Many Indians are delighted with the appointment of Rishi Sunak – a practicing Hindu with Punjabi roots – as Britain’s prime minister in a landmark year for the subcontinental country’s relationship with its former colonial ruler.

Sunak took office on Tuesday, becoming Britain’s third prime minister this year, while his Conservative Party faltered in the polls and faced daunting challenges.

The 42-year-old was born and raised in Southampton but his appointment as his country’s first black Prime Minister was hailed by Indians, who still see him as a son of the soil.

“I’m very happy,” Krishna Kumar, an Indian IT worker, told AFP in the capital, New Delhi.

“Britain is a country that ruled India for more than 300 years – now a person of Indian origin will rule Britain.”

Born into the Indian diaspora in East Africa, Sunak’s parents trace their heritage back to pre-independence Punjab in northern British India.

He is married to Indian-born Akshata Murty, whose father co-founded IT giant Infosys.

India celebrated 75 years since the end of British rule in August, just weeks before it became the world’s fifth largest economy, according to IMF figures, when its GDP overtook that of the UK.

Colonial subjects never imagined such a “major development” as a man of Indian heritage taking over the leadership of Britain, said Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of southern Karnataka state.

“The wheel of fortune has completely turned,” he told reporters on Monday.

Sunak’s rise was the subject of widespread television coverage in India and enlivened discussion during the normally lethargic Diwali holiday season.

“Indian son rises above empire – history comes full circle in Britain,” read a news banner on NDTV.

Sunak takes charge of the UK while his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi accelerates efforts to clean up symbolic remnants of the colonial years.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) espouses a muscular Hindu nationalism that champions historical figures who resisted foreign domination and influence.

In September, Modi dedicated a statue of Subhas Chandra Bose, an independence hero revered for taking up arms against the British but controversial for his collaboration with Nazi Germany’s war machine.

The unveiling ceremony came just hours before Britain announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and the statue itself replaces a statue of Britain’s King George V that was torn down almost half a century ago.

That same month, Modi unveiled a new naval ensign that removed the distinctive St George’s Cross – the national emblem of England – from the existing flag.

Modi congratulated Sunak on Monday and said he looked forward to the opportunity to “transform our historic relationship into a modern partnership”.

Sunak’s first task with India will be to finalize a delayed free trade agreement, a pact both countries planned to sign ahead of Monday’s Diwali celebrations.

The deal is important for Britain as it looks for alternative markets after leaving the European Union, but talks have reportedly stalled over Conservatives’ fears it would lead to an increase in immigration.

Sunak’s appointment could be an additional obstacle to the deal, said Harsh V Pant, a professor at King’s College London’s India Institute.

“As a person of Indian origin, he doesn’t want to be seen as soft on India. He will have to negotiate from a position of strength,” Pant told AFP.

His ability to push the deal past his party’s grassroots objections would be an “important gauge” of the success of his tenure as prime minister, Pant added.

The new leader already faces the difficult task of uniting a party torn by divisions and power struggles – and still reeling from the short but disastrous tenure of his predecessor, Liz Truss.

Although Indians are hailing Sunak’s appointment as a historic moment for both countries, the political and economic instability he is inheriting has dampened expectations of his tenure.

“This is the third prime minister in a year,” Himanshu Singh, an engineer, told AFP.

“So we don’t know how many hours or how many days or how many weeks he’ll be there.”