UK-India relations, climate action, Gandhian spirit to wrap a year in quotes
As another year comes to a close, it is a good time to review some of words that proved insightful, inspiring and often prescient. iGlobal uses this gift of hindsight to cast a wide net across UK-India relations, climate action, Gandhi’s enduring legacy and more with some highlight quotes from our coverage over the course of 2021.
“The terrible images we have seen in India in recent weeks are all the more powerful because of the close and enduring connection between the people of the UK and India… The UK will always be there for India in its time of need.”
Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister
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“We feel in India at a moment of great travail a sense that the world is with us.”
S. Jaishankar, Indian External Affairs Minister
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“Generations of my family come from India. My mother was born and raised in India and I have family members who live in India today. The welfare of India is critically important to the United States.”
Kamala Harris, US Vice-President
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“Having been born in India, a proud British citizen, and having spent time as Secretary of State for International Development, I am committed that this COP will deliver for the communities most vulnerable to climate change.”
Alok Sharma, UK Cabinet Minister & COP26 President
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“I am proud as a Briton and I am proud of my parents and of my British Indian background. And I join the millions of British Indians and children of migrant families who have established a life in one of the greatest countries in the world.”
Priti Patel, UK Home Secretary
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“As a practicing Hindu, I am proud to unveil this coin during Diwali. Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in the movement for Indian independence, and it is fantastic to have a UK coin commemorating his remarkable life for the first time.”
Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer
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“I am actually grateful for being given an opportunity where I can push the goalpost for my community, and women specifically.”
Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Actress-Author
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“When I left India for the UK at the age of 18, my father gave me a flight ticket, put £500 pounds in my pocket and said to me: ‘Be good, do good and do something amazing that you get to meet the Queen’… but this honour truly feels like I have done good on his behalf.”
Divya Chadha Manek, OBE for services to Covid-19 response
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“I know that renewable energy, particularly solar power, is rapidly gaining ground in India and is an excellent example to the rest of the world.”
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“Members of my family, who worked in those mills, were among those who welcomed Gandhi to Lancashire. Because they knew, as I know, as the first mixed race woman to ever hold this office, that solidarity has power and our struggle is one and the same.”
Lisa Nandy, UK Shadow Minister for Levelling Up
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