ASIAN BRITISH CDV 19TH CENTURY BRIGHTON ENGLAND RARE DOLIBO BRITONS EAST ASIAN

Description: A FANTASTIC 19TH CENTURY CDV OF A South Asians in the United Kingdom, Asian British people or Asian Britons PHOTOGRAPHED BY L. DOLIBO (FROM PARIS)24 ST. GEORGES ROADBRIGHTON British Asians (also referred to as South Asians in the United Kingdom, Asian British people or Asian Britons) are persons of predominantly South Asian descent, and sometimes of broader Asian descent, who reside in the United Kingdom.[3] In British English usage, the term Asian usually refers to people who trace their ancestry to South Asia, in particular the former British Raj and Ceylon (the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives). Since the 2001 census, British people of general Asian descent have been included in the "Asian/Asian British" grouping ("Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British" grouping in Scotland) of the UK census questionnaires.[4] Categories for British Indians, British Pakistanis, British Bangladeshis, British Chinese and Other Asians have existed under an Asian British heading since the 2011 census.[5] Immigration of small numbers of South Asians to England began with the arrival of the East India Company to the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century. Indians came to Britain, for educational or economic reasons, during the British Raj, with most returning to India after a few months or years,[6] and in greater numbers as the Indian independence movement led to the partition of 1947, eventually creating the separate countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The most significant wave of Asian immigration to and settlement in the United Kingdom came following World War II, with the resumed control of Hong Kong, the breakup of the British Empire and the independence of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and later Bangladesh, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. An influx of Asian immigrants also took place following the expulsion or flight of Indian communities (then holders of British passports) from the newly independent Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the early 1970s. Contents1Terminology1.1Census1.2Development in the 2010s2Demographics2.1Employment2.2Language2.3Religion3History in Britain3.1Lascar3.2Post–World War II migration3.2.1Asian migration from East Africa3.2.2Discrimination4Notable contributions4.1Arts and entertainment4.2Art and design4.3Literature4.4Music4.5Charity and interfaith4.6Sports4.7Celebrities in popular culture5Cultural influence5.1Economic5.2Food5.3Performing arts5.4Media5.5Awards and achievements6See also7References8External linksTerminologyIn Britain, the word "Asian" most frequently refers to people of South Asian ancestry (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans). This usage contrasts to that in the United States, where it is used primarily to refer to people of East Asian origin.[7][8] The British Sociological Association's guidelines on equality and diversity suggest that "South Asian" is more precise than "Asian", and that the latter should not be used where there is a risk of it conflating South Asians with people from elsewhere in Asia.[8] CensusThe 1991 United Kingdom census was the first to include a question on ethnicity (apart from in Northern Ireland, where the question was not asked until 2001). The question had tick-boxes for "Indian", "Pakistani" and "Bangladeshi". There was also a tick box, as well as a general "Any other ethnic group (please describe)" option for those not wishing to identify with any of the pre-set tick boxes. For the 2001 census, in England and Wales, "Indian", "Pakistani" and "Bangladeshi" and "Any other Asian background (please write in)" options were grouped under an "Asian or Asian British" heading, with appearing under a separate heading. In Scotland, all of these tick-boxes were grouped together under an "Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British" heading, and in Northern Ireland no broad headings were used, just tick-boxes for each of the Asian groups.[9] The 2011 census questionnaire was more consistent with regard to the grouping of Asian ethnicities, such that Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and any other Asian background options appeared under a broad "Asian/Asian British" ("Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British" in Scotland) heading in all parts of the UK. Shown in order, as listed on the 2011 Census form, the five categories of Asian British are:[5] Asian / Asian British: Indian, a reference to the South Asian nation of India, and British Indians.Asian / Asian British: Pakistani, a reference to the South Asian nation of Pakistan, and British Pakistanis.Asian / Asian British: Bangladeshi, a reference to the South Asian nation of Bangladesh, and British Bangladeshis.Asian / Asian British: Chinese, a reference to the East Asian nation of China, and British Chinese people.Asian / Asian British: Other Asian, a broad description suitable for specifying self-identified ethnic descent from South Asian nations without an exclusive category (e.g. Sri Lanka and British Sri Lankans), the same application for other East Asian nations (e.g. Japan and British Japanese) and British people of Central Asian and Southeast Asian heritage.Development in the 2010s This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)In the course of the 2010s, usage of British Asian broadened in British media usage and in self-identification by British citizens or residents, to increasingly also include British people of heritage other than South Asia, such as East Asia and West Asia. In the 2011 census, the two categories Chinese and Other Asian were listed explicitly under the broad heading and within the grouping of "Asian/Asian British".[5] In 2013, BuzzFeed UK described J. K. Rowling's fictional character Cho Chang, which is named after a common Chinese surname, as a British Asian character.[10] In 2014, the BBC described British former professional boxer, and multiple featherweight world champion, Naseem Hamed as British Asian. Hamed, of West Asian descent, specifically Yemeni, was listed alongside fellow Briton Amir Kahn (of South Asian, Pakistani heritage) as part of the "strong boxing pedigree in the British Asian community".[11] In 2016, The Herald detailed how The Print Room theatre had failed to cast Chinese characters (referred to as "British Asian") in an upcoming Howard Barker play set in ancient China. The Scottish newspaper reported that "Characters include Mrs Hu, Lord Ghang and Lady Hasi but no British Asian character has been cast."[12] The following year, the director of London-based company Yellow Earth Theatre, an organisation founded to promote and support actors, writers and directors of East Asian heritage, identified herself and the theatre's members as British Asian; "a great many wonderful, talented British Asian actors, but we get few enough roles as it is, because we're not seen as English".[13] Filipino-born British actress Lourdes Faberes, who was described by The Daily Telegraph as British Asian, starred in a parallel production ran by the Theatre company in order to promote and cast Asian actors.[14] In 2019, British businesswoman Jacqueline de Rojas was recognised as one of 14 winners in the UK-based Asian Women of Achievement Award. de Rojas, who has Chinese heritage, was celebrated by organiser and founder of the awards, Pinky Lilani, who stated she was "truly proud of the positive impact these British-Asian women are making on the world today".[15] In the same year, BBC Asian Network's Brown Girls Do It Too radio programme featured three British podcasters, respectively of Bangladeshi, Iranian, and Indian descent, which The Guardian reported as "British Asian girls talking about masturbation and blowjobs on a BBC platform".[16] As quoted by HuffPost UK, presenter Roya Eslami, within the context of her West Asian heritage, specifically self-identified as British Asian.[17] In 2020, Gemma Chan was described by the BBC as a British Asian actor.[18] With both parents born in China, Chan also self-identifies as British Asian.[19][20] As reported in British Vogue, she has referred to British businesswoman Sandra Choi, who is also of East Asian heritage, and is the creative director of British high fashion house Jimmy Choo Ltd, as a British Asian designer.[21] Demographics British Asian professionals at a networking event in the City of London Members of the Asian community with the then prime minister David Cameron in 2014 The East London Mosque, is one of the largest mosques in Europe, and the biggest in the UK[22]The 2011 United Kingdom census recorded 1,451,862 residents of Indian, 1,174,983 of Pakistani and 451,529 of Bangladeshi, 433,150 of Chinese and 861,815 of "Other Asian" ethnicity, making a total Asian British population of 4,373,339 (6.9 per cent of the total population), excluding people of mixed ethnicity.[1] Due to a growing sense of affiliation with Britain, many third generation South Asians chose to not mark "Asian or British Asian" and instead marked "British Asian" in the "Other Asian" write in section.[23] South Asian ethnic groups mostly originate from a few select places in South Asia, these are known as place of origins. East Asian ethnic groups are particularly represented by the Han Chinese in the United Kingdom. British Indians tend to originate mainly from the two Indian States, Punjab and Gujarat.[24] Evidence from Bradford and Birmingham have shown, Pakistanis originate largely from the Mirpur District in Azad Kashmir. The second largest ethnic group of British Pakistanis are the Punjabi people, largely from Attock District of Punjab followed by Pashtuns and other ethnic groups from the districts of Nowshera, Peshawar and Ghazi in province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the London Borough of Waltham Forest there are substantial numbers of Pakistani people originating from Jhelum, Punjab.[25] Studies have shown 95 per cent of British Bangladeshis originate from the Sylhet Division, located in the Northeastern part of Bangladesh. British Chinese people originate primarily from former British colonies, such as Hong Kong, but also from areas of Southeast Asia, where they were already diasporic populations.[26][27] There have been three waves of migration of Hindus in the United Kingdom. The first wave was before India's independence in 1947. In the early 1950s the Conservative Health Minister, Enoch Powell recruited a large number of doctors from the Indian sub-continent. The second wave occurred in the 1970s mainly from East Africa. The later communities included those from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius and Fiji. The last wave of migration began in the 1990s and included Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka and professionals including doctors and software engineers from India. EmploymentThe unemployment rate among Indian men was only slightly higher than that for White British or White Irish men, 7 per cent compared with 5 per cent for the other two groups. On the other hand, Pakistanis have higher unemployment rates of 13–14%, and Bangladeshis have one of the highest rates, around 23%.[28] Some surveys also revealed the Indian unemployment rate to be 6–7%[29] Persons of Indian or mixed Indian origin are more likely than White British to have university degrees, whereas Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are less likely.[30] With the exception of Bangladeshi women, every other group of South Asians, have higher attendance at university than the national average.[31] GCSE pass rates have been rising for all South Asians.[32] In the UK South Asian population has higher rates of unemployment compared to the White-British population, and number of 16 to 64 year old's who were employed, by ethnicity showed Indians overall had the same ratio in employment as White-British at 76%. However those from Pakistani, Bangladeshi backgrounds have far lower rates in employment at 57%. The gap between men and women was biggest in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group, where 75% of men and 39% of women were employed compared to 80% of men and 73% of women amongst White-British.[33] As of 2020, citizens of India and the Philippines are the largest foreign-national groups of National Health Service workers.[34] LanguageChinese Britons speak the Mandarin, Cantonese, Min, and Hakka languages. The language spoken by Indians are, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kutchi, Hindustani, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. People from Pakistan speak Urdu, Punjabi, Mirpuri, Hindko (dialects of Punjabi), Sindhi, Kashmiri, Pashto and Saraiki. Gujaratis who emigrated from India and East Africa speak Gujarati, Hindi, and Kutchi (a dialect of Sindhi), while a sizeable number of Gujarati Muslims speak Urdu for religious and cultural reasons.[35] Bangladeshis speak Sylheti and Bengali. People from Sri Lanka speak Tamil and Sinhala. Those who speak dialects mainly refer their language to the main language, for example Sylheti speakers say they speak Bengali or Mirpuri speakers say they speak Punjabi. The reason for this is because they do not expect outsiders to be well informed about dialects.[36] ReligionAsian Britons have significant numbers of adherents to various major religions. Based on 2011 census figures for England and Wales (94.7 percent of UK statistics), Muslims account for 43% of the group, while Hindus make up over 18%, and Christians almost 11%. Sikhs constitute nearly 9% of British Asians, and 3.5% are Buddhists.[2] British Chinese are mainly irreligious, with 55% of the population subscribing to no religion, 19% Christians and 12% Buddhists. British Pakistanis and Bangladeshis tend to be religiously homogeneous, with Muslims accounting for 92% of each group while their counterparts of Indian and Sri Lankan origin are more religiously diverse, with 55% Hindus, 29% Sikhs, and 15% Muslims. British Gujaratis are predominantly Hindu, belonging to various caste organizations, with large minorities of Muslims, Jains, and smaller numbers of Christians and Zoroastrians. Notable religious buildings are the East London Mosque, London Central Mosque, Birmingham Central Mosque, Baitul Futuh Mosque, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Bradford Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple, Shikharbandi Jain Derasar in Potters Bar,[37] Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall and Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend. The publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses in 1988 caused major controversy. Muslims condemned the book for blasphemy. On 2 December 1988 the book was publicly burned at a demonstration in Bolton attended by 7,000 Muslims, followed by a similar demonstration and book-burning in Bradford on 14 January 1989.[38] In 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie.[39] Britain is also home of notable Asian religious leaders and scholars. Some of them are Mirza Masroor Ahmad (Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Community), Sheikh Abdul Qayum (one of the best known scholars in Europe and Chief Imam of East London Mosque), Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq (Khateeb of Birmingham Central Mosque), Dr. Mahmudul Hasan (Khateeb of Essex Mosque), Abdur Rahman Madani (Chairman of Global Eid Trust and Chief Imam of Darul Ummah Mosque), Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi (principal of Hijaz College), Ajmal Masroor (Imam and Liberal Democrats politician) and Pramukh Swami Maharaj (fifth spiritual successor of Hindu Swaminarayan). History in Britain Munshi I'tisam-ud-Din was the first South Asian to travel and live in Europe, and write about his experiences Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who studied in England played a pivotal role in ending the British Raj in South AsiaThe earliest date at which South Asians settled in Great Britain is not clear. If the Romany (Gypsies) are included, then the earliest arrivals were in the Middle Ages. DNA surveys have linked Romanies to present-day South Asian populations and the Romani language is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family. Romanies are believed to have begun travelling westward around 1000 CE, and have mixed with Southwest Asian and European populations over many centuries. Romani began arriving in sizeable numbers in parts of Western Europe in the 16th century. The Romani who settled in Britain are known as Romanichal. The first educated South Asian to travel to Europe and live in Britain was I'tisam-ud-Din, a Bengali Muslim cleric, munshi and diplomat to the Mughal Empire who arrived in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim during the reign of George III.[40] He wrote of his experiences and travels in his Persian book, Shigurf-nama-i-Wilayat ('Wonderous Chronicle of Europe').[41] This is also the earliest record of literature by a British Asian. Also during the reign of George III, the hookah-bardar (hookah servant/preparer) of James Achilles Kirkpatrick was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as the Prince of Sylhet. The man, presumably of Sylheti origin, was waited upon by the Prime Minister of Great Britain William Pitt the Younger, and then dined with the Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King.[42] LascarWhen the Portuguese Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498, he opened a direct maritime route between South Asia and Europe. In the following century many South Asians arrived in Europe by sea as sailors, slaves and servants. Trade and English piracy brought some of these people to Britain and four South Asian men in London answered the call for sailors for the first English East India Company fleet to Asia. Their Portuguese names identifies them as mixed-race Portuguese Luso-Asians.[43] Since the 17th century, the East India Company employed thousands of South Asian lascars, scholars and workers (who were mostly Bengali or Muslim) mainly to work on British ships and ports around the world. The first group of South Asians to migrate in notable numbers, in the 18th century, were lascars (sailors) recruited from the Indian subcontinent (largely from the Bengal region) to work for the British East India Company, some, despite prejudice and a language barrier, settled down, often forcibly after ill treatment and being abandoned by ship masters. Many were forced into poverty and starved.[44][45] Letters to newspapers in 1785 talked of "the number of miserable objects, Lascars, … shivering and starving in the streets".[46] Some lascars took British wives, and some converted to Anglican Christianity (at least nominally) in order to marry,[47] possibly due to a lack of South Asian women in Britain at the time.[48] Most Indians during this period would visit or reside in Britain temporarily, returning to India after months or several years, bringing back knowledge about Britain in the process.[49] 38 lascars were reported arriving in British ports in 1760.[50][51] Between 1803 and 1813, there were more than 10,000 lascars from the Indian subcontinent visiting British port cities and towns.[52]:140, 154–6, 160–8, 172 By 1842, 3,000 lascars visited the UK annually, and by 1855, 12,000 lascars were arriving annually in British ports. In 1873, 3,271 lascars arrived in Britain.[53]:35 Throughout the early 19th century lascars visited Britain at a rate of 1,000 every year,[52]:140,54–6,60–8,72 which increased to a rate of 10,000 to 12,000 every year throughout the late 19th century.[54][55] Due to the majority being lascars, the earliest Muslim communities were found in port towns, found living in barracks, Christian charity homes and hostels.[45] The first and most frequent South Asian travelers to Britain were Christian Indians and those of European-Asian mixed race. For Muslim Indians considerations about how their dietary and religious practices would alienate them from British society were brought into question but these considerations were often outweighed by economic opportunities. Those that stayed often took British names, dress and diet.[56] Naval cooks also came, many of them from the Sylhet Division of what is now Bangladesh. One of the most famous early Bengali Muslim immigrants to England was Sake Dean Mahomed, a captain of the British East India Company who in 1810 founded London's first Indian restaurant, the Hindoostane Coffee House. He is also reputed for introducing shampoo and therapeutic massage to the United Kingdom.[57] In 1784 he migrated to Ireland where he fell in love with a woman called Jane Daly. He converted to Anglicanism in order to marry her, as it was illegal at the time for non-Protestants to marry Protestants. They later moved to Brighton.[58] After reports of lascars starving and suffering from poverty the East India Company responded by making available lodgings for them, but no checks were kept on the boarding houses and barracks they provided. The Lascars were made to live in cramped, dreadful conditions which resulted in the deaths of many each year, with reports of Lascars being locked in cupboards and whipped for misbehavior (by owners) which was reported by the Society for the Protection of Asiatic Sailors (founded in 1814).