Team Blitz India
IN a first, a British-Indian person of Assamese descent, Ayesha Hazarika, has been appointed to the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the British Parliament. Assuming the title “Baroness Hazarika of Coatbridge,” Hazarika officially entered the House of Lords on May 9, donning the traditional scarlet robes for her induction ceremony.
Reflecting on her journey, Hazarika took to X after taking oath and said, “Thank you for all your lovely messages. What an incredible, special day spent with family & friends. Especially my amazing parents who came here as Indian Muslim immigrants & worked so very hard. It is genuinely the honour of my life to join the House of Lords as a Labour peer.”
Lauding her appointment, Piyush Hazarika, Minister, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of Assam, said, “A moment of pride for Assam. Many congratulations to Smt @ayeshahazarika the first British – Assamese to be in House of Lords.”
As per a report published in the Times of India, Hazarika’s family comes from Upper Assam’s North Lakhimpur. Her father, Liyaqat Ali Hazarika, a medical practitioner, migrated to Glasgow during the 1960s. Hazarika herself was born in Bellshill in 1975 and grew up in Coatbridge, Scotland.
A former journalist, stand-up comic, and a broadcaster, Hazarika made her mark as a political commentator. Prior to this appointment, she had served as a special adviser to prominent Labour leaders like Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband. For her contributions to politics, she was awarded “Member of the Order of the British Empire” in 2016.
