I tried to talk to a young Bulgarian woman, I was arrested and I was without water and food for several days

In 1974 Narayana Murthy, who is now the father-in-law of the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was arrested in Bulgaria for trying to talk about life in the country with a local couple. Murthy himself, who has been called the “Bill Gates of India,” has repeatedly spoken over the years in interviews and public events about his three-day arrest in the Communist country. According to the businessman’s story, it was his attitude towards him that made him reconsider the socialist ideas he believed in.

Narayana Murthy is the father of Akshatha Murthy, wife of Rishi Sunak and founder of one of India’s leading global information companies, Infosys. On a trip between Paris and India way back in 1974, the father-in-law of the future British Prime Minister traveled through various European countries. After Murty took the train from Nis to Sofia, an experience in Bulgaria followed which, by his own admission, turned him away from the left and turned him into a “compassionate capitalist”.

“I tried to strike up a conversation with them,” Murti recalled of his dialogue with a Bulgarian man and a Bulgarian woman in an interview for the “Oral Testimony of History” collection at the Computer History Museum in California.

“First I tried in Russian, then I got to know Russian. But neither of them wanted to talk to me in Russian, because they probably hated Russia. Then I tried in English, but they didn’t even know English. In the end I tried in French and with the girl and we talked in French. For some reason the boy got angry and took the police. The police took the girl away, they took my luggage and my sleeping bag. “

The Indian was then removed from the train and taken to a small detention facility located at the station. They locked him there and, according to his account, followed him for several days without water or food: “At 1 am on Wednesday they opened the door. They dragged me into the guard room of a departing freight train. Then they said something. which completely changed my life and they said: “You are from the friendly country of India. That’s why we let you go. “

The businessman claims that this is what made him rethink his worldview.

“If this company treats its friends this way, I don’t want to be a part of it. It turned me from a confused left into an understanding capitalist,” recalls Narayana Murthy, quoted by Deutsche Welle.

He also says he has decided to return to his native India and pursue his entrepreneurial experiment. His company Infosys was founded in 1981.

Narayana Murthy’s daughter – Akshata – is the wife of the new Prime Minister of Great Britain Rishi Sunak. The 42-year-old entrepreneur began her career in finance in California in 2009. Later, she also started a fashion company “Akshata Designs”, points out the BBC. Akshata Murthy and Rishi Sunak have two children.