[46] In 1842, the Church Missionary Society reported on the dire ″state of the Lascars in London″[59] it was reported in the winter of 1850, 40 Asian men, also known as 'sons of India', were found dead of cold and hunger on the streets of London. Shortly after these reports evangelical Christians proposed the construction of a charity house and gathered £15,000 pounds in assistance of the Lascars . In 1856 the Strangers' Home for Asiatics, Africans and South Sea Islanders was opened in Commercial Road, Limehouse under the manager Lieutenant-Colonel R. Marsh Hughes.[60] The Navigation Act of 1660 restricted the employment of non-English sailors to a quarter of the crew on returning East India Company ships. Baptism records in East Greenwich suggest that young Indians from the Malabar Coast were being recruited as servants at the end of the 17th century, and records of the EIC also suggest that Indo-Portuguese cooks from Goa were retained by captains from voyage to voyage.[44] In 1797, 13 were buried in the parish of St Nicholas at Deptford. It is estimated 8,000 Indians (a large proportion being lascar sailors) lived in Britain permanently prior to the 1950s. Although, the comparatively few lascars that gained work often opened shops and helped initiate social and political community associations.[61] Indians were less likely to settle permanently because of wage differentials.[62][63] Due to the majority of early South Asian immigrants being lascars, the earliest South Asian communities were found in port towns The small, often transitory presence of Lascars continued into the 1930s, with the Port of London Authority mentioning Lascars in a February 1931 article writing that "Although appearing so out of place in the East End, they are well able to look after themselves, being regular seamen who came to the Docks time after time and have learnt a little English and know how to buy what they want."[64] In 1932, the Indian National Congress survey of 'all Indians outside India' estimated that there were 7,128 Indians in the United Kingdom.[65] It is estimated that from 1800 to 1945, 20,000 South Asians emigrated to Britain.[66] Post–World War II migrationFollowing the Second World War and the breakup of the British Empire, South Asian migration to the UK increased through the 1950s and 1960s from Pakistan (including present-day Bangladesh), India and Sri Lanka (who are all members of the Commonwealth). Additionally immigrants from former Caribbean colonies (including Indo-Caribbeans) were also moving to Britain. Although this immigration was continuous, several distinct phases can be identified: Manual workers, mainly from Pakistan, were recruited to fulfill the labour shortage that resulted from World War II. These included Anglo-Indians who were recruited to work on the railways as they had done in India.Workers mainly from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan arrived in the late 1950s and 1960s. Many worked in the foundries of the English Midlands and a large number worked at Heathrow Airport in west London. This created an environment to where the next generation of families did not lose their identity as easily. An example would be Southall which is populated by many Sikhs.During the same time, medical staff from the Indian subcontinent were recruited for the newly formed National Health Service. These people were targeted as the British had established medical schools in the Indian subcontinent which conformed to the British standards of medical training.Bengali social reformer and founder of the All-India Seamen's Federation, Aftab Ali's work is recognised to have helped thousands of Asian lascars to migrate, settle and find employment in Britain.[67] He organised rallies and meetings with the likes of the Trades Union Congress. He encouraged lascars and seamen to remain and settle in the United Kingdom. In the 1950s, he founded the Overseas Seamen's Welfare Association which campaigned distressed seamen and their families to be granted British passports. Ali also played an instrumental role in the opening of a passport office in his own home in Sylhet.[68] Asian migration from East AfricaBeginning around 1964 Africanization policies in East Africa prompted the arrival of Asians with British passports from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. At first these were the people employed in government and administrative roles, but this was expanded to include those Asians engaged in commerce. The movement was called the "Exodus".[69] In 1972, all South Asians were expelled from Uganda by the controversial figure Idi Amin, then president of Uganda. Those holding British passports came to Britain. Many such displaced people who were predominantly of Gujarati origins had left behind successful businesses and vast commercial empires in Uganda, but built up their lives all over again in Britain, starting from scratch. Some of these "twice-over" migrants became retailers, while others found suitable employment in white-collar professions. The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 and Immigration Act 1971 largely restricted any further primary immigration, although family members of already-settled migrants were still allowed. In addition, much of the subsequent growth in the South Asian community has come from the births of second and third-generation South Asian Britons. Discrimination A Shaheed Minar in Altab Ali Park, Whitechapel renamed in honour of the Bangladeshi racial victim Altab AliBritish Asians faced discrimination and racism following Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech and the establishment of the National Front in the late 1960s. This included overt racism in the form of Paki bashing, predominantly from white power skinheads, the National Front, and the British National Party, throughout the 1970s and 1980s.[70] British Asians have been historically subjected to forms of discrimination and racism since significant immigration into the UK during the 20th century.[71] Drawing inspiration from the Indian independence movement, the Black Power movement, and the Anti-Apartheid Movement, young British Asian activists began a number of anti-racist Asian youth movements in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Bradford Youth Movement in 1977, the Battle of Brick Lane following the murder of Altab Ali in 1978, and the Newham Youth Movement following the murder of Akhtar Ali Baig in 1980.[72] Notable contributionsArts and entertainmentSeveral Asian Britons have broken into the UK film industry, as well as Hollywood, and the U.S. film industry at large; starring in high-grossing box office films, including major film series, and receiving subsequent international recognition and media attention. In television, prominent roles in American sitcoms, series, and long-running British soap operas, such as Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, have all had a number of Asian characters portrayed by British actors of Asian heritage. Tsai Chin, the first Asian British actress to play a Bond girl, appeared in 1967's You Only Live Twice and the 2006 re-make of Casino Royale.[73] Burt Kwouk, who appeared in over fifty films, including three of the James Bond film series, received an OBE for services to drama in 2010.[74] Art Malik had notable roles in The Jewel in the Crown and The Living Daylights, and Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji) is one of Britain's most acclaimed and well-known performers. Kingsley is one of few actors to have won all four major motion picture acting awards, receiving Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards throughout his career, including the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Gandhi (1982).[75] The actor Dev Patel, who played the role of Anwar Kharral in the teen drama series Skins, portrayed the leading role in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, for which he received several awards and was nominated for the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Leading Actor.[76] Parminder Nagra, who played a prominent role in the US TV series ER, starred in successful British film Bend It Like Beckham (2002). The actor Naveen Andrews plays the role of Sayid Jarrah in the popular US TV series Lost, and also had a prominent role in the award-winning film The English Patient (1996). Kunal Nayyar plays the character of Raj Koothrappali in the popular US sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. Gemma Chan and Benedict Wong have featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Chan has had two starring roles in both 2019's Captain Marvel and The Eternals (2021), making her the first actress to portray separate characters within the cinematic universe.[77] Wong, who has also appeared in two Ridley Scott films (Prometheus and The Martian), first appeared for a Marvel production in 2016's Doctor Strange, twice reprising the role for Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Endgame (2019), the latter of which is the highest grossing release in film history.[78] Riz Ahmed has starred in both the Bourne film series and Star Wars saga, appearing in anthology film Rogue One.[79] Star Wars, Marvel's The Avengers, the Bourne and James Bond film series are some of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.[80] Art and design Shahidul Alam was one of the persons of the year selected by Time magazine in 2018 ArcelorMittal Orbit, London Olympic Park, designated by the Indian Anish KapoorAnish Kapoor is an Indian-born British sculptor. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. Kapoor received the Turner Prize in 1991. Born in London and of Asian origin, Shezad Dawood became known for this work in various media in the early 2000s. Also born in London and of Pakistani origin, Haroon Mirza emerged as an artist in the late 2000s. Best known for his sculptural installations that generate sound, Mirza was awarded the Silver Lion for the Most Promising Artist at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Shahidul Alam is a Bangladeshi photojournalist, teacher and social activist. He has been a photographer for more than forty years and "his photographs have been published in almost every major western media outlet".[81] Saiman Miah is an architectural designer and graphic designer who designed one of the two £5 commemorative coins for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.[82] Theatre company RIFCO Arts has been producing and touring productions based on the British Asian experience since 1999.[83] LiteratureWell-known South Asian writers include Muhammad Mojlum Khan, Abdur Rouf Choudhury, Aminul Hoque, Shahida Rahman, H.S. Bhabra, Salman Rushdie, Ghulam Murshid, Tahir Shah, Gurinder Chadha, Nazrin Choudhury, Rekha Waheed, Hanif Kureshi, Monica Ali, Meera Syal, Gautam Malkani, Bali Rai and Raman Mundair. MusicSince the 1970s, South Asian performers and writers have achieved significant mainstream cultural success. The first South Asian musician to gain wide popularity in the UK and worldwide fame was Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, East Africa, to parents of Parsi descent from Bombay (now Mumbai). In 2006, Time Asia magazine voted him as one of the most influential South Asians in the past 60 years.[84] At around the same time, music producer, composer and songwriter Biddu gained worldwide fame for a number of hit songs, including "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas and "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" for Tina Charles. In the 1990s the South Asian artists who gained mainstream success included Apache Indian, whose 1993 single "Boom Shack-A-Lak" was used in many Hollywood movies, and Jas Mann, who headed Babylon Zoo and whose 1996 single "Spaceman" set a UK chart record when it sold 418,000 copies in its first week of release. The most successful South Asian musician in 2008 was the British Tamil artist M.I.A., who was nominated for two Grammy Awards for her single "Paper Planes", and has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for "O... Saya", from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. In 2009, R&B and hip-hop artist, Mumzy Stranger, became the first British Bangladeshi to release a music single; titled "One More Dance".[85] In October 2009, Jay Sean's single "Down" reached the #1 on the Billboard Hot 100[86] and sold four million copies in the United States,[87][88] making him the first South Asian-origin solo artist and "the first UK Urban act to top Billboard's Hot 100,"[89] "the most successful male UK urban artist in US chart history,"[90] and the most successful British male artist in the US charts since Elton John in 1997. A new generation of British Asian musicians have followed such as Raxstar, Bilal and Nish. In the early 2010s, Asian boy band members, Siva Kaneswaran of the Wanted and Zayn Malik of One Direction, have gained considerable mainstream popularity worldwide; the Wanted reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Glad You Came" while One Direction topped the Billboard 200 with Up All Night. British Bangladeshi youtuber-turned-rapper Koomz is best known for his breakthrough single "Mariah" which has hit over 10 million streams and views across many platforms and also Number 1 in the Official Asian Music Chart of 2018.[91][92] Charity and interfaithThere is a growing number of young British Asians who are making a mark in the charity and interfaith sectors. A recent example is Onkardeep Singh who became the youngest person of South Asian heritage in 2018 to be awarded an MBE for his interfaith and voluntary works.[93] Saif Uddin Ahmad is a humanitarian and Chief Executive Officer of Al-Khair Foundation. He was formerly the chief executive officer of the UK charities Muslim Aid and Islamic Help, and he also founded the charities Faith Regen foundation, MADE in Europe and Global One 2015.[94] Responsible investment consultant and writer, Niaz Alam was a trustee of the charity War on Want from 2000 to 2007.[95] SportsSee also: British Asians in association football Amir Khan (left), with American boxer Paulie Malignaggi (right)Jawaid Khaliq, the first world champion boxer of Pakistani origin, was born in Nottingham. Amir Khan, the silver medallist at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, has become a cultural icon in the UK with TV audiences of up to 8 million watching him fight. Khan represents Britain in boxing and is the former WBA world light welterweight champion. The boxer Haider Ali won the first ever gold medal for Pakistan in boxing at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester in the featherweight division.[96] Michael Chopra played for the England national under-21 football team and became the first footballer of Indian descent to play and score in the Premier League. In 2006 he scored one of the fastest goals in Premier League history, as Chopra had only been on the pitch for fifteen seconds after coming on as a substitute.[97] Aston Villa defender, Neil Taylor is also of Indian descent. Currently in the Premier League, Hamza Choudhury, a footballer of Bangladeshi descent, plays for Leicester City F.C., making him the first player of Bangladeshi descent to play in the Premier League, and has also made appearances for the England under-21 team. Just as in South Asia, the most popular sport among the British Asian community is cricket; as much as third of the players of the sport at recreational level are of South Asian descent.[98] This has not translated into equal levels of success professionally however, with only 4.2% of cricketers being of British South Asian descent in first-class cricket across the UK.[98] Regardless, many British South Asians have gone on to represent England in cricket internationally. Nasser Hussain, who was the captain of the England cricket team, was born in Madras, India.[99] Other success stories of the past have included Mark Ramprakash, of Indo-Caribbean descent, Isa Guha, of Bengali descent, and Monty Panesar, of Indian Sikh descent. Currently, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are the only players in the England men's squad, both of Pakistani (Mipuri) descent. Ali, affectionately known by fans as 'the beard's that's feared', is currently ranked the 7th best all-rounder in ODI cricket and 8th-best in test cricket worldwide.[100] Other British Asian sport personalities: Akaash BhatiaHaroon KhanVikram SolankiQasim NisarImran KhanTanveer AhmedSajid MahmoodSaqlain MushtaqAdam KhanDimitri MascarenhasRavi BoparaKabir AliOwais ShahKadeer AliHamza RiazuddinMin PatelSamit PatelRiaz AminAdil RashidZesh RehmanBilal ShafayatHarpal SinghAnwar UddinUsman AfzaalAdnan AhmedHammad MiahNayan DoshiMajid HaqRonnie IraniOmer HussainTosh MassonKash GillNetan SansaraMandip SehmiRikki BainsRajiv OusephAli JackoBulbul HussainRuqsana BegumZubair HoqueCelebrities in popular culture Shazia Mirza is a popular British comedianThe comedians Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Papa CJ and Shazia Mirza are all well-recognised figures in British popular culture. The presenter and match maker of the BBC marriage arranging show Arrange Me a Marriage is a South Asian-Scot Aneela Rahman. Hardeep Singh Kohli is a presenter, reporter and comedian on British television and radio. British Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian contestants have appeared on The Apprentice including Syed Ahmed, Tre Azam, Lohit Kalburgi, Ghazal Asif, Shazia Wahab, Sara Dhada, and most notably Saira Khan, who is now a British TV presenter. The broadcasters Daljit Dhaliwal, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Samira Ahmed are known for working on Channel 4 News. The award-winning dance act Signature involved a British Pakistani and a British IndianIn 2008, in the second series of reality television Britain's Got Talent, one of the country's most successful reality television shows, the South Asian dance duo Signature, consisting of Suleman Mirza (a British Pakistani) and Madhu Singh (a British Indian) performing a fusion of Michael Jackson and Bhangra music and dance styles, came second on the show. Humza Arshad and Ali Shahalom are well known British Asian comedians for their YouTube careers which normally consists of stereotyping Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Muslim culture. In 2011, one of Humza Arshad's video was the seventh most viewed on YouTube in Europe.[101][102] British Bangladeshi comedian Ali Shahalom, along with British Pakistani comedian Aatif Nawaz, starred on BBC's first ever British Muslim sketch show, Muzlamic. Cultural influence An Asian business leader showcasing his awards at the Grange Hotel in LondonEconomicIn 2001, the Centre for Social Markets estimated that British Asian businesses contributed more than £5 billion to GDP.[103] Many British Asians are regarded as affluent middle-class people.[104][105] As business owners and entrepreneurs,[106] Asian Britons are celebrated for revolutionising the corner shop, expanding the take-away food trade,[107] including the revitalisation of the UK's fish and chips industry by British Chinese,[108] and energising the British economy to a degree which changed Britain's antiquated retail laws forever.[109][110][111] In 2004, it was reported that Sikhs had the highest percentage of home ownership in the country, at 82%, out of all UK religious communities. Hindus ranked third highest at 74%, Buddhists were 54%, and Muslims households were listed at 52%.[112] Many Asian British people have made important contributions to the country's economy by leading and innovating in major UK and international industries. Due to ther commercial success, there are a number of British citizen or UK-resident billionaires of Asian ancestry in the United Kingdom. From a Baniya family, Lakshmi Mittal is one of Britain's richest men. In 2017, Forbes ranked him as the 56th-richest person in the world with a net worth of US$20.4 billion. He is also the "57th-most powerful person" of the 72 individuals named in Forbes' "Most Powerful People" list for 2015.[113] The Sunday Times Rich List has included Mittal in its listings since the mid-2000s. For several years, the publication has had an Asian Rich List section, featuring the wealthiest Asian Britons and UK-residents of Asian descent. In 2019, eight of the top ten, including Mittal, were of a South Asian ethnic background, including Indian-born Briton S. P. Hinduja, of Sindhi heritage, who topped the rankings via the Hinduja Group, with an estimated fortune of £22 billion.[114] Exceptions included British nationals David and Simon Reuben, who were both born in India, and were listed in joint-second place. The Reuben brothers, of West Asian Baghdadi Jewish heritage, are worth over £18 billion. Part of the top ten since 2018, property magnate, and London-resident, Samuel Tak Lee is of East Asian descent and born in British Hong Kong.[115] Other 2019 Asian Rich List UK billionaires included British-Iraqi Nadhmi Auchi and British-Iranian Farhad Moshiri.[114] FoodThe biggest influence of South Asians on popular British culture has probably been the spread of Indian cuisine, though of the 9,000 Indian restaurants in the UK, most are run by Sylhetis; their ancestral home was part of British India until partition in 1947. An early record of a Sylheti migrant, by the name of Saeed Ullah, can be found in colonial officer Robert Lindsay's autobiography. Saeed Ullah was said to have migrated not only for work but also to attack Lindsay and avenge his Sylheti elders for the Muharram Rebellion of 1782.[116] They eventually made peace with each other and Saeed was invited to Lindsay's home as a chef. Saeed Ullah's curry is often considered as the first Indian curry cooked in Britain.[117][118] Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi is said to be the first Sylheti to open a restaurant in the country. It was called Dilkush Delight and located in Soho.