Indian-origin Australian Senator Varun Ghosh Takes Oath on Bhagavad Gita

In a first, an Indian origin Australian Barrister Varun Ghosh on Tuesday took oath on Bhagavad Gita in the Australian parliament. Ghosh, who hails from Western Australia, has been appointed as the newest Senator. He has been chosen by the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council of Australia to represent an Australian state in the Senate of the Federal Parliament. He took an oath on the holy book as he is of Hinduism religion and faith.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed Ghosh saying, “Wonderful to have you on the Labor Senate team." "Welcome to Varun Ghosh, our newest Senator from Western Australia. Senator Ghosh is the first ever Australian Senator sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita. I have often said, when you’re the first at something, you’ve got to make sure you’re not the last,” the Australian minister said on X. “I know Senator Ghosh will be a strong voice for his community and for West Australians,” she added.

Ghosh welcomed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 

Ghosh was welcomed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who sent him best wishes. “Welcome Varun Ghosh, our newest Senator from Western Australia. Fantastic to have you on the team,” Albanese posted on X. The Legislative Assembly of Western Australia said, “The Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council have chosen Senator Varun Ghosh to represent Western Australia in the Senate of the Federal Parliament.”

Indian origin Ghosh, born in 1985 and moved to Perth in 1997 attended Christ Church Grammar School. He has worked as a lawyer and hails from Perth. He received degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Western Australia and was a Commonwealth Scholar in Law at the University of Cambridge, according to ANI. He was also employed as the finance attorney in New York and as a consultant for the World Bank in Washington, DC, US. He embarked on the political journey after joining Australia’s Labor Party in Perth aged just 17. His parents moved from India in the 1980s. ANI reports that he also worked as a barrister, dealing with legal matters in Western Australia and internationally with the World Bank.

In 2019, he was placed fifth on the Australian Labor Party’s Senate ticket in Western Australia but was not elected. “I have had the privilege of a good education and believe strongly that high-quality education and training should be available to everyone,” Ghosh said, according to ANI.