LEADING members of the British Indian community gathered at 10, Downing Street as Prime Minister David Cameron lit a lamp at his official residence to celebrate Diwali last Wednesday (November 6).
Praising British Indians for their contribution, the prime minister said he wanted to see more people from the community at the top.
”We want to see British Hindus, British Indians in the top of our judiciary, we want to see them at the top of our armed forces and we also want to see them at the top of our politics.
“I think we have made some big steps forward in recent years, and it is great to see here tonight people like Shailesh Vara (justice minister) Alok Sharma, MP (vice chairman of the Conservative Party), Priti Patel, MP and Keith Vaz, MP, chairman of the Home Affairs Committee,” he said.
Cameron also expressed his wish to “continue to do everything we can to build the relationship between Britain and India”.
“It is a strong relationship, it’s a vibrant relationship. It has so many parts to it. There’s all the shared history, there’s the shared language. There’s the great excitement about our economies. India invests more into the United Kingdom than the rest of Europe put together.
“Britain is one of the top three investors into India. Some of the projects, some of the businesses underway are thrilling. The cooperation between our universities, our shared love of sport. There’s so much that we share together,” the prime minister said.
Cameron, set to make his third visit to India as prime minister, said he was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
“It’s a huge pleasure to go back to India, and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.
The prime minister also expressed his wish to continue to celebrate and enhance the contribution of British Indians and British Hindus bring to the country.
“Just look across the enormous contribution that British Hindus make to our country. We see it in sport. We see it in the arts, in culture. We see it certainly in business in a huge way. We see it in our NHS, in our schools. There are so many aspects of it,” Cameron said.
“From hardworking families that are doing the right thing to entrepreneurs and businesses that are helping create prosperity; from excelling in science and public service to achieving in the arts and sport, your role in our nation is a shining example of how communities can integrate and succeed while retaining a strong and proud identity,” he added.
“Spectacular celebrations”
Two days before the official reception, the prime minister and his wife Samantha had joined thousands of Hindus to welcome the New Year at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, north London.
In his first visit to the temple since becoming prime minister, Cameron was greeted in a traditional manner by Jitu Patel, chairman of the board of trustees, and the temple”s head priest, Satyavrat Swami.
The couple performed a ritual bathing of a metallic image of Bhagwan Swaminarayan inside the temple and were given a tour of the mandir before entering the main prayer hall where they performed an aarti in front of the annakut (above), the traditional display of food items.
Cameron was also presented with a special memento sent from India by His Holiness (HH) Param Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head and creator of the temple.