[119] Another one of his restaurants, known as India Centre, alongside early Sylheti migrant Ayub Ali Master's Shah Jalal cafe, became hub for the British Asian community and was sites where the India League would hold meetings attracting influential figures such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Krishna Menon and Mulk Raj Anand. Ali was an influential figure who supported working-class lascars, providing them food and shelter. In 1943, Qureshi and Ali founded the Indian Seamen's Welfare League which ensured social welfare for British Asians. Ayub Ali was also the president of the United Kingdom Muslim League having links with Liaquat Ali Khan and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.[120] The Indian International Chef of the Year Competition founded in 1991 by celebrity chef and restaurateur Mohammad Ajman "Tommy" Miah MBE.[121] The British Curry Awards was founded by restaurateur Enam Ali MBE in 2005.[122] Performing arts Asian Professionals at a Summer Ball in London dancing to BhangraAs in Canada, Bhangra music has become popular among many in Britain[123] not only from the works of British South Asian musicians such as Panjabi MC, Swami and Rishi Rich but also incorporated into the works of a number of non-South Asian musicians not only British but including North American artists such as Canadian Shania Twain, who created a whole alternate version of her multi-platinum album Up! with full Indian instrumentation, produced by South Asian producers Simon & Diamond. Diamond, better known as DJ Swami has also collaborated with rapper Pras, of the Fugees, and his band Swami have become one of the most renowned acts in South Asian music history, having had songs in major Hollywood movies and best-selling video games. One of the first artists of South Asian Indian origin to achieve mainstream success was Apache Indian who infused reggae and hip hop with Indian popular music to create a sound that transcended genre and found a multicultural audience. He is the only Indian artist to have achieved 7 top forty hits in the National UK charts. A subsequent wave of "Asian Underground" artists went on to blend elements of western underground dance music and the traditional music of their home countries, such as Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Asian Dub Foundation, Panjabi MC, Raghav, and the Rishi Rich Project (featuring Rishi Rich, Jay Sean and Juggy D). British Asian musicians combining Eastern and Western musical traditionsThe influence of South Asian music has not only been from South Asians living in the UK, but also from some UK artists that were starting using South Asian instruments creating a new sound that was a mixture of sitars and tablas with more rock-based western instruments like drums and guitar.[124][125] MediaThe films East Is East, Chicken Tikka Masala and Bend It Like Beckham and the TV shows Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42 have managed to attract large, multi-ethnic audiences. The success and popularity of British Pakistani boxer Amir Khan influenced the revival of boxing on ITV Sport. The Asian web series Corner Shop Show was launched by actor and director Islah Abdur-Rahman aired from 2014 to 2019.[126] In 2020, BBC Four released an episode of A Very British History focusing on the history of British Bangladeshis and emigration from Bangladesh from the 1960s onwards, hosted by Dr Aminul Hoque.[127] Although there are roughly double the number of South Asians in the UK today compared to people of African descent, South Asians are less represented in global and British media than any other major group; in the UK there is less than half the amount of South Asians represented in the media than those of African and Caribbean descent. Awards and achievements The Asian Professional Awards from left to right: Onkardeep Singh MBE; Jasvir Singh OBE; Sunny & Shay Grewal; Harry Virdee; Param Singh MBEWith the increasing number of high achievers and trail blazers within the Asian community across a variety of professions, the British Asian community has over the years set up a variety of high-profile Award ceremonies to recognise Asian achievements across the full spectrum of professions and industries. These organisations and ceremonies include: Asian Achievers Awards organised by Asian Voice since 2000 with women dominating the nominee list for the first time in 2017 [128]Asian Women of Achievement Awards organised by Pinky Lilani CBE DL since 1999 [129]Asian Legal Awards organised by the Society for Asian Lawyers since 1994 making it one of the oldest Asian awards ceremonies [130]Asian Curry Awards celebrating the best of Asian restaurants since 2010The Asian Awards organised by the Lemon Group since 2010 and usually attended by a host of leading celebrities [131]The Asian Professional Awards organised by Jasvir Singh OBE and Param Singh since 2014 aimed at celebrating success within the City professions [132]The British Curry Awards founded by restaurateur Enam Ali MBE in 2005.[122]Indian International Chef of the Year Competition founded in 1991 by celebrity chef and restaurateur Mohammad Ajman "Tommy" Miah MBE.[121] British Bangladeshis (Bengali: বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, romanized: Bilati Bangladeshi) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term can also refer to their descendants. During the 1970s, large numbers of Bangladeshis immigrated to the UK, primarily from the Sylhet Division. The largest concentration live in east London boroughs, such as Tower Hamlets.[3][4] This large diaspora in London leads people in Sylhet to refer to British Bangladeshis as "Londoni" (লন্ডনী).[3] Bangladeshis form one of the UK's largest group of people of overseas descent and are also one of the country's youngest and fastest growing communities.[5] The 2011 UK Census recorded nearly half-a-million residents of Bangladeshi ethnicity. British Bangladeshis had the highest overall relative poverty rate of any ethnic group in the UK with 65% of Bangladeshis living in low income households, as for 2005.[6][7] Contents1History2Demographics2.1Population2.2Employment and education2.3Health and housing2.4Language2.5Religion3Culture3.1Celebrations3.2Marriage3.2.1Forced marriage3.3Cuisine3.4Media3.5Festivals4Society4.1Notables4.2Political identity4.3Youth gangs5Business5.1Remittance6Notable Individuals7See also8References9Further reading10External linksHistoryPart of a series on theBritishBangladeshisUnited Kingdom BangladeshHistoryHistory of Bangladeshis in BritainBrick LaneHistory of Asians in BritainStatisticsDemographics of BangladeshisDemographics of AsiansLanguagesBengali · English (Banglish) · SylhetiCultureBaishakhi MelaCulture of BangladeshChannel S · Bangla TVBusinessReligionEast London MosqueBrick Lane MosqueIslam in EnglandNotablesList of British BangladeshisvteMain article: History of Bangladeshis in the United KingdomSee also: Bangladesh Liberation War, Brick Lane, and Paki (slur)Bengalis have been present in Britain as early as the 19th century. One of the earliest records of a Bengali migrant, by the name of Saeed Ullah, can be found in Robert Lindsay's autobiography. Saeed Ullah was said to have migrated not only for work but also to attack Lindsay and avenge his Sylheti elders for the Muharram Rebellion of 1782.[8] Other early records of arrivals from the region that is now known as Bangladesh are of Sylheti cooks in London during 1873, in the employment of the East India Company, who travelled to the UK as lascars on ships to work in restaurants.[9][10] The first educated South Asian to travel to Europe and live in Britain was I'tisam-ud-Din, a Bengali Muslim cleric, munshi and diplomat to the Mughal Empire who arrived in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim during the reign of King George III.[11] He wrote of his experiences and travels in his Persian book, Shigurf-nama-i-Wilayat (or 'Wonder Book of Europe').[12] This is also the earliest record of literature by a British Asian. Also during the reign of George III, the hookah-bardar (hookah servant/preparer) of James Achilles Kirkpatrick was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as the Prince of Sylhet. The man, presumably of Sylheti origin, was waited upon by the Prime Minister of Great Britain William Pitt the Younger, and then dined with the Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King.[13] Many Sylheti people believed that seafaring was a historical and cultural inheritance due to a large proportion of Sylheti Muslims being descended from foreign traders, lascars and businessman from the Middle East and Central Asia who migrated to the Sylhet region before and after the Conquest of Sylhet.[14] Khala Miah, who was a Sylheti migrant, claimed this was a very encouraging factor for Sylhetis to travel to Calcutta aiming to eventually reach the United States and United Kingdom.[15] A crew of lascars would be led by a Serang. Serangs were ordered to recruit crew members themselves by the British and so they would go into their own villages and areas in the Sylhet region often recruiting their family and neighbours. The British had no problem with this as it guaranteed the group of lascars would be in harmony. According to lascars Moklis Miah and Mothosir Ali, up to forty lascars from the same village would be in the same ship.[14] Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi is said to be the first Sylheti to open a restaurant in the country. It was called Dilkush Delight and located in Soho.[16] Another one of his restaurants, known as India Centre, alongside early Sylheti migrant Ayub Ali Master's Shah Jolal cafe, became a hub for the British Asian community and a site where the India League would hold meetings attracting influential figures such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Krishna Menon and Mulk Raj Anand. Ayub Ali was also the president of the United Kingdom Muslim League having links with Liaquat Ali Khan and Mohammad Ali Jinnah.[17] Some ancestors of British Bangladeshis went to the UK before World War I.[18] Author Caroline Adams records that in 1925 a lost Bengali man was searching for other Bengali settlers in London.[19] These first few arrivals started the process of "chain migration" mainly from one region of Bangladesh, Sylhet, which led to substantial numbers of people migrating from rural areas of the region, creating links between relatives in Britain and the region.[20] They mainly immigrated to the United Kingdom to find work, achieve a better standard of living, and to escape conflict. During the pre-state years, the 1950s and 1960s, Bengali men immigrated to London in search of employment.[19][21][22] Most settled in Tower Hamlets, particularly around Spitalfields and Brick Lane.[23] In 1971, Bangladesh (until then known as "East Pakistan") fought for its independence from West Pakistan in what was known as the Bangladesh Liberation War. In the region of Sylhet, this led some to join the Mukti Bahini, or Liberation Army.[24] In the 1970s, changes in immigration laws encouraged a new wave of Bangladeshis to come to the UK and settle. Job opportunities were initially limited to low paid sectors, with unskilled and semi-skilled work in small factories and the textile trade being common. When the "Indian' restaurant" concept became popular, some Sylhetis started to open cafes. From these small beginnings a network of Bangladeshi restaurants, shops and other small businesses became established in Brick Lane and surrounding areas. The influence of Bangladeshi culture and diversity began to develop across the East London boroughs.[23] The early immigrants lived and worked mainly in cramped basements and attics within the Tower Hamlets area. The men were often illiterate, poorly educated, and spoke little English, so they could not interact well with the English-speaking population and could not enter higher education.[21][25] Some became targets for businessmen, who sold their properties to Sylhetis, even though they had no legal claim to the buildings.[21][26] Large numbers of Bangladeshis settled and established themselves in Brick LaneBy the late 1970s, the Brick Lane area had become predominantly Bengali, replacing the former Jewish community which had declined. Jews migrated to outlying suburbs of London, as they integrated with the majority British population. Jewish bakeries were turned into curry houses, jewellery shops became sari stores, and synagogues became dress factories. The synagogue at the corner of Fournier Street and Brick Lane became the Jamme Masjid or 'Great London Mosque', which continues to serve the Bangladeshi community to this day.[21][26][27] This building represents the history of successive communities of immigrants in this part of London. It was built in 1743 as a French Protestant church; in 1819 it became a Methodist chapel, and in 1898 was designated as the Spitalfields Great Synagogue. It was finally sold, to become the Jamme Masjid.[28] The period also however saw a rise in the number of attacks on Bangladeshis in the area, in a reprise of the racial tensions of the 1930s, when Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts had marched against the Jewish communities. In nearby Bethnal Green the anti-immigrant National Front became active, distributing leaflets on the streets and holding meetings. White youths known as "skinheads" appeared in the Brick Lane area, vandalising property and reportedly spitting on Bengali children and assaulting women. Bengali children were allowed out of school early; women walked to work in groups to shield them from potential violence. Parents began to impose curfews on their children, for their own safety; flats were protected against racially motivated arson by the installation of fire-proof letterboxes.[21] Protest march by Bangladeshis to Downing Street with murdered Altab Ali's coffin, 1978On 4 May 1978, Altab Ali, a 25-year-old Bangladeshi clothing worker, was murdered by three teenage boys as he walked home from work in a racially motivated attack.[29] The murder took place near the corner of Adler Street and Whitechapel Road, by St Mary's Churchyard.[21][26] This murder mobilised the Bangladeshi community in Britain. Demonstrations were held in the area of Brick Lane against the National Front,[30] and groups such as the Bangladesh Youth Movement were formed. On 14 May, over 7,000 people, mostly Bangladeshis, took part in a demonstration against racial violence, marching behind Altab Ali's coffin to Hyde Park.[31][32][33] Some youths formed local gangs and carried out reprisal attacks on their skinhead opponents (see Youth gangs). The name Altab Ali became associated with a movement of resistance against racist attacks, and remains linked with this struggle for human rights. His murder was the trigger for the first significant political organisation against racism by local Bangladeshis. The identification and association of British Bangladeshis with Tower Hamlets owes much to this campaign. A park has been named after Altab Ali at the street where he was murdered.[30] In 1993, racial violence was incited by the anti-immigration British National Party (BNP); several Bangladeshi students were severely injured, but the BNP's attempted inroads were stopped after demonstrations of Bangladeshi resolve.[21][34] In 1988, a "friendship link" between the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire and the municipality of Sylhet was created by the district council under the presidency of Muhammad Gulzar Hussain of Bangladesh Welfare Association, St Albans. BWA St Albans were able to name a road in Sylhet municipality (now Sylhet City Corporation) called St Albans Road. This link between the two cities was established when the council supported housing project in the city as part of the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless initiative. It was also created because Sylhet is the area of origin for the largest ethnic minority group in St Albans.[35][36] In April 2001, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets council officially renamed the 'Spitalfields' electoral ward Spitalfields and Banglatown. Surrounding streets were redecorated, with lamp posts painted in green and red, the colours of the Bangladeshi flag.[3] By this stage the majority living in the ward were of Bangladeshi origin—nearly 60% of the population.[25] DemographicsMain article: Demographics of British BangladeshisPopulationBritish Bangladeshi populationRegionPopulationPercent of regionPercent of total British BangladeshisEngland436,5140.8%96.7%Greater London222,1272.7%49.2%West Midlands52,4770.9%11.6%North West45,8970.7%10.2%East of England32,9920.6%7.3%South East27,9510.3%6.2%Yorkshire & the Humber22,4240.4%5.0%East Midlands13,2580.3%2.9%North East10,9720.4%2.4%South West8,4160.2%1.9%Wales10,6870.3%2.4%Scotland3,7880.1%0.8%Northern Ireland5400.03%0.1%United Kingdom451,5290.7%100%Source: 2011 UK Census[1]Bangladeshis in the UK are largely a young population, heavily concentrated in London's inner boroughs. In the 2011 Census 451,529 UK residents specified their ethnicity as Bangladeshi, forming 0.7% of the total population.[1] About half live in London, with a heavy concentration in Tower Hamlets borough of East London.[37] The UK is also the third single largest export destination for Bangladesh[38] and Britain has the largest Bengali population outside of Bangladesh and West Bengal.[39] As of 2015, 600,000 British Bangladeshis live in the UK and 70% of British Bangladeshis live in London.[40] London's Bangladeshi population in 2011 was 222,127 representing 49.2% of the UK Bangladeshi population.[41] The highest concentrations were found in Tower Hamlets, where Bangladeshis constituted 32% of the borough population (18% of the UK Bangladeshi population),[41] and in Newham, accounting for 9% of the borough population.[6] and in Somers Town 15% of the local population (West and North of Euston).[42] The largest Bangladeshi populations outside London are in Birmingham, where there were an estimated 32,532 Bangladeshis in 2011,[43] Oldham with 16,310,[44] and Luton, Bedfordshire with a population of 13,606.[45] More than half of the United Kingdom's Bangladeshis—approximately 53%—were born in Bangladesh.[when?][46] Bangladesh ranks third in the list of countries of birth for Londoners born outside the United Kingdom.[when?][47] Bangladeshis are one of the youngest of the UK's ethnic populations; 38% under the age of 16, 59% aged between 16–64, and only 3% aged 65 and over.[when?] The census also revealed a heavy predominance in the male population, which was 64% of the total.[when?][46][48] Since 2011, an estimated 6,000 Bangladeshi families have come to the UK from Italy, with the majority settling in East London. According to the most recent census, there were 110,000 Bangladeshi immigrants living in Italy in 2013. Many were skilled graduates who left their homes in South Asia attracted by jobs in Italy's industrial north, but moved to the UK when Italian manufacturing jobs went into decline.[49] Employment and educationBangladeshis are now mainly employed in the distribution, hotel and restaurant industries.[50] New generation Bangladeshis, however, aspire to professional careers, becoming doctors, IT management specialists, teachers and in business.[51] In 2011 within England and Wales, nearly-half (48%) of British Bangladeshis in the 16 to 64 age group were reported to be employed, while 40% were economically inactive and 10% unemployed. Men were more likely to employed than women, with 65% of men in employment against 30% of women. Of those employed, 53% were working within the low-skill sector.[52] Bangladeshis were most likely to be employed in accommodation and food services (27.3%), 18.8% in wholesale and retail trade, 9.2% in education, 8.8% in human health and social work, and the rest in many other sectors of employment.[53] Ofsted reports from secondary schools have shown that many Bangladeshi pupils are making significant progress, compared with other ethnic minority groups.[54] Girls are more likely to do better in education than boys; 55% of girls are achieving 5 or more A*-C at GCSE, compared to 41% boys, as of 2004. The overall achievement rate for Bangladeshi pupils was 48%, compared with 53% for all UK pupils, in 2004.[55] By 2013, the British Bangladeshi achievement rate (5 or more A*-C at GCSE) had increased considerably to 61%, compared to 56% for White British students and 51% for British Pakistani students.[56] It was reported in 2014, there were a total of 60,699 graduates of Bangladeshi descent.[57] In November 2015, an Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) report said that Bangladeshi children living in the UK have a nearly 49 percent higher chance on average of a university education than white British pupils.[58] Until 1998, Tower Hamlets, where the concentration of British Bangladeshis is greatest was the worst performing local authority in England. Until 2009, Bangladeshis in England performed worse than the national average. In 2015, 62 per cent of British Bangladeshis got five good GCSEs, including English and Maths which is five per cent above the average, and Bangladeshi girls outperformed boys by eight per cent.[40] In February 2018, according to a report from social mobility by the Sutton Trust, British Bangladeshi students are over six times more likely than white students to stay living at home and studying nearby.[59][60][61][62] In March 2015, Nick de Bois, MP for Enfield North, persuaded the British government to stop plans by the exam boards to drop Bengali GCSE and A Level qualifications.