politics. Should he become
Britain’s next PM, I think
those Indian insights, thanks
mainly due to his 25-years
of marriage to Marina,
however rocky it may have
been, and personal visits to
this country, should augur
well for better Indo-British
ties.”
However, Johnson is known
to have made several
gaffes, including some
related to India. When he
was Foreign Secretary,
Johnson was berated at a
Sikh gurdwara for talking
about whiskey exports to
India - despite alcohol being
forbidden in the Sikh faith.
In November 2014, as London
mayor, Johnson suggested
that countries that “haven’t had
the benefit of British rule” are
now “less fortunate” - during
a discussion on Winston
Churchill. Johnson explained
how he felt that Churchill would
have been “very proud” at the
“continuing legacy of Britain”
in former colonies around the
world. UK’s Boris Johnson
Pledges Post-Brexit Migration
Controls.
“He would have been very
proud at the continuing
legacy of Britain in those
places around the world,
and particularly I think he
would have been amazed
at India, the world’s largest
democracy, and a stark
contrast with other less
fortunate places that haven’t
had the benefit of British
rule, if I can say this on the
record.... why not? It’s true,
it’s true,” he said.
With a saffron turban on his
head, Johnson said in the
Bristol gurdwara in 2017:
“Whenever we go to India,
to Mumbai or to Delhi, we
have to bring ‘clinkie’ in our
baggage.
“We have to bring Johnnie
Walker, we have to bring
whiskey because as you
may know there is duty
of 150 percent in India on
imports of Scotch whiskey,
so we have to bring it in
duty-free for our relatives.
But imagine what we could
do if there was a free trade
deal with India - which there
will be.” A woman devotee
reportedly angrily told
Johnson: “How dare you
talk about alcohol in a Sikh
temple.”
AUGUST 2019 | WWW.WISHESH.NET