tory leader - his parents migrated from East Africa to the UK - as the third British prime minister this year appears to have gladdened the hearts of many Indians.

Even the sceptics cannot help but feel a tad triumphant. Of course, it's the nationalists who are most elated and appear keen on claiming Mr Sunak through his faith.

 

"Proud Hindu", Sunak, is the new UK PM, writes India's biggest English daily, Times of India - the story mentions the word Hindu five times. Being Hindu in 10 Downing Street, chimes in India Today, adding that Mr Sunak "got the top job in UK despite being Hindu, not because of it".

Others use colonial references: "Sunak: Ex-India Company set to run Britain,"said The Telegraph, alluding to the firm that controlled large parts of India with its mercenary forces. Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi-language newspaper, ran the headline: "Another Diwali gift to the nation, Indian-origin Rishi to rule the whites".

In the eyes of many Indians, Mr Sunak's new job is rich in symbolism: they appear to be convinced that the new prime minister will be good for India.

In August, Mr Sunak opened a campaign event comprising a largely British Indian gathering in north London with traditional greetings. He also broke into Hindi, and said he would work to boost ties with India if he became the prime minister.

Mr Sunak swore his oath as an MP on the Bhagvad Gita, a revered Hindu text. He worshipped a cow during a recent ritual, lit Diwali lamps at his Downing Street residence and says he loves cricket, a veritable religion in India.

His father-in-law is a software billionaire and the founder of Infosys, a giant outsourcing firm which is the pride of India. In a letter to his daughter, NR Narayana Murthy found Mr Sunak, then her fiancé, "to be all that you had described him to be - brilliant, handsome and, most importantly, honest".

When Mr Sunak was poised to become the prime minister earlier this year, there was some social media ribbing about it in India, with some finding the celebrations over it a bit risible. But other Indians like Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, an academic and writer, saw Sunak's elevation as pointing to a "notable new level of multicultural tolerance among the British electorate and the political class".

Indians have always been fascinated by the career trajectories of the diaspora, says Salil Tripathi, a New York-based Indian author.