[63] In June 2017, British schools included Sylheti as a separate subject, with the dialect being included as a listed language alongside Bengali.[39] According to research by Yaojun Li from the University of Manchester in 2016, while the employment rate of Bangladeshis has improved and the proportion of women in work has risen by one-third in the last five years, it is still weaker than educational performance. Nine per cent of working age Bangladeshis are unemployed which is almost twice the national average.[40] In December 2016, according to a Social Mobility Commission study, children of Bangladeshi origin are among the British Asians who 'struggle for top jobs despite better school results'.[64][65] The UK's Social Mobility Commission commissioned an 'Ethnicity, Gender and Social Mobility' report with research carried out by academics from LKMco and Education Datalab which found that there has been an increase in educational attainment for Bangladeshi origin pupils in the UK and their performance has improved at a more rapid rate than other ethnic groups in recent years at almost every key stage of education. Almost half of young Bangladeshi people from the poorest quintile go to university. However, this is not reflected or translating in labour market outcomes because although young people from Bangladeshi backgrounds are more likely to "succeed in education and go to university," they are less likely to go on to "find employment or secure jobs in managerial or professional occupations." The report also found that female Bangladeshi graduations are less likely to gain managerial and professional roles than male Bangladeshis graduates, despite achieving at school. British Bangladeshi women earn less than other ethnic minority groups.[66] Health and housingA survey in the 1990s on the visible communities in Britain by the Policy Studies Institute concluded that British Bangladeshi continues to be among the most severely disadvantaged.[67] Bangladeshis had the highest rates of illness in the UK, in 2001. Bangladeshi men were three times as likely to visit their doctor as men in the general population. Bangladeshis also had the highest rates of people with disabilities,[68] and were more likely to smoke than any other ethnic group, at a rate of 44% in 1999 in England. Smoking was very common amongst the men, but very few women smoked, perhaps due to cultural customs.[21][69] The average number of people living in each Bangladeshi household is 5,[70] larger than all other ethnic groups. Households which contained a single person were 9%; houses containing a married couple were 54%, pensioner households were 2%.[citation needed] Bangladeshis living in London were 40 times more likely to be living in cramped and poor housing types of housing than anyone else in the country. There were twice as many people per room as white households, with 43% living in homes with insufficient bedroom space.[71] A third of Bangladeshi homes contain more than one family—64% of all overcrowded households in Tower Hamlets are Bangladeshi.[72] In England and Wales, only 37% of Bangladeshis owned households compared to 69% of the population, those with social rented tenure is 48%, the largest of which in Tower Hamlets (82%) and Camden (81%).[73] Bangladeshis in Britain, who are heavily concentrated in London, particularly in the East End, are among the poorest and most deprived communities in the United Kingdom, suffering from high rates of poverty, unemployment and undereducation. Of an estimated half-million Bangladeshis living in the UK, about half live in London, with a heavy concentration in Tower Hamlets borough of East London. In Tower Hamlets, an estimated one-third of young Bangladeshis are unemployed, one of the highest such rates in the country.[37] British Bangladeshis are around three times more likely to be in poverty compared to their white counterparts, according to a 2015 report entitled 'Ethnic Inequalities' by the Centre for Social Investigation (CSI) at Nuffield College at University of Oxford. The research found that poverty rate is 46% of people of Bangladeshi background – compared with 16% for the white British in 2009–11. "Bangladeshi background are also more likely to have a limiting long-term illness or disability and to live in more crowded conditions," it noted.[74] LanguageAccording to the 2011 census, 49.5% of British Bangladeshis consider Bengali (includes Sylheti and Chatgaya) as their main language while 47.9% stated English.[75] Of those who stated their main language as Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya), 69.6% were proficient in speaking English.[76] As 95% of British Bangladeshis originate from the north-east Bangladesh region of Sylhet,[77][78][79] majority therefore speak Sylheti which is often considered as a dialect of Bengali or a closely related language.[80][81][82][83] As of 2018, according to the British Office for National Statistics, Britain has around 231,000 Bengali-speaking people, making it the fifth-most spoken language. The British census of 2011 also reflected this data. Bengalis are the fourth biggest ethnic minority community in UK.[39] To some, standard Bengali is considered as a more prestige language which helps to foster a cultural or national identity linked with Bangladesh,[84] parents therefore encourage young people to attend Bengali classes to learn the language.[55] Although many of Sylheti-speaking background find this learning progress difficult in the UK.[72][85] English tends to be spoken among younger brothers and sisters and peer groups, and Bengali/Sylheti with parents.[86] Although many Sylheti speakers say they speak Bengali, this is because they do not expect outsiders to be well informed about dialects.[87] Sylheti does not have a written form and is mainly a vernacular language. During the 1970s, the first mother-tongue classes were established for Bangladeshis by community activists in standard Bengali, which later led to a campaign for Sylheti classes in the area of Spitalfields, East End of London, however its organisation collapsed in 1985 and with its demise.[88] There have been revivals of Sylheti Nagari in London, a near extinct script that was used for Sylheti. James Lloyd Williams is notable for reproducing Sylheti Nagari poetry books, translating them also in Bengali and English.[89] One way in which British Bangladeshis try to hold on to their links to Bangladesh is by sending their British-born children to school there. Pupils are taught the British curriculum and children born in the UK are dotted among those in the classroom.[90] Many families originate from different upazilas or thanas across Sylhet, mainly from Jagannathpur, Beanibazar, Bishwanath,[91][92] Moulvibazar, Golapganj, and Nabiganj.[93] ReligionReligions of British Bangladeshis in England and Wales[2] Muslim (90%) Christian (1.5%) None (1.3%) Other (1.5%) Religion not stated (5.9%)Further information: Islam in the United Kingdom and Islam in England The East London Mosque located in Whitechapel, London, is one of the largest mosque in the UK with a majority Bangladeshi congregationMajority of the Bangladeshi population are Sunni Muslim;[94] a small minority follow other religions. In London, Bangladeshi Muslims make up 24% of all London Muslims, more than any other single ethnic group in the capital.[73] The largest affiliations are the Deobandi movement (mainly of Tablighi Jamaat),[95] the Jamaat-e-Islami movement,[96] and the Sufi Barelvi[97] and Fultali movements.[citation needed] The Hizb ut-Tahrir, and the Salafi movement also have a small following.[6] A majority of older women wear the burqa,[98] and many young women are opting to wear a hijab, a traditional women's headscarf—whereas in Bangladesh, comparatively few women do so; this has been described as a "British phenomenon".[99] Arabic is also learned by children, many of whom attend Qur'an classes at mosques or the madrasah.[55] Many male youths are also involved with Islamic groups,[100] which include the Young Muslim Organisation, affiliated with the Islamic Forum Europe. This group is based in Tower Hamlets, and has thus attracted mainly young Bangladeshi Muslims.[101] It has been increasingly associated with the East London Mosque, which is one of the largest mosques used predominantly by Bangladeshis.[102][103] In 2004, the mosque created a new extension attached, the London Muslim Centre which holds up to 10,000 people.[104][105] CultureSee also: Culture of SylhetBritain has the biggest presence of the Bengali culture outside of Bangladesh and West Bengal.[39] CelebrationsSee also: Boishakhi Mela Crowds at the Baishakhi Mela 2009Significant Bengali events or celebrations are celebrated by the community annually. The Boishakhi Mela is a celebration of the Bengali New Year, celebrated by the Bangladeshi community every year. Held each April–May since 1997 in London's Banglatown, it is the largest Asian open-air event in Europe, and the largest Bengali festival outside Bangladesh. In Bangladesh and West Bengal it is known as the Pohela Boishakh. The event is broadcast live across different continents; it features a funfair, music and dance displays on stages, with people dressed in colourful traditional clothes, in Weavers Field and Allen Gardens in Bethnal Green.[106] The Mela is also designed to enhance the area's community identity, bringing together the best of Bengali culture.[107] Brick Lane is the main destination where curry and Bengali spices are served throughout the day.[108] As of 2009, the Mela was organised by the Tower Hamlets council, attracting 95,000 people,[109] featuring with popular artists such as Momtaz Begum, Nukul Kumar Bishwash, Mumzy Stranger and many others.[110][111] The Language Movement Day (Shaheed Dibosh), commemorates the martyrdom of the people killed in the demonstrations of 1952 for the Bengali language. In the London borough of Tower Hamlets, the Shaheed Minar was erected in Altab Ali Park in 1999. At the entrance to the park is an arch created by David Peterson, developed as a memorial to Altab Ali and other victims of racist attacks. The arch incorporates a complex Bengali-style pattern, meant to show the merging of different cultures in East London.[112] A similar monument was built in Westwood, in Oldham, through a local council regeneration.[6] This event is taken place at midnight on 20 February, where the Bengali community come together to lay wreaths at the monument.[113] Around 2,500 families, councillors and community members paid their respect at Altab Ali Park, as of February 2009.[114] The Nowka Bais is a traditional boat racing competition. It was first brought to the United Kingdom in 2007 to commemorate the 1000th birthday of Oxfordshire.[115] It has gained recognition and support from Queen Elizabeth II and others.[116] Since 2015, it has been hosted in Birmingham, where it is the largest cultural event in the West Midlands and the largest boat race in Britain, attracting thousands of people.[117][118] Marriage Same cultural rituals are practisedBangladeshi weddings are celebrated with a combination of Bengali and Muslim traditions, and play a large part in developing and maintaining social ties. Many marriages are between the British diaspora (Londonis) and the native-born Bangladeshis. Sometimes men will go to Bangladesh to get married, however recently more women are marrying in Bangladesh. Second or third generation Bangladeshis are more likely to get married in the UK within the British culture. However this exposure has created a division between preferences for arranged marriages or for love marriages.[119][120] Tradition holds that the bride's family must buy the bridegroom's family a set of new furniture to be housed in the family home, with all original furniture given away or discarded.[121] The average Bangladeshi outlay for a wedding is £30–60,000 for a single wedding, including decorations, venue, food, clothing and limousines, all areas in which there is competition between families.[98] Forced marriages are rare, however the practice is largely present in Bangladesh; the British High Commission has been involved with many cases concerning on British citizens.[122][123][full citation needed] Another media highlight includes a Bangladeshi-born National Health Service doctor Humayra Abedin. She was deceived by her parents after asking her to arrive at their home in Dhaka,[124][125] a court ordered her parents to hand her over to the British High Commission.[126] The commission has been reported to have handled 56 cases from April 2007 to March 2008.[127] Forced marriageAccording to 2017 data by the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), a joint effort between the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, of the 129 callers related to Bangladesh, 71% were female and 29% were male, 16% were under the age of 15 and another 12% were aged 16–17. The majority of the victims were likely in the 18-21 age group and the proportion of males were higher for Bangladeshis than other groups. Bangladesh had the second highest number of cases after Pakistan.[128] CuisineSee also: Bangladeshi cuisine Meat curry with rice on a traditional Sylheti-style plateBritish Bangladeshis consume traditional Bangladeshi food, in particular rice with curry.[129] Many traditional Bengali dishes are served with rice, including chicken, lentil (dahl), and fish.[130] Another popular food is shatkora, which is a citrus and tangy fruit from Sylhet, mainly used for flavourings in curries.[131] Bangladeshi cooking has become popular in Britain because of the number of Bangladeshi-owned restaurants, which has increased significantly. In 1946, there were 20 restaurants, while in 2015 there are 8,200 owned by Bangladeshis, out of a total of 9,500 Indian restaurants in the UK.[51] MediaThere are five Bengali channels available on satellite television in Britain. Four British-owned channels are NTV, ION TV, Channel S,[132] and Bangla TV.[133] Popular national channels, ATN Bangla, and Channel i are also available.[134] Bengali newspapers have been increasing within the community, such include Surma News Group and The East End Life (local newspaper of the borough).[135] The first international film based on a story about British Bangladeshis was Brick Lane (2007), based on the novel by author Monica Ali, her book is about a woman who moves to London from rural Bangladesh, with her husband, wedded in an arranged marriage.[136][137] The film was critically acclaimed and the novel was an award-winning best seller.[138] The film however caused some controversy within the community.[139] Other films created in the community are mainly based on the struggles which British Bangladeshis face such as drugs and presenting a culture clash. These dramas include, Shopner Desh (2006) – a story related to the culture clashes.[140] In 2020, BBC Four released an episode of A Very British History focusing on the history of British Bangladeshis and Bangladeshi emigration to the United Kingdom from the 1960s onwards, hosted by Dr Aminul Hoque.[141] FestivalsReligious Muslim festivals are celebrated by the community each year including Eid al-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr. Muslims dress for the occasion in traditionally Bangladeshi style clothing.[142] Children are given money by elders, and Eid prayers are attended by men and women in the morning in large numbers. Typically relatives are visited later in the day. Traditional food will be cooked for relatives, such as samosa or sandesh. The celebration of Eid reunites relatives and improves relations.[143] In the evening, young people will often spend the remaining time socialising with friends. Some, however, will go "cruising" – travelling across cities in expensive hired cars, playing loud music and sometimes waving the Bangladesh flag. Sociologists suggest these British Bangladeshi boys and girls have reinterpreted the older, more traditional practice of their faith and culture.[144] The Eid al-Adha is celebrated after Hajj, to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's compliance to sacrifice his son Isma'il.[145][146] An animal has to be sacrificed, and then distributed between families and neighbours as zakat, however sometimes in the UK this is not practised and the meat is purchased, therefore there is much difficulty for expatriates to celebrate the event. Some instead of distributing meat, pay zakat to mosques or others however remit money to families in Bangladesh, for the purchase of cows.[147] SocietySee also: Bangladeshi societyNotablesFurther information: List of British Bangladeshis Rushanara Ali, the first British Bangladeshi MP Baroness Pola Uddin, the first Asian and Muslim life peerRushanara Ali is the first person of Bangladeshi origin to have been elected as a member of parliament during the 2010 general election for the Labour Party from the constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow, winning by a large majority of more than 10,000.[148] Tulip Siddiq became a member of parliament in the 2015 elections, getting elected from Camden Town. Tulip is the niece of the sitting Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the founder father of Bangladesh. Baroness Uddin was the first Bangladeshi and Muslim woman to enter the House of Lords; she swore the oath of office in her own faith.[26][149] Anwar Choudhury became the British High Commissioner for Bangladesh in 2004, the first non-white British person to be appointed in a senior diplomatic post.[150] Lutfur Rahman is the first directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, who was later removed from office for breaching electoral rules.[151] Enam Ali became the first Muslim and the first representative of the British curry industry to be granted Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his contribution to the Indian hospitality industry. Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari is the chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain – the largest Muslim organisation in Britain.[152] Murad Qureshi, a Labour politician, is a member of the Greater London Assembly.[153] Others have contributed in the British media and business worlds. Konnie Huq is the longest-serving female presenter in Blue Peter, a BBC television programme for children. Other notable national TV presenters have included Lisa Aziz of Sky News, Nina Hossain (ITV and BBC London), Tasmin Lucia Khan (BBC News) and Shawkat Hashmi is Community Editor at BBC Sheffield, (BBC News). In drama, Shefali Chowdhury[149] and Afshan Azad both starred in the Harry Potter movies as Parvati and Padma Patil.[154] Mumzy is an R&B and hip-hop music artist, the first Bangladeshi to release a music single.[155] Syed Ahmed is a businessman and also a television star, well known for being a candidate on The Apprentice.[149][156] There are many other entrepreneurs, including the late Abdul Latif, known for his dish "Curry Hell"; Iqbal Ahmed, placed at number 511 on the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, and celebrity chef Tommy Miah.[149][157][158] Rizwan Hussain is also very well known for presenting Islamic and charity shows on Channel S and Islam Channel, mainly known within the community.[159] Artists include dancer and choreographer Akram Khan,[160] pianist Zoe Rahman, vocalist Suzana Ansar and Sohini Alam (born 1978),[161] and the visual artist on film and photography Runa Islam.[149][162] In Sport, the only Bangladeshi professional footballer in England is Anwar Uddin.[157][163] Notable authors who have received praise for their books include Zia Haider Rahman whose debut novel In the Light of What We Know was published in 2014.,[164] Ed Husain, who wrote the book The Islamist on account of his experience for five years with the Hizb ut-Tahrir,[165][166] Monica Ali for her book Brick Lane a story based on a Bangladeshi woman,[167] and Kia Abdullah for her book, Life, Love and Assimilation. In 2012, British kickboxing champion Ruqsana Begum was among the nine people of Bangladeshi descent who carried the Olympic torch along with some 8,000 Britons across the UK. Architectural and graphic designer Saiman Miah was the designer for the two commemorative £5 coins released by British Royal Mint to mark the 2012 London Olympic Games. Akram Khan was a choreographer of the Olympic opening ceremony. Khan was in direction when 12,000 dance artistes performed in the Olympic opening ceremony. Enam Ali's Le Raj restaurant was selected as one of the official food suppliers of the London Olympics. The restaurant also prepared and provided Iftar to the Muslim guests at the Olympics.[168] Large numbers of people from the Bangladeshi community have also been involved with local government, increasingly in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Camden. The majority of the councillors in Tower Hamlets are of Bangladeshi descent and part of the Labour Party. As of 2009, 32 of the total 51 councillors were Bangladeshi (63%), 18 were White (35%) and 1 Somali (2%).[169] The first Bangladeshi mayor in the country was Ghulam Murtuza in Tower Hamlets. Camden has appointed many Bangladeshis as mayors since the first, Nasim Ali. The London Borough of Islington followed suit in the year 2012; appointing councillor Jilani Chowdhury as their mayor. Political identitySee also: Bengali nationalism and Bengali Language Movement The Shaheed Minar replica in Altab Ali Park, LondonIn Bangladeshi politics there are two groups, favouring different principles, one Islamic and the other secular. Between these groups, there has always been rivalry; however, the Islamic faction is steadily growing. This division between religious and secular was an issue during the Bangladesh Liberation War; the political history of Bangladesh is now is being re-interpreted again, in the UK. The secular group show nationalism through monuments, or through the introduction of Bengali culture, and the Islamic group mainly through dawah.[6][170] One symbol of Bengali nationalism is the Shaheed Minar, which commemorates the Bengali Language Movement, present in Altab Ali Park – the park is also the main venue for rallies and demonstrations, and also in Westwood, Oldham.[6] The monuments are a smaller replica of the one in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and symbolises a mother and the martyred sons.[171] Nationalism is mainly witnessed during celebrations of the mela, when groups such as the Swadhinata Trust try to promote Bengali history and heritage amongst young people, in schools, youth clubs and community centres.[170] According to a 2013 survey by the Center on Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) at the University of Manchester, ethnic minorities in the country were more likely to describe themselves as exclusively "British" than their white British counterparts. 72% of Bangladeshis reported an exclusive "British" identity, in contrast 72% of white Britons preferred to call themselves "English" rather than the more expansive "British" designation. A 2009 study by the University of Surrey suggested that some Bangladeshis in Britain, particularly the youth, embrace their "Britishness" while feeling alienated from "Englishness". The underlying assumption was that "Englishness" was associated with "whiteness" whereas "Britishness" denoted a more universal kind of identity that encompasses various cultural and racial backgrounds.[37] Youth gangsAs a response to conditions faced by their first generation elders during the 1970s (see history), younger Bangladeshis started to form gangs, developing a sense of dominating their territory. One consequence of this was that Bangladeshi gangs began fighting each other. Bangladeshi teenagers involved with gangs show their allegiance to this kind of lifestyle in various ways: heavily styled hair, expensive mobile phones and fashionable labels and brands.[21] Teenage street gangs have been responsible for sometimes lethal violence; it is estimated that in Tower Hamlets alone there are 2,500 Bengali youths affiliated to one of the many local gangs,[172] and that 26 out of the 27 gangs in the area are Bangladeshi.[173] The notorious gangs have been given names that end with massive or posse, such as the Brick Lane Massive and Brady Street Massive.[174] Other smaller groups include the Shadwell Crew, Cannon Street Posse, Bengal Tigers and Bethnal Green Boys.[175][176] In the past, Bangladeshi gangs have fostered criminal elements, including low level drug use and credit card fraud. However, for many the focus has changed to fighting over their territories. They use a variety of weapons, such as samurai swords, machetes, kitchen knives and meat cleavers, although guns are rarely used. When members reach their twenties they usually grow out of gang membership, but some move on to more serious criminal activity. Increasing numbers of Bangladeshi youths are taking hard drugs, in particular heroin.[177] Islamic fundamentalism has also played a part in the youth culture, illustrated by the efforts of one Brick Lane gang to oust prostitutes from the area. As to dietary customs, youths generally avoid eating pork, and some from drinking alcohol; however many take part in recreational drug use,[178] in particular heroin.[179] BusinessFurther information: Business of British Bangladeshis, Bangladesh Caterers Association UK, and Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs Bangladeshi-owned Indian restaurants in Brick Lane95% of all Indian restaurants are run by Bangladeshis.[67] The curry industry employs over 150,000 people, contributes £4.5 billion to the economy each year[51][180][181] and is viewed as recognition of Bangladeshi success, through awards such as 'The British Curry Awards'.[182][183] Brick Lane, known as Banglatown, is home to many of these restaurants, and is now regarded as London's 'curry capital', with thousands of visitors every day.[184] The restaurants serve different types of curry dishes, including fish, chutneys, and other halal dishes.[185] Attitudes towards restaurant work has shifted among second-generation Bangladeshis who lack interest in working in the curry industry due to their social mobility and opportunities provided by their parents.[180] As of 2016, according to the Bangladesh High Commission, Brick Lane has 57 Bangladeshi-owned curry houses, and in England as a whole, around 90% of all curry houses are owned by British Bangladeshis.[40] Although the curry industry has been the primary business of Bangladeshis (see Cuisine), many other Bangladeshis own grocery stores. Whitechapel is a thriving local street market, offering many low-priced goods for the local Bengali community.[186] In Brick Lane there are many Bengali staples available, such as frozen fish and jack fruits. There are also many travel agents offering flights to Sylhet.[187] Many Bangladeshi businesses located in the East End wish to maintain a link with Sylhet, for example the Weekly Sylheter Dak or the Sylhet Stores. There are also many money transfer companies;[3][188] in 2007, a firm called First Solution Money Transfer went into liquidation. Company chairman, Dr Fazal Mahmood, admitted the business owed hundreds of thousands of pounds to the public. and claimed that the firm had lost control of the money it handled due to a lack of regulation.[188][189][190] Other large companies include Seamark and IBCO, owned by millionaire Iqbal Ahmed,[191][192] Taj Stores,[193] and many others.[3] In 2004, Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs requested for ethnic restaurant staff positions to be designated as a shortage occupation, which would make it easier for Bangladeshi citizens to obtain UK work permits.[194] In 2008, Guild of Bangladeshi Restaurateurs members raised concerns that many restaurants were under threat because the British Government announced a change in immigration laws which could block entry of high skilled chefs from Bangladesh to the UK. They requested that the Government recognises that they are skilled workers. The law demanded these workers speak fluent English, and have good formal qualifications. However, these changes did not take place.[195][196] Immigration policy changes has made it more difficult to source skilled workers from abroad, resulting in a paucity of chefs with the culinary skills to run an Indian-style kitchen. The situation has worsened due to a yearly salary minimum of £35,000 applied to tier 2 migrants, or skilled workers with a job offer in the UK, coming into effect April 2016.[180] The Government's cap on skilled-workers from outside the EU means chefs must earn this salary a year to be permitted to work in UK restaurants.[181][197][198] A Government scheme set up in 2012 to train UK nationals to work as chefs in Asian and Oriental restaurants struggled with a lack of interest, despite a YouGov poll at the time indicating that almost a third of young people would consider working in the sector.[181] Experts say curry houses are closing down at the rate of two a week because of a shortage of tandoori chefs.[199] British Indians (also Indian Britons) are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots lie in India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian descent and Indian-born people who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 million people in the UK (not including those of mixed Indian and other ancestry), making them the single largest visible ethnic minority population in the country. They make up the largest subgroup of British Asians and are one of the largest Indian communities in the Indian diaspora, mainly due to the Indian–British relations (including historical links such as India having been under British colonial rule and still being part of the Commonwealth of Nations). The British Indian community is the sixth largest in the Indian diaspora, behind the Indian communities in the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Nepal. The largest group of British Indians are those of Punjabi origin, accounting for an estimated 45 percent of the British Indian population (based on data for England and Wales), followed by other communities including Gujarati, Malayali, Konkani, and Marathi communities.[2] Official figures demonstrate that Indian employees have the highest average hourly pay rate among all ethnic groups in Britain.[3][4] A study in 2011 found British Indians have among the lowest poverty rates among ethnic groups in Britain.[5] Studies and official figures have shown that Indians are more likely to be employed in professional and managerial occupations, than all other ethnic groups, including White British people.[6][7] Contents118th–19th centuries220th century321st century4Demographics4.1Population4.2Ethnicity4.3Population distribution4.4Communities4.4.1London4.4.2Leicester4.4.3Birmingham4.4.4Slough4.5Wolverhampton4.5.1Overseas territories4.6Religion5Culture5.1Cuisine5.2Film and television5.3Music5.4Television5.5Radio6Social issues6.1Politics6.2Caste issues6.3Female foeticide6.4Discrimination6.5Economic status6.6Education7Notable individuals8See also9References10Further reading18th–19th centuriesPeople from India have settled in Great Britain since the East India Company (EIC) recruited lascars to replace vacancies in their crews on East Indiamen whilst on voyages in India. Initially these were men from the Indo-Portuguese or Luso-Asian communities of the subcontinent, including men from Bombay, Goa, Cochin, Madras and the Hugli River in Bengal. Later Bengali Muslims and men from Ratnagiri were hired. Many were then refused passage back and had no alternative than to settle in London. There were also some ayahs, domestic servants and nannies of wealthy British families, who accompanied their employers back to Britain when their stay in South Asia came to an end. British soldiers would also sometimes marry Indian women and send their mixed race children back to Britain, although the wife often did not accompany them. Indian wives of British soldiers would sometimes ask for passage home after being abandoned or widowed if they did accompany their children. In 1835, Bridget Peter a native of the Madras region lost her husband, a British soldier serving in His Majesty's 1st Foot Regiment. She petitioned the Directors from Chelsea Hospital 'in a state of destitution'. They paid to return her and her three children to India.[8] The first educated Indian to travel to Europe and live in Britain was I'tisam-ud-Din, a Bengali Muslim cleric, munshi and diplomat to the Mughal Empire who arrived in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim during the reign of King George III.[9] He wrote of his experiences and travels in his Persian book, Shigurf-nama-i-Wilayat (or 'Wonder Book of Europe').[10] This is also the earliest record of literature by a British Indian. Also during the reign of George III, the hookah-bardar (hookah servant/preparer) of James Achilles Kirkpatrick was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as the Prince of Sylhet. The man, presumably of Sylheti origin, was waited upon by the Prime Minister of Great Britain William Pitt the Younger, and then dined with the Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King.[11] The Navigation Act of 1660 restricted the employment of non-English sailors to a quarter of the crew on returning East India Company ships. Baptism records in East Greenwich suggest that a small number of young Indians from the Malabar Coast were being recruited as house servants at the end of the 17th century, and records of the EIC also suggest that Indo-Portuguese cooks from Goa were retained by captains from voyage to voyage.[12] In 1797, 13 were buried in the parish of St Nicholas at Deptford. During the 19th century, the East India Company brought thousands of Indian lascars, scholars and workers (who were largely Bengali and/or Muslim) to Britain largely to work on ships and in ports. Some of whom settled down and took local British wives, partly due to a lack of Indian women in Britain and also abandonment due to restrictions on South Asian crew members being employed on British ships such as the Navigation Acts.[13] It is estimated 8,000 Indians (a proportion being lascar sailors) lived in Britain permanently prior to the 1950s.[14][15][16] Due to the majority of early Asian immigrants being lascar seamen, the earliest Indian communities were found in port towns. Naval cooks also came, many of them from the Sylhet Division of what is now Bangladesh. One of the most famous early Bengali immigrants to Britain was Sake Dean Mahomet, a captain of the British East India Company. In 1810, he founded London's first Indian restaurant, the Hindoostanee Coffee House. He is also valued for introducing shampoo and therapeutic massage to the United Kingdom.[17] By the mid-19th century, there were more than 40,000 Indian seamen, diplomats, scholars, soldiers, officials, tourists, businessmen and students in Britain, the majority of them being seamen working on ships,[18] Lascars lodged in British ports in between voyages.[19] Most Indians during this period would visit or reside in Britain temporarily, returning to India after months or several years, bringing back knowledge about Britain in the process.[20] 20th centuryThe 1931 Census of India estimated that there were at least 2,000 Indian students in English and Scottish Universities at the time, from an estimated, and overwhelmingly male population of 9,243 South Asians on the British mainland, of which 7,128 resided in England and Wales, two thousand in Scotland, with a thousand in Northern Ireland, and 1 on the Isle of Man. Their origins were recorded as: Indian population of Great Britain by region of birth, 1931[21]England and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRegion of birthTotalMaleFemaleTotalMaleFemaleTotalMaleFemaleBengal3,2292,18940---6156141Bombay92985178---2612574Madras38234240---84795Punjab1,0881,06226---374374-Other provinces1,8671,77988---3573534Unspecified634621131,0034855183123093British India7,1796,8442851,0034855182,003198617In 1932, the Indian National Congress survey of "all Indians outside India" (which included modern Pakistani and Bangladeshi territories) estimated that there were 7,128 Indians living in the United Kingdom, which included students, lascars, and professionals such as doctors.The resident Indian population of Birmingham was recorded at 100 by 1939. By 1945 it was 1,000.[22] Following the Second World War and the breakup of the British Empire, Indian migration to the UK increased through the 1950s and 1960s. This was partly due to the British Nationality Act 1948, which enabled migration from the Commonwealth with very few limits.[23] In 1950 there were probably fewer than 20,000 non-white residents in Britain, almost all born overseas.[24] The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 and Immigration Act 1971 largely restricted any further primary immigration, although family members of already-settled migrants were still allowed. In addition, much of the subsequent growth in the British Indian community has come from the births of second- and third-generation Indian Britons. Although post-war immigration was continuous, several distinct phases can be identified: workers were recruited to fulfill the labour shortage that resulted from World War II. These included Anglo-Indians who were recruited to work on the railways as they had done in India.Workers mainly from the Punjab and Gujarat regions arrived from India in the late 1950s and 1960s. Many worked in the foundries of the English Midlands. Large numbers of Gujaratis worked in the textile manufacturing sector in the northwest industrial towns of Blackburn, Dewsbury, Bolton, Lancaster, Manchester and Preston. Sikhs coming to London either migrated to the East to set up businesses where the wholesale, retail and manufacturing elements of the textile industry were located. Many Sikhs also moved to West London and took up employment at Heathrow airport and the associated industries and in the plants and factories of major brands such as Nestle around it.YearBritish IndianPopulation[25]1931 (estimate)10,186[21]1932 (estimate)7,128[26]1951 (estimate)31,0001961 (estimate)81,0001971 (estimate)375,0001981 (estimate)676,0001991 (census)840,0002001 (census)1,053,411 (1.79%)2011 (census)1,451,862 (2.30%)During the same period, medical staff from India were recruited for the newly formed National Health Service. These people were targeted as the British had established medical schools in the Indian subcontinent which conformed to the British standards of medical training.During the 1960s and 1970s, large numbers of East African Indians, predominantly Gujaratis but also sizeable numbers of Punjabis who already held British passports, entered the UK after they were expelled from Kenya, Uganda and Zanzibar. Many of these people had been store-keepers and wholesale retailers in Africa and opened shops when they arrived in the UK. In 2001 East African Indians made up 16% of the total British Indian population.[27]21st centuryBy the early 21st century, the British Indian community had grown to number over one million. According to the 2001 UK Census, 1,053,411 Britons had full Indian ethnicity (representing 1.8% of the UK's population). An overwhelming majority of 99.3% resided in England (in 2008 the figure is thought to be around 97.0%). In the nine-year period between 2001 and 2010, the number of Indian-born people in the UK has increased in size by 43% from 467,634 to around 669,000 (an increase of over 200,000).[28] DemographicsIndian population of Great Britain by region of birth, 2001[29]Region of birthPercent of totalUnited Kingdom45.9%England44.8%Scotland0.7%Wales0.3%Northern Ireland<0.05%UK not specified0.1%Other Europe0.2%Africa16.0%Kenya7.9%Uganda2.9%Tanzania1.9%Rest of Africa3.3%Asia36.6%India34.6%Rest of Asia2.1%North America0.3%South America0.2%Oceania0.2%Other0.6%PopulationThe United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded 1,451,862, residents of Indian ethnicity, accounting for 2.3 per cent of the total UK population (not including those of mixed ethnic backgrounds).[1] The equivalent figure from the 2001 Census was 1,053,411 (1.8 per cent of the total UK population).[30] People born in India are the UK's largest foreign-born population, totalling an estimated 1,734,000 in 2013.[31] According to the 2011 census,[32] the cities with the most Indian-born residents are London (262,247), Leicester (37,224), Birmingham (27,206), Sandwell (15,190), Wolverhampton (14,955). EthnicityIn the 2001 UK Census, Indians in the UK were most likely to have responded to code 41 - Indian or Indian British. Indian was one of only five sub categories in the UK census which represents a nation (along with Irish, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Chinese). India is a diverse nation composed of many ethnic groups. This is reflected in the British Indian community although there are several ethnic groups that number considerably more than others. Indian Punjabis account for about 45 per cent of Indians living in the UK, based on data for England and Wales.[2] British Gujaratis are also another large subgroup of the British Indian population and they form the largest overseas Gujarati population on earth, being larger than the combined Gujarati communities of New York City and Toronto (which are second and third largest, respectively). Alongside Punjabis and Gujaratis, there are also significant numbers of Tamils. There is a large community of Goans in Swindon, with smaller communities in Hayes and Cranford.[33] There are significant numbers of British Indians originating from Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.[2] Population distributionThe table below shows the dispersity of Indian people in the United Kingdom. The figures for all countries, regions, cities and boroughs are based on the 2011 census.[34][35][36] Indian population in the United Kingdom countries and regionsRegionPopulationof regionIndianpopulationPercentage oftotal populationSignificantcommunitiesLondon8,173,941542,8576.6%Harrow - 26.4%Hounslow - 19.0%Brent - 18.6%Redbridge - 16.4%Ealing - 14.3%Newham - 13.8%Hillingdon - 13.4%West Midlands2,736,460185,2713.9%Wolverhampton - 12.9%Sandwell - 10.2%Coventry - 8.8%Walsall - 6.1%Birmingham - 6.0%South East8,634,750152,1321.8%Slough - 15.6%East Midlands4,451,20086,7363.20%Leicester - 28.30%Oadby and Wigston - 10.7%Blaby - 5.7%Charnwood - 5.1%Nottingham - 4.5%Derby - 3.5%Northampton - 3.5%East5,846,965115,6001.5%Three Rivers - 6.0%Watford - 5.5%Bedford - 5.2%Luton - 5.2%North West7,052,177107,3531.5%Blackburn - 12.1%Preston - 10.3%Bolton - 7.8%Trafford - 2.8%Manchester - 2.3%Yorkshire and the Humber5,283,73369,2521.3%Kirklees - 4.9%Bradford - 2.6%Leeds - 2.1%Sheffield - 1.1%South West5,288,93534,1880.6%Swindon - 3.3%Gloucester - 2.6%Bristol - 1.5%North East2,596,88615,8170.6%Newcastle Upon Tyne - 2.9%Scotland5,295,40332,7060.6%Glasgow - 1.5%Aberdeen - 1.5%Edinburgh - 1.4%Wales3,063,45617,2560.6%Cardiff - 2.3%Northern Ireland1,810,8636,1980.1%Belfast - 0.8%Communities The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London is one of the largest Hindu temples in the world outside India Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets British Indian children in London, 2015LondonMain article: Indian community of LondonIndians number over half a million in London, which is the city's single largest non-white ethnic group. Indians have a significant impact on the culture of the British capital.[citation needed] Within London, Southall, Hounslow, Brent, Croydon, Redbridge, Ealing, Barnet, Tooting, Harrow and Wembley, the latter of which is one of the few places outside India where Indians make up the largest ethnic group (almost 4 times larger than the indigenous White British population). There are more Indians in the British capital than in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and Portugal combined. The Indian Overseas Congress UK is an organisation of the Indian diaspora in the UK, affiliated to the Indian National Congress (Congress (I)), and formed in 1969. LeicesterLeicester is set to soon become the UK's first ethnic minority-majority city and Indians make up by far the largest ethnic group besides the White British. At 18.7% of the local population in 2009, Leicester has one of the highest percentages of Indians per head of the population of any local authority in the UK.[37] According to the 2001 UK Census, 14.74% of Leicester's population were Hindu and 4.21% Sikh.[38] Gujarati is the primary language of 16% of the city's residents, 3% Punjabi and 2% Urdu. Other smaller but common language groups include Hindi and Bengali.[39] BirminghamMost Indians live in west Birmingham in areas such as Handsworth, Harborne, Aston and Handsworth wood. the recent study shows that the Sikh and Hindu population has declined in Birmingham after 2011. Hindus make the majority of 26,000 down from 1% and Sikh to 22,000 down from 18% . And punjabi is the most spoken language with some urdu and Bengali speakers SloughSlough has the largest Sikh community in the uk as a borough with about 11 percent of the people in slough are Sikhs. Slough also has a large Hindu population with 7 percent are Hindu and a significant Muslim population from India. The most common language in slough was punjabi and polish with both 6 percent respectively the second is urdu with a bit of Hindi and Tamil WolverhamptonWolverhampton is home to the second largest Sikh community after slough with 9.10 percent of the population are Sikhs. Hindu communities can be found with 3.70 percent are Hindus. The most spoken language is punjabi and then Gujarati for Indians in Wolverhampton. Majority of the Sikhs and Hindus live in blakenhall and Ettingshall and Bilston Overseas territoriesThere are Indian communities in the UK's overseas territories, such as the communities in Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Montserrat. The majority of the community in Gibraltar originated in Hyderabad, and came as merchants after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1870; many others migrated as workers after the closure of the frontier with Spain in 1969 to replace Spanish ones.[40] ReligionSee also: Gurdwaras in the United KingdomAccording to the 2011 Census, the religious breakdown of Indians in England and Wales can be seen in the table below.[41] Although the plurality of British Indians are Hindu, the UK is home to the second largest Sikh community outside India.[42][failed verification] Notable Hindu temples include BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London (the largest Hindu temple outside India), Bhaktivedanta Manor, Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal, Skanda Vale, Sree Ganapathy Temple, Wimbledon and Tividale Tirupathy Balaji Temple. Notable Gurdwaras in the country include: Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick and Guru Nanak Nishkam Sevak Jatha. There are also significant numbers of Muslim and Christian British Indians as well as Ravidassia community with their main temple (Bhawan) in Handsworth, Birmingham. One of the largest Christian British Indian community is that of Catholic Goans, mainly from East Africa, but also directly from Goa, and from Aden, Pakistan and the countries of the Persian Gulf. The UK is also home to one of the largest Ravidassia communities outside India; this was first recognised by 2011 Census. Sikhs are also supporting separate Sikh monitoring in the 2011 census, Virendra Sharma MP met with representatives from the Sikh community to lobby parliament in November 2009 stating "It is vital that the Office for National Statistics recognise the importance of the Sikh community and provide this monitoring at the next Census".[43] ReligionPercentage of Indian population in England and Wales[41]Om symbol.svg Hinduism44.02%Khanda.svg Sikhism22.15%Star and Crescent.svg Islam13.95%Gold Christian Cross no Red.svg Christianity9.62%Not Stated4.47%No religion3.13%Dharma Wheel.svg Buddhism0.26%Star of David.svg Judaism0.06%Other religions2.34%Total100%CultureCuisineSee also: Anglo-Indian cuisineIndian cuisine is extremely popular in the United Kingdom. The hybrid dish "Chicken tikka masala" always comes out on top as the UK's favourite meal[44][45] The dish likely originated from the British Bangladeshi community which runs most Indian restaurants in the UK.[45] There are around 9,000 Indian restaurants located across the UK, which equates to approximately one per 7,000 people.[citation needed] The popularity of the Indian curry in the UK was mainly made by South Indians, Bangladeshi, and Punjabi restaurateurs, where 85 percent of Indian restaurants in the UK are in fact owned by Bangladeshi Sylheti Bengalis.[46] Over 2 million Britons eat at Indian restaurants in the UK every week, with a further 3 million cooking at least one Indian based meal at home during the week.[47][48] Veeraswamy, located on Regent Street in London, is the oldest surviving Indian restaurant in the UK, having opened in 1926.[citation needed] Film and televisionNotable British Indian films include Bend It Like Beckham, whose story revolves around British Indian life, and Slumdog Millionaire, a British drama film set in Mumbai starring British Indian actor Dev Patel in the lead role. The latter has won four Golden Globes, seven BAFTA Awards and eight Academy Awards. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a British film set in India, was nominated for two Golden Globes and one BAFTA, grossing US$31 million at the end of the UK run.[49] Besides British-produced Indian-based films, there are many Bollywood productions which have been filmed in the UK, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Yaadein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Jab Tak Hai Jaan. The following is a partial list of films and TV serials based on British Indian or British Asian life, British films shot in India or with an Indian theme or has British Indian actors: Autobiography of a Princess (1975)Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie's Pictures (1978)Gandhi (1982) - With British Indian actor Ben Kingsley as GandhiA Passage to India (1984) - Film set during the early 20th century IndiaThe Jewel in the Crown (1984) - TV series set during the 1940s British Raj eraMy Beautiful Laundrette (1985) - A defining film of the Thatcher era with British asian protagonists.Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987)Bhaji on the Beach (1993) - A film by Gurinder Chadha depicts life of a group of West London Asian women.The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)My Son the Fanatic (1997)Such a Long Journey (1998)Bend It Like Beckham (2002) - A film by Gurinder Chadha depicts life of a London Sikh family.The Guru (2002)Bride and Prejudice (2004) - A Gurinder Chadha take on Jane Austen's Pride and prejudice with an International setting of locations and cast.Namastey London (2007)Before the Rains (2008)Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Film set in Mumbai with Londoner Dev Patel in the title role.The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) - Film set in Rajasthan with Londoner Dev Patel in an important role.The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015) - depicting the life of the Indian mathematical prodigy Ramanujan, with Londoner Dev Patel in the lead role.Music Singer, Jay SeanSee also: Asian Underground, Bhangra (music), Indian pop, and Raga rockIndian influence on British popular music dates back to the development of raga rock by British rock bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones; several Beatles songs (such as "Within You Without You") also featured London-based Indian musicians.[50] Today, British Indian musicians exist in almost every field and genre. Notable British Indian Bhangra acts include Panjabi MC, Rishi Rich, Juggy D, Jay Sean, DCS, and Sukshinder Shinda. World-famous award-winning singer-songwriter Freddie Mercury (a former member of the rock band Queen) was born on the island of Zanzibar to Parsi parents, originally from the Gujarat area of India. Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) and his family fled when he was 17 years old due to the Zanzibar Revolution; he remains not only one of the most famous British Indian musicians of all time, but one of the most famous British musicians. Other world-famous British Indian musicians include Biddu, who produced a number of worldwide disco hits such as "Kung Fu Fighting", one of the best-selling singles of all time having sold eleven million records worldwide,[51][52] and Apache Indian, who also had worldwide hits such as "Boom Shack-A-Lak". Jay Sean, whose parents immigrated to the United Kingdom from the Punjab region, is the first solo British Asian artist to reach the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with his single "Down" selling more than four million copies in the United States,[53][54] making him "the most successful male UK urban artist in US chart history."[55] Other contemporary British Indian singers include S-Endz and BRIT Award-nominated Nerina Pallot. TelevisionLong-running British soap operas such as Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks have all had significant numbers of Indian characters, while shorter British series such as The Jewel in the Crown and Skins also feature British Indian characters. By far the most notable British Indian television shows are Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars at No. 42, a talk show that stars many famous British Indian actors including Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Indira Joshi and Vincent Ebrahim. British Indian actors not only have a strong presence in the UK, but also in the United States, where Parminder Nagra, Naveen Andrews and Kunal Nayyar (who are all Britons of Indian origin) have found fame in ER, Lost, The Big Bang Theory and Desperate Housewives respectively, though Nagra is the only one to portray an actual British citizen of Indian descent. There are dozens of channels aimed at the British Indian community available on Satellite and Cable, which include: Indian ownedSky channelVirgin Media channelOtherSony TV Asia782806N/ASTAR One783N/AN/ASTAR Plus784803N/AZee TV788809Channel 555 (TalkTalk TV)Zee Music789N/AN/AZee Cinema617810N/AAlpha ETC Punjabi798812N/ASET Max800806N/AAastha TV807N/AN/ASTAR News808802N/ASTAR Gold809N/AN/AZee Gujarati811N/AN/ASAB TV816N/AN/ASahara One817N/AN/AAaj Tak818N/AN/APeace TV820N/AN/AZee Jaagran838N/AN/AJoint ownedSky channelVirgin Media channelOtherB4U Movies780815N/AB4U Music781816Channel 504 (Freesat)9X828N/AChannel 662 (Freesat)9XM829N/AN/ANDTV Imagine831N/AN/ABritish ownedSky channelVirgin Media channelOtherMATV793823N/ARadioThe BBC Asian Network is a radio station available across the United Kingdom which is aimed predominantly at Britons of South Asian origin under 35 years of age. Besides this popular station there are only a few other national radio stations for or run by the British Indian community — including Sunrise and Yarr Radios. Regional British Indian stations include Asian Sound of Manchester, Hindu Sanskar and Sabras Radios of Leicester, Kismat Radio of London, Radio XL of Birmingham and Sunrise Radio Yorkshire based in Bradford (which itself has a much larger Pakistani than Indian community). Social issuesPolitics Conservative MP Priti Patel, current UK Home SecretaryBritish Indians have historically tended to vote for the Labour Party, due to strong links with local party branches and a degree of community voting, but it has been argued that the assimilation of younger British Indians and the consequent weakening of community bonds and parental political ties, this relationship has started to break down. The Conservative Party's modernisation and efforts to attract British Indian voters have also contributed to changing political affiliations.[56] The Ethnic Minority British Election Study estimated that 61 per cent of British Indians voted Labour in the 2010 general election, 24 per cent Conservative and 13 per cent Liberal Democrat.[57] A report by the think tank Theos after the 2010 general election found that Labour had a 13 percentage point lead over the Conservatives amongst Hindus and 48.5 percentage points amongst Sikhs.[58] Academic research in the build-up to the 2015 general election indicated that 69 per cent of British Indians supported Labour and 24 per cent the Conservatives.[56] In 2015, the safest Conservative Party seat in the UK was given to a British Indian, Rishi Sunak.[59] A post-election survey by British Future found that, in 2015, 49 per cent of British Hindus and Sikhs voted Conservative and 41 per cent Labour. A 2019 analysis by the Runnymede Trust estimated that, in the 2010 general election, 57 per cent of British Indians voted for the Labour Party and 30 per cent voted for the Conservative Party. In the 2015 general election, approximately 57.5 per cent of British Indians voted for Labour and 31 per cent voted for the Conservatives. In the 2017 general election, approximately 58 per cent of British Indians voted for Labour, while 40 per cent of British Indians voted for the Conservatives.[60] According to the same report, British Indians were more likely than most other ethnic minorities to vote for Brexit, although 65 per cent to 67 per cent of British Indians voted to remain in the European Union. Caste issuesA number of British Hindus and Sikhs still adhere to the caste system and still seek marriage with individuals who are of similar caste categories. There have been several incidents involving abuse of low caste British Hindus, known as Dalits, by higher caste individuals in schools and workplaces.[61][62] However, other Hindus say that caste discrimination is a thing of the past in Britain, and that the Asian community has moved on.[61] Female foeticideAccording to a study published by Oxford University 1500 girls are missing from birth records in England and Wales over a 15-year period from 1990 to 2005. The vast majority of the abortions are carried out in India reports suggest that abortions rejected on the NHS would force some British Indians to travel to India for the procedure. There have also been cases where British Indian doctors who would pass on details to their patients about clinics abroad which offer sex selective screening and abortion for women who have passed the 24-week abortion limit in the United Kingdom.[63][64] DiscriminationSee also: Stereotypes of South Asians and Racism in the United KingdomDiscrimination against people of Indian origin in the United Kingdom is not completely widespread, but has been known to happen in certain instances. Tamils protesting against the Sri Lankan Civil War outside India HouseVerbal discrimination has become somewhat more common after the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks,[citation needed] even though extremists who committed these atrocities have little to nothing to do with the British Indian community.[65] A notable example of anti-Indian sentiment in the UK is the 2007 Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy which received significant media coverage. White contestants Jade Goody (who is mixed race), Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara were all seen to have been mocking Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty because of her accent. They also persisted in making fun of general parts of Indian culture. Channel 4 screened the arguments between the contestants, which received over 50,000 complaints. The controversy generated over 300 newspaper articles in Britain, 1,200 in English language newspapers around the globe, 3,900 foreign language news articles, and 22,000 blog postings on the internet.[66] Another example of discrimination is the Expulsion of Asians in Uganda in 1972 (a decision made by the President of Uganda to ethnically cleanse the country) which led to tens of thousands of East African Indians coming to the UK to start a new life, the majority of these already had British passports, due to Uganda at that time being part of the British Empire. Other examples of discrimination towards British Indians in the mainstream population include the case of 27-year-old Chetankumar Meshram, a call centre trainer from Northampton who was compensated £5,000 after his boss told him he was to be replaced by a better English speaker.[67] Also Meena Sagoo, 42 is demanding over £100,000 after she and a fellow employee of the ING Bank of Sri Lankan heritage were called The Kumars at No. 42 (after the popular TV comedy show of the same name). The same bank has been noted to have paid out £20,000 to a worker of Chinese origin who also claimed racial harassment.[68] Another form of discrimination towards British Indians is stereotyping, one example is British Asians stereotyped as being the majority of newsagent and convenience store shopkeepers, the stereotype "Paki shop"; and also making up a majority of doctors. This stereotype was made fun of in the television and radio sketches of Goodness Gracious Me by four British Indian comedy actors. In the comedy sketch Little Britain, a British Indian character called Meera continuously receives racist comments from weight loss advisor Marjorie Dawes who always makes it known that she does not understand a word of what Meera says, although it is completely obvious to the surrounding people and the viewer. Economic status A traditional Indian wedding in Nottingham, 2006A study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2007 found that British Indians have among the lowest poverty rates among different ethnic groups in Britain, second only to white British. Of the different ethnic groups, Bangladeshis (65%), Pakistanis (55%) and black Africans (45%) had the highest poverty rates; black Caribbeans (30%), Indians (25%), white Other (25%) and white British (20%) had the lowest rates.[69] According to official UK Government figures from 2018, British Indians had the highest employment rate of all ethnic minorities at 76%; the overall employment rate in the UK is 75%, with the employment rate for White British people also standing at 76%.[70] The unemployment rate of British Indians was 4% in 2018, the lowest of all ethnic minorities. The overall unemployment rate in the UK in 2018 was 4%, with the unemployment rate for White British people also standing at 4%.[71] Sikhs are on average the wealthiest Indians, and the second wealthiest religious group after Jewish people, in the UK, with a median total household wealth of £229,000.[72] The National Equality Panel report in 2012 found that British Indian households are second wealthiest among major British ethnic groups. Their total median wealth is about £204,000 coming close second to white British:[73] Ethnic groupMedian total wealthWhite British£221,000Indian£204,000Pakistani£97,000Black Caribbean£76,000Other Asian£50,000Black African£21,000Bangladeshi£15,000Among the working-age population, with pensions thus excluded, British Indians have the highest median total wealth at £178,980:[74] Ethnic groupMedian total wealth (excluding pensions)Indian£178,980White British£174,007Black Caribbean£62,702Other minority ethnic groups£41,500According to official figures, British Indians have the highest average pay levels in the UK among all ethnic groups:[4] Ethnic groupAverage hourly pay (Oct-Dec 2016)Indian£15.81Mixed£14.61White£13.75Black£11.88Pakistani/Bangladeshi£11.42UK Government figures also demonstrate that British Indians have the highest proportion of workers in professional and managerial occupations, out of all ethnic groups in the UK:[7] Ethnic groupPercentage of workers in professional and managerial occupationsIndian43%Other34%White31%Mixed30%Pakistani/Bangladeshi27%Black25%EducationAccording to official UK Government statistics, British Indian pupils have a high average level of academic performance. 77% of British Indian pupils attained A* to C grades in English and Maths in the 2015–16 academic year, second only to Chinese pupils, of whom 83% attained A* to C grades in English and Maths.[75] At A-Level, in the 2016–17 academic year, 15.3% of British Indian pupils achieved at least 3 'A' grades at A-Level, with only the Chinese ethnic group (24.8%) achieving the same benchmark at a higher rate.[76] Notable individualsMain article: List of British IndiansSee alsoIndian community of London British Pakistanis (Urdu: پاکستانی نژاد برطانوی‎; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent and Pakistani-born people who have migrated to the UK. The majority of British Pakistanis originate from the Azad Kashmir and Punjab regions, with a smaller number from other parts of Pakistan including Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The UK is home to the largest Pakistani community in Europe, with the population of British Pakistanis exceeding 1.17 million based on the 2011 census. British Pakistanis are the second-largest ethnic minority population in the United Kingdom and also make up the second-largest sub-group of British Asians. In addition, they are one of the largest overseas Pakistani communities, similar in number to the Pakistani diaspora in Saudi Arabia.[2][3] Due to the historical relations between the two countries, immigration to the UK from the region which is now Pakistan began in small numbers in the mid-19th century. During the mid-nineteenth century, parts of what is now Pakistan came under the British Raj and people from those regions served as soldiers in the British Indian Army and some were deployed in other parts of the British Empire. However, it was following the Second World War, the break-up of the British Empire and the independence of Pakistan, that Pakistani immigration to the United Kingdom increased, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. This was made easier as Pakistan was a member of the Commonwealth.[4] Pakistani immigrants helped to resolve labour shortages in the British steel, textile and engineering industries. Doctors from Pakistan were recruited by the National Health Service in the 1960s.[5] The British Pakistani population has grown from about 10,000 in 1951 to over 1.1 million in 2011.[1][6] The vast majority of these live in England, with a sizable number in Scotland and smaller numbers in Wales and Northern Ireland. The most diverse Pakistani population is in London which comprises Punjabis, Mirpuri Kashmiris, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Muhajirs, Saraikis, Baloch and others.[2][7] The majority of British Pakistanis are Muslim; around 90 per cent of those living in England and Wales at the time of the 2011 UK Census stated their religion was Islam.[8][9] The majority are Sunni Muslims, with a significant minority of Shia Muslims. The UK also has one of the largest overseas Christian Pakistani communities; the 2011 census recorded around 17,000 Christian Pakistanis living in England and Wales, around 1 per cent of the Pakistani population of England and Wales. Since their settlement, British Pakistanis have had diverse contributions and influence on British society, politics, culture, economy and sport. Whilst social issues include high relative poverty rates among the community according to the 2001 census,[10] significant progress has been made in recent years, with the 2011 Census showing British Pakistanis as having amongst the highest levels of home ownership in Britain.[11] Traditionally, many British Pakistanis have been self-employed, with many working in the transport industry or in family-run businesses of the retail sector.[2] Contents1History1.1Pre-Independence1.2British interwar period1.3Post-Independence2Demographics2.1Population2.2Population distribution2.2.1London2.2.2Birmingham2.2.3Bradford2.2.4Glasgow2.2.5Manchester2.2.6Nottingham2.2.7Leeds2.3Religion2.4Languages2.5Diaspora3Culture3.1Cuisine3.2Sports3.3Literature4Ethnicity and cultural assimilation4.1Azad Kashmiris4.2Punjabis4.3Pashtuns4.4Sindhis4.5Baloch4.6Muhajirs4.7Others5Health and social issues5.1Health5.1.1Sexual health5.2Cousin marriages and health risks5.3Forced marriage6Education6.1Secondary education6.2Higher education6.3Language education7Economics7.1Economic status7.2Employment7.3Social class8Media8.1Cinema8.2Television8.3Radio8.4Print9Politics9.1Labour Party9.2Conservative Party9.3Others10Contemporary issues10.1Allegations of extremism10.2Discrimination10.3Paki-bashing11Notable people12See also12.1Related Pakistanis12.2Related groups12.3Arts and entertainment12.4Other13Notes14References15Further readingHistoryPart of a series onBritish PakistanisUnited Kingdom PakistanHistoryCategoryDemographicsPakistani communities · BradfordPakistani community of LondonLanguagesUrdu · othersCultureBalti (food) · Balti TriangleBritish Punjabi writersDiscriminationReligionIslam in EnglandNotablesList of British PakistanisEnglish people of Pakistani descentScottish people of Pakistani descentWelsh people of Pakistani descentNorthern Irish people of Pakistani descentRelated topicsPakistan – United Kingdom relationsBritons in PakistanBritish Asian2001 Oldham race riots2001 Bradford riotsvtePre-IndependenceThe earliest period of Asian migration to Britain has not been ascertained. It is known that Romani (Gypsy) groups such as the Romanichal and Kale arrived in the region during the Middle Ages, having originated from, what is now, North India and Pakistan and traveled westward to Europe via Southwest Asia around 1000 CE, intermingling with local populations over the course of several centuries.[12][13][14] Immigration from what is now Pakistan to the United Kingdom began long before the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Muslim immigrants from Kashmir, Punjab, Sindh, the North-West Frontier and Balochistan as well as other parts of South Asia, arrived in the British Isles as early as the mid-seventeenth century as employees of the East India Company, typically as lashkars and sailors in British port cities.[15][16] These immigrants were often the first Asians to be seen in British port cities and were initially perceived as indolent due to their reliance on Christian charities.[17] Despite this, most early Pakistani immigrants married local white British women because there were few South Asian women in Britain at the time.[18] During the colonial era, Asians continued coming to Britain as seamen, traders, students, domestic workers, cricketers, political officials and visitors, and some of them settled in the region.[19] South Asian seamen sometimes settled after ill treatment or being abandoned by ship masters.[20][21] Many early Pakistanis came to the UK as scholars and studied at major British institutions, before later returning to British India. An example of such a person is Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah came to the UK in 1892 and started an apprenticeship at Graham's Shipping and Trading Company. After completing his apprenticeship, Jinnah joined Lincoln's Inn where he trained as a barrister. At 19, Jinnah became the youngest person from South Asia to be called to the bar in Britain.[22] British interwar periodMost early Pakistani settlers (then part of the British India Empire) and their families moved from port towns to the Midlands, as Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. Many of these Kashmiris, Punjabis and Sindhis worked in the munition factories of Birmingham. After the war, most of these early settlers stayed on in the region and took advantage of an increase in the number of jobs.[23] These settlers were later joined by the arrival of their families to Britain.[24] In 1932, the Indian National Congress survey of 'all Indians outside India' (Which Pakistani regions were then part of) estimated that there were 7,128 Indians in the United Kingdom.[25] There were 832,500 Muslim Indian soldiers in 1945; most of these recruits were from what is now Pakistan.[26] These soldiers fought alongside the British Army during the First and Second World Wars, particularly in the latter, during the Battle of France, the North African Campaign and the Burma Campaign. Many contributed to the war effort as skilled labourers, including as assembly-line workers in the aircraft factory at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, which produced Spitfire fighters.[26] Most returned to the South Asia after their service, although many of these former soldiers returned to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s to fill labour shortages. Post-IndependenceFollowing the Second World War, the break-up of the British Empire and the independence of Pakistan, Pakistani immigration to the United Kingdom increased, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. Many Pakistanis came to Britain following the turmoil during the partition of India and the subsequent independence of Pakistan; among them were those who migrated to Pakistan upon displacement from India, and then migrated to the UK, thus becoming secondary migrants.[27] Migration was made easier as Pakistan was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.[4] Pakistanis were invited by employers to fill labour shortages which arose after the Second World War. As Commonwealth citizens, they were eligible for most British civic rights. They found employment in the textile industries of Lancashire and Yorkshire, manufacturing in the West Midlands, and car production and food processing industries of Luton and Slough. It was common for Pakistani employees to work on night shifts and at other less-desirable hours.[28] Many Mirpuris began emigrating from Pakistan after the completion of Mangla Dam in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir, in the late 1950s led to the destruction of hundreds of villages. Up to 5,000 people from Mirpur (five per cent of the displaced)[29] left for Britain, while others were allotted land in neighbouring Punjab or used monetary compensation to resettle elsewhere in Pakistan.[27] The displaced Mirpuris were given legal and financial assistance by the British contractor which had built the dam.[30] Those from unaffected areas of Pakistan, such as the Punjab, also immigrated to Britain to help fill labour shortages. Punjabis began to leave Pakistan in the 1960s. They worked in the foundries of the English Midlands, and a significant number also settled in Southall in West London.[31] During the 1960s, a considerable number of Pakistanis also arrived from urban areas. Many of these people were qualified teachers, doctors, and engineers.[28] They had a predisposition to settle in London due to its greater economic opportunities compared to the Midlands or the North of England.[28] Most medical staff from Pakistan were recruited in the 1960s and almost all worked for the National Health Service.[32] At the same time, the number of Pakistanis coming as workers declined.[27] In addition, there was a stream of migrants from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[24][33] During the 1970s, many East African Asians, most of whom already held British passports because they were brought to Africa by British colonialists, entered the UK from Kenya and Uganda. Idi Amin chose to expel all Ugandan Asians in 1972 because of the perception that they were responsible for the country's economic stagnation.[34] The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 and Immigration Act 1971 largely restricted any further primary immigration to the UK, although family members of already-settled immigrants were allowed to join their relatives.[35] The early Pakistani workers who entered the UK came with the intent of staying and working temporarily and eventually returning home. However, this changed into permanent family immigration since the 1962 Act, as well as due to socio-economic circumstances and the future of children which most families saw in Britain.[27] When the UK experienced deindustrialisation in the 1970s, many British Pakistanis became unemployed. The change from the manufacturing sector to the service sector was difficult for ethnic minorities and white Britons alike, especially for those with little academic education. The Midlands and North of England were areas which were heavily reliant on manufacturing industries and the effects of deindustrialisation continue to be felt in these areas.[36] As a result, increasing numbers of British Pakistanis have resorted to self-employment. National statistics from 2004 show that one in seven British Pakistani men work as taxi drivers, cab drivers or chauffeurs.[37] Demographics Map showing the percentage of British people of Pakistani descent by region, and locations of Pakistani communities with more than 20,000 people in the UK. A chart showing the location of birth for British Pakistanis in 2001 (by location against percentage born there)[38]PopulationIn the 2011 UK Census, 1,174,983 residents classified themselves as ethnically Pakistani (excluding people of mixed ethnicity), regardless of their birthplace with 1,112,212 of these living in England.[1] The equivalent figure in the 2001 UK Census was 747,285, an increase of 427,000 over 10 years.[39] Of those Pakistanis living in England, Wales and Scotland in 2001, 55 per cent were born in the UK, 36.9 per cent in Pakistan and 3.5 per cent elsewhere in Asia.[38] According to estimates by the Office for National Statistics, the number of people born in Pakistan living in the UK in 2013 was 502,000.[40] The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis of the Pakistan government estimates that 1.26 million Pakistanis eligible for dual nationality live in the UK, constituting well over half of the total number of Pakistanis in Europe.[6][41] The majority of British Pakistanis are from the Azad Kashmir and Punjab areas of Pakistan,[7] with Azad Kashmiris making up the largest and Punjabis making up the second largest portion. A high proportion of the members of Pakistani communities in the West Midlands and the North originated in Azad Kashmir.[42] Large communities from Azad Kashmir can be found in Birmingham, Bradford, Oldham and the surrounding northern towns.[7] Luton and Slough have the largest Mirpuri Kashmiri communities in the south of England, while a large proportion of Punjabis also reside in the south.[28] There is also a small Pakistani Pashtun population in the UK.[43] Up to 250,000 Pakistanis come to the UK each year, for work, visit or other purposes.[44] Likewise, up to 270,000 British citizens travel to Pakistan each year, mainly to visit family.[44][45] Excluding British citizens of Pakistani descent, the number of individuals living in the UK with a Pakistani passport was estimated at 188,000 in 2017; this made Pakistan the eighth most common non-British nationality in the UK.[46] Pakistan International Airlines flies to several UK airports, providing air linkages between Pakistan and the UK,[47] while British Airways resumed its flights to Pakistan in 2019.[48] Demographer Ceri Peach has estimated the number of British Pakistanis in the 1951 to 1991 censuses. He back-projected the ethnic composition of the 2001 census to the estimated minority populations during previous census years. The results are as follows: YearPopulation (rounded to nearest 1,000)[49]1951 (estimate)10,0001961 (estimate)25,0001971 (estimate)119,0001981 (estimate)296,0001991 (estimate)477,0002001 (actual)747,0002011 (actual)1,175,000[1]Population distributionAt the time of the 2011 UK Census, the distribution of people describing their ethnicity as Pakistani was as follows:[1] RegionNumber of British PakistanisPercentage of total British Pakistani populationBritish Pakistanis as percentage of region's populationSignificant CommunitiesEngland1,112,28294.7%2.10%North East England19,8311.69%0.76%Newcastle-Upon-Tyne - 2.4%Middlesbrough - 5.0% Stockton-On-Tees - 1.7% North West England189,43616.12%2.69%Manchester - 8.5%Rochdale - 10.5% Oldham - 10.0% Blackburn With Darwen - 12.0% Pendle - 17.1% Yorkshire and the Humber225,89219.23%4.28%Bradford - 20.4%Kirklees - 9.9% Calderdale - 6.8% Sheffield - 4.0% Leeds - 3.0% East Midlands48,9404.17%1.08%Derby - 5.9%Nottingham - 5.5% Leicester - 2.4% West Midlands227,24819.34%4.06%Birmingham - 13.5%Walsall - 5.3% Stoke-On-Trent - 4.2% Dudley - 3.3% Sandwell - 4.5% East Staffordshire - 4.9% East of England66,2705.64%1.13%Luton - 14.4%Peterborough - 6.6% Watford - 6.7% London223,79719.05%2.74%London Borough of Waltham Forest - 10.2%London Borough of Newham - 9.8% London Borough of Redbridge - 11.1% South East England99,2468.45%1.15%Slough - 17.7%Wycombe - 7.6% Woking - 5.7% Crawley - 4.3% Reading - 4.5% South West England11,6220.99%0.22%Bristol - 1.6%Wales12,2291.04%0.40%Cardiff - 1.8%Newport - 2.1% Scotland49,3814.24%0.93%Glasgow - 3.8%Edinburgh - 1.2% Northern Ireland1,0910.09%0.06%Belfast - 0.09%Total UK1,174,983100%1.86%LondonMain article: Pakistani community of LondonGreater London has the largest Pakistani community in the United Kingdom. The 2011 census recorded 224,000 British Pakistanis living in London.[50] However, it only forms 2.7 per cent of London's population, which is significantly lower than certain other British cities despite their lower overall Pakistani population. This population is made up of Punjabis, Mirpuris, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Muhajirs and Baloch.[51][failed verification] This mix comparably makes the British Pakistani community of London more diverse than other communities in the UK, whereas a high proportion of Pakistani communities in the West Midlands and the North came from Azad Kashmir.[28] The largest concentrations are in East London,[51] with the largest communities found in places including Ilford, Leyton, Walthamstow, Newham borough and Barking. Significant communities can also be found in the boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hounslow in West London and Wandsworth and Croydon in South London.[52] A considerable number of Pakistanis have set up their own businesses, often employing family members.[51] Today, a fifth of Pakistani Londoners are self-employed.[51] Businesses such as grocery stores and newsagents are common, while later arrivers commonly work as taxi drivers or chauffeurs.[51] Well-known British Pakistanis from London include Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London; Anwar Pervez, whose Earl's Court grocery store expanded into the Bestway chain with a turnover of £2 billion,[53] and the playwright and author Hanif Kureishi.[54] BirminghamBirmingham has the second largest Pakistani community in the United Kingdom. The 2011 census recorded that there were 144,627 Pakistanis living in Birmingham, making up 13.5 per cent of the city's total population.[1] The largest concentrations are in inner city Birmingham and areas such as Sparkhill, Small Heath, Bordesley Green, Balsall Heath, Aston, Ward End, Lozells, Nechells, Alum Rock and Washwood Heath. Wealthy middle-class Pakistanis tend to live in Hall Green and Yardley.[55][56] The majority of "Brummie" Pakistanis can trace their roots to Azad Kashmir, with large minorities from Punjab and more recently, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The BBC sitcom Citizen Khan is set among the Pakistani community of Sparkhill, described as "the capital of British Pakistan." Bradford Bradford, in the north of England, is considered to be a typical "mill and mosque town" due to its large Pakistani community.The 2011 Census recorded 106,614 Pakistanis in Bradford. This was 20.4 per cent of the total population.[1] The majority of British Pakistanis in Bradford can trace their roots to the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir.[57] GlasgowPakistanis make up the largest 'visible' ethnic minority in Scotland, representing nearly one third of the non-white ethnic minority population.[58] The 2011 census recorded 22,405 Pakistanis in Glasgow, 3.78% of the city's total population.[59] There are large Pakistani communities throughout the city, notably in the Pollokshields area of South Glasgow, where there are said to be some "high standard" Pakistani takeaways and Asian fabric shops.[60] The majority came from the central Punjab part of Pakistan, including Faisalabad and Lahore.[61] A survey by the University of Glasgow found that Scottish Pakistanis felt more Scottish than English people living there, and that their preferred political party was the Scottish National Party.[62] Glaswegian Humza Yousaf, of the SNP, who has served as the Minister for Transport and the Islands in the devolved Scottish Government since 18 May 2016, is of partly Pakistani descent.[citation needed] Manchester The Curry Mile on Wilmslow Road in Manchester is home to a myriad of Pakistani bakers, delicatessens and handmade jewellery in addition to several halal restaurants and take-aways.Pakistanis are the largest ethnic minority in Manchester, where they made up 3.8 per cent of the inner city's population in 2001.[63] Large Pakistani populations are also to be found in the Greater Manchester boroughs of Oldham and Rochdale, where they constituted 4.1 and 5.5 per cent of the population, respectively.[63] In 2011, the ethnic Pakistani population of Manchester City had risen to 42,904, or 8.5% of the city's total population.[64] In the wider area of Greater Manchester, there were 130,012 people of Pakistani ethnicity, or 4.8 per cent of the population.[65] With greater prosperity, a recent[when?] trend has seen some of Manchester's Asian community move out of the inner city into more spacious suburbs, though British Pakistanis in Oldham and Rochdale remain less transient due to lower economic opportunities in these towns.[31] A significant number of Manchester-based Pakistani business families have moved down the A34 road to live in the affluent Heald Green area.[66] Academics have associated the suburban movement of Pakistani-origin Muslims in Manchester with the formation of "gilded ghettoes" in the sought-after commuter suburbs of Cheshire.[31] In 2018, Manchester was the venue for a fundraising telethon held to help crowdfund a major dam project in Pakistan.[67] NottinghamThe 2011 census recorded 16,771 British Pakistanis in Nottingham which formed 5.5% of the city's population.[65] There are a number of areas where Pakistanis have businesses and a number of 'Curry mile' streets as in Radford Road, Alfreton Road and Sneinton Dale Road.[citation needed] Within Bobbersmill and Forest Fields areas, Pakistanis are 17.4% of the total population.[68] LeedsThe 2011 census recorded 22,492 Pakistanis, 3% of the Leeds population. [69] The districts of Beeston, Harehills and Hyde Park are home to significant Pakistani populations.[citation needed] ReligionThe majority of Pakistanis in the UK (over 90%) are Muslims. The largest proportion of these belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, with a significant minority belonging to the Shia branch.[7] Other notable sects include Ahmadiyya (whose spiritual leader, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, is based in London)[70] and Sufism. Mosques, community centres and religious youth organisations play an integral part in British Pakistani social life.[71] Pakistanis account for 38 per cent of all Muslims in England and Wales.[8] This figure varies from a high of 71 per cent in Yorkshire and The Humber to a low of 21.5 per cent in Greater London. In England and Wales, there are around 17,000 Pakistani Christians, and slightly fewer Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians (mainly Parsis)[72] and others. The overall religious breakdown of British Pakistanis living in England and Wales in 2011 was: ReligionPercentage of British Pakistani population in England and Wales[8]Star and Crescent.svg Islam91.46%Not stated5.16%Gold Christian Cross no Red.svg Christianity1.52%None1.07%Om.svg Hinduism0.34%Khanda.svg Sikhism0.29%Dharma Wheel.svg Buddhism0.06%Other religion0.05%Star of David.svg Judaism0.04%LanguagesSee also: Urdu in the United Kingdom and Punjabi language in the United KingdomMost British Pakistanis speak English, and those who were born in the UK consider British English to be their first language. Pakistani English is spoken by first-generation and recent immigrants. Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, is understood and spoken by many British Pakistanis at a native level, and is the fourth-most commonly spoken language in the UK.[73][74] Urdu is taught in some secondary schools and colleges for GCSEs and A Levels.[75] It is also offered in madrassas along with Arabic.[76][77] According to Sajid Mansoor Qaisrani Urdu language periodicals of 1990s published in UK used to exclusively focus on South Asian issues, sans any relevance to British society.[78] Coverage of local British issues and problems of local Pakistanis in UK used to be very less.[78] Beyond Pakistani youth's interest in identifying with ethnic and religious identity ,Urdu language was of little use to them in finding suitable employment opportunities.[78] As the majority of Pakistanis in Britain are from Azad Kashmir and Punjab, some common languages spoken amongst Pakistanis in Britain are Punjabi, Potohari, Mirpuri and Hindko, which are closely related dialects of Punjabi.[79] Other Punjabi dialects are also spoken in Britain, making Punjabi the third-most commonly spoken language.[73][80] Other significant Pakistani languages spoken include Pashto, Saraiki, Sindhi, Balochi and a minority of others. The number of speakers of such languages (as a primary language) in the United Kingdom, based on an Ethnologue report, are shown below. These languages are not only spoken by British Pakistanis, but also by other groups such as British Indians, British Afghans or British Iranians.[81] Primary languageSpeakersPunjabi573,500Urdu400,000Pashto162,000Memoni140,000Kashmiri115,000Saraiki30,000Sindhi25,000BalochiNADiasporaMany British Pakistanis have emigrated from the UK, establishing a diaspora of their own. There are around 80,000 Britons in Pakistan,[82][83] a substantial number of whom are British Pakistanis who have resettled in Pakistan. The town of Mirpur in Azad Kashmir, where the majority of British Pakistanis hail from, has a large expatriate population of resettled British Pakistanis and is dubbed "Little England".[84][85][86] Other British Pakistanis have migrated elsewhere to Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Dubai, UAE remains a popular destination for British Pakistani expatriates to live in, mainly because of its modern lifestyle and work opportunities, Muslim culture, and convenient location between the UK and Pakistan.[87] Pakistanis in Hong Kong were given full British citizenship in 1997 during the handover of Hong Kong, when it ceased to be a British colony, so as to prevent them being made stateless.[88] Previously, as Hong Kong residents, they held the status of British Overseas Territories citizens.[89][90] Culture The Balti is an example of British Pakistani cuisine.Pakistan's Independence Day is celebrated on 14 August of each year in large Pakistani-populated areas of various cities, including Green Street in Newham, London, and the Curry mile in Manchester. Pakistani Muslims also observe the month of Ramadan and mark the Islamic festivals of Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr.[91] The annual Birmingham Eid Mela attracts more than 20,000 British Pakistanis to celebrate the festival of Eid. The Eid Mela also welcomes Muslims of other ethnic backgrounds.International and UK Asian musicians help celebrate the nationwide Muslim community through its culture, music, food and sport.[92] Green Street in East London hosts Europe's "first Asian shopping mall".[93] A number of high-end Pakistani fashion and other retail brands have opened stores in the UK.[94][95] CuisineFurther information: Pakistani cuisineSee also: Balti (food)Pakistani and South Asian cuisines are highly popular in Britain and have nurtured a largely successful food industry. The cuisine of Pakistan is strongly related to North Indian cuisine, coupled with an exotic blend of Arabic, Afghan, Central Asian, Persian and Turkish flavours.[96] The Pakistani language Urdu is also a mixture of Arabic, Persian and Turkish,[97] which shows and reflects the unity between the linguistic and culinary aspects of Pakistani culture. Mirpuri cuisine and Punjabi cuisine are well represented in Britain, reflecting the ethnic backgrounds of the Pakistanis who live in Britain. The popular Balti dish has its roots in Birmingham, where it was believed to have been created by a Pakistani immigrant of Balti origin in 1977. The dish is thought to have borrowed native tastes from the northern Pakistani region of Baltistan in Kashmir.[98] In 2009, the Birmingham City Council attempted to trademark the Balti dish to give the curry Protected Geographical Status alongside items such as luxury cheese and champagne.[99] The area of Birmingham where the Balti dish was first served is known locally as the "Balti Triangle" or "Balti Belt".[100][101] Chicken tikka masala has long been amongst the nation's favourite dishes, and is claimed to have been invented by a Pakistani chef in Glasgow, though its origins remain disputed.[102][103] There has been support for a campaign in Glasgow to obtain European Union Protected Designation of Origin status for it.[104] Pakistanis are well represented in the British food industry. Many self-employed British Pakistanis own takeaways and restaurants. "Indian restaurants" in the North of England are almost entirely Pakistani owned.[105] According to the Food Standards Agency, the South Asian food industry in the UK is worth £3.2 billion, accounting for two thirds of all eating out, and serving about 2.5 million British customers every week.[106] Mirpuri and Punjabi origin curry sauces are sold in British supermarkets by British Pakistani entrepreneurs such as Manchester-born Nighat Awan. Awan's Asian food business, Shere Khan, has made her one of the richest women in Britain.[107] Successful fast-food chains founded by British Pakistanis include Chicken Cottage[108] and Dixy Chicken.[109] SportsFurther information: List of British people of Pakistani descent § SportThe expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas.[110] Cricket is a core part of Pakistani sporting culture and is often played by British Pakistanis for leisure and recreation.[111] Aftab Habib, Usman Afzaal, Kabir Ali, Owais Shah, Sajid Mahmood, Adil Rashid, Amjad Khan, Ajmal Shahzad, Moeen Ali, Zafar Ansari and Saqib Mahmood have played cricket for England.[112][113] Similarly, Asim Butt, Omer Hussain, Majid Haq, Qasim Sheikh and Moneeb Iqbal have represented Scotland. Prior to playing for England, Amjad Khan represented Denmark, the country of his birth. Imad Wasim became the first Welsh-born cricketer to represent Pakistan.[114][115] Former Pakistani cricketer Azhar Mahmood moved his career to England and became a naturalised British citizen.[116] There are several other British Pakistanis, as well as cricketers from Pakistan, who play English county cricket.[117][118] Many young British Pakistanis find it difficult to make their way to the highest level of playing for England, despite lots of talent around the country. Many concerns about this have been documented although the number of British Pakistanis making progress in representing England is on the rise.[119] The Pakistan national cricket team enjoys a substantial following among British Pakistanis, with the level of support translating to the equivalent of a home advantage whenever the team tours the UK. The "Stani Army" are a group consisting of British Pakistanis who follow the team especially when they play in the UK. The Stani Army are seen as the "rival" fan club to India's "Bharat Army". [120][121][122][123][124] England and Pakistan share a long cricketing relationship, often characterised by rivalries.[125][126] Football is also widely followed and played by many young British Pakistanis (see British Asians in association football). Many players in the Pakistan national football team are British-born Pakistanis who became eligible to represent the country due to their Pakistani heritage. Zesh Rehman is a football defender who briefly played for Fulham F.C., becoming the first British Asian to play in the Premier League, before also playing for the English national U-18, U-19 and U-20 football teams until eventually opting for Pakistan. Other notable British Pakistani footballers include Adnan Ahmed, Amjad Iqbal, Atif Bashir, Iltaf Ahmed, Kashif Siddiqi, Reis Ashraf, Shabir Khan and Usman Gondal. Hockey and polo are commonly played in Pakistan, with the former being a national sport, but these sports are not as popular among British Pakistanis, possibly due to the urban lifestyles which the majority of them embrace. Imran Sherwani was a hockey player of Pakistani descent who played for the English and Great Britain national field hockey teams.[127] Adam Khan is a race car driver from Bridlington, Yorkshire. He represents Pakistan in the A1 Grand Prix series. Khan is currently the demonstration driver for the Renault F1 racing team.[128] Ikram Butt was the first South Asian to play international rugby for England in 1995.[129] He is the founder of the British Asian Rugby Association and the British Pakistani rugby league team, and has also captained Pakistan. Amir Khan is the most famous British Pakistani boxer. He is the current WBA World light welterweight champion and 2004 Summer Olympics silver medalist.[130] Matthew Syed was a table tennis international, and the English number one for many years.[131] Lianna Swan is a swimmer who has represented Pakistan in several events.[132] LiteratureA number of British Pakistani writers are notable in the field of literature. They include Tariq Ali, Kamila Shamsie, Nadeem Aslam, Mohsin Hamid and others.[133] Through their publications, diaspora writers have developed a body of work that has come to be known as Pakistani English literature. Ethnicity and cultural assimilationA report conducted by The University of Essex found that British Pakistanis identify with 'Britishness' more than any other Britons. The study is one of several recent studies that have found that Pakistanis in Britain express a strong sense of belonging in Britain. The report showed that 90% of Pakistanis feel a strong sense of belonging in Britain compared to 84% of white Britons.[134] English Pakistanis tend to identify much more with the United Kingdom than with England, with 63% describing themselves in a Policy Exchange survey as exclusively "British" and not "English" in terms of nationality, and only 15% saying they were solely English.[135] Azad KashmirisMain article: British MirpurisAround 70% of all British Pakistanis trace their origins to the region of Mirpur in Azad Kashmir, northeastern Pakistan, including the towns of Dadyal, Chakswari, Islamgarh, Khari Sharif, Prahi, Bajjar and surrounding villages. Some also originate from the neighbouring districts of Bagh, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Neelum, Bhimber and Kotli.[23][136][137] Pahari-Potwari dialects, spoken natively by Mirpuri immigrants, figure as the most commonly spoken languages of the British Pakistani community after English. Whilst these people may identify as "Kashmiris", most of them are not ethnic Kashmiris; rather, their native regions came under the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1846. The first generation migrant Mirpuris were not highly educated, and being from rural settlements, had little or no experience of urban living in Pakistan.[3] Migration from Mirpur and its adjacent areas started soon after the second world war as the majority of the male population of this area and the Potohar region worked in the British armed forces, as well as to fill labour shortages in industry. But the mass migration phenomenon accelerated in the 1960s, when, for improving water supply, the Mangla Dam project was built in the area, flooding the surrounding farmlands. Up to 5,000 people from Mirpur (five per cent of the displaced) resettled in Britain. The British contractor undertaking the project provided assistance to the displaced Mirpuris. More Mirpuris joined their relatives in Britain after availing government compensation and liberal migration policies. Cities with large concentration of Mirpuris are Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham, Leeds and Luton.[23] Today, there are an estimated 700,000 people from Azad Kashmir residing in the UK.[23] Mirpur was considered to be a conservative district in the 1960s, and life in its rural villages like most of the South Asian countries, was dominated by rigid hierarchies. Economic boom brought dramatic changes to the area after its residents started migrating to Europe, especially the UK, bolstering remittances. Families in Pakistan tend to be close knit and the guiding influence behind everything from marriage to business.[138] These Asian cultural values have clashed with British ones, which tend to be more free thinking and independent. Mirpuri migrants lived in some of the most segregated areas of Britain, and their children attended the most segregated schools.[139] The British government has made attempts to improve community cohesion by nurturing a sense of shared or collective national identity. One programme designed to encourage greater social mixing includes the busing of students of Pakistani origin to "white schools" in an attempt to bridge the divide between the British Pakistani and white British ethnic groups.[140] The Mirpuri community has made significant economic progress over the years. In almost all the major UK cities there is a sizeable Mirpuri business community which owns take aways, restaurants, shops and taxi bases to small and medium-sized manufacturing units, legal and financial firms. On the other hand, after the economic hardships faced by the first generation Mirpuri immigrants, their third and fourth generations are moving fast in the new fields of science, technology, arts and social sciences with higher number of youth taking admissions in different universities. The Mirpuri expatriate community has made notable progress in UK politics and a sizeable number of MPs, councillors, lord mayors and deputy mayors are representing the community in different constituencies.[137] The 2005 Kashmir earthquake caused widespread losses in Azad Kashmir, affecting many British Pakistanis.[23] Many Mirpuri have named their businesses after the Pakistani region. One of the largest companies incorporating such a name is Kashmir Crown Bakeries, which is a food-making business based in Bradford. The company is a major local employer and is the largest Asian food manufacturer in Europe.[141] The owner, Mohammed Saleem, claims that combining traditional Mirpuri baking methods with vocational British training has given his baking business a multimillion-pound turnover.[142] PunjabisMain article: British PunjabisPunjabis make up the second-largest sub-group of British Pakistanis, estimated to make up a third of that group.[143] With an equally large number from Indian Punjab, two thirds of all British Asians are of Punjabi descent, and they are the largest Punjabi community outside of South Asia,[143] resulting in Punjabi being the third-most commonly spoken language in the UK.[73][80] People who came from the Punjab area have integrated much more easily into British society because the Punjab is a mostly prosperous part of Pakistan.[144] Early Punjabi immigrants to Britain tended to have more higher education credentials[31] and found it easier to assimilate because many already had a basic knowledge of the English language (speaking Pakistani English). Research by Teesside University has found that the British Punjabi community of late has become one of the most highly educated and economically successful ethnic minorities in the UK.[145] Most Pakistani Punjabis living in the UK can trace their roots to the irrigated farms and urban conurbations of northern and central Punjab, including Jhelum, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Gujar Khan, Kallar Syedan, Attock, Bewal, Chiniot, Chakwal, Sui Cheemian, Sargodha, Gujrat, Sialkot and Gujranwala[3][146] while more recent immigrants have also arrived from large cities such as Lahore, urban Faisalabad, Islamabad-Rawalpindi and Multan. Additionally, many Muslim Punjabis entered the UK from Kenya and Uganda in the 1970s.[147] These workers were brought to Africa by British colonialists, therefore most held British passports. British Punjabis are commonly found in the south of England, the Midlands and the major cities in the north (with smaller minorities in former mill towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire).[1] PashtunsSee also: Pashtun diasporaPakistani Pashtuns (Pathans) in the United Kingdom originate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwestern Pakistan. A number of estimates exist on the Pashtun population in the UK. Ethnologue estimates that there are up to 87,000 native Pashto-speakers in the UK; this figure also includes Afghan immigrants belonging to the Pashtun ethnicity.[148] Another report shows that there are over 100,000 Pashtuns in Britain, making them the largest Pashtun community in Europe.[149] Major Pashtun settlement in the United Kingdom can be dated over the course of the past five decades. There is a British Pashtun Council which has been formed by the Pashtun community in the UK. British Pashtuns have continued to maintain ties with Pakistan over the years, taking keen interest in political and socioeconomic developments in northwestern Pakistan.[149] Many Pashtun families came from cities such as Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Kohat and Nowshera. There are also smaller communities from other parts of Pakistan, such as Punjabi-Pashtuns from Attock.[30] SindhisSee also: British SindhisThere are over 30,000 Sindhis in Britain.[72][81] BalochSee also: Baloch diasporaThere is a small Baloch community in the UK, originating from the Balochistan province of southwestern Pakistan and neighbouring regions.[150] There are many Baloch associations and groups active in the UK, including the Baloch Students and Youth Association (BSYA),[151][152] Baloch Cultural Society, Baloch Human Rights Council (UK) and others.[153] Some Baloch political leaders and workers are based in the UK, where they found exile.[154][155][156][157] MuhajirsSee also: Muhajir diasporaThere are over 400,000 Urdu-speakers in the UK,[81] some of whom are Muhajirs.[150] Muhajirs originally migrated from present-day India to Pakistan following the partition of British India in 1947. Most of them settled in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, where they form the demographic majority. Many Muhajir Pakistanis later migrated to Britain, effecting a secondary migration.[27] Altaf Hussain, leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)—the largest political party in Karachi, with its roots lying in the Muhajir community—has been based in England in self-imposed exile since 1992. He is controversially regarded to have virtually "ruled" and "remotely governed" Karachi from his residence in the north London suburb of Edgware.[158][159] OthersThere is also a Pakistani Hazara community in the UK, concentrated particularly in Milton Keynes, northeastern London, Southampton and Birmingham. A Persian-speaking community originating from central Afghanistan. They migrated to the UK from Quetta and its surroundings, which is historically home to the large Hazara population in Pakistan.[160][161][162] Health and social issuesHealthPakistanis together with Bangladeshis in the UK have poor health by many measures, for instance there is an fivefold rate of diabetes.[163] Pakistani men have the highest rate of heart disease in the UK.[164] Sexual healthBritish Pakistanis, male and female, on average claim to have had only one sexual partner. The average British Pakistani male claims to have lost his virginity at the age of 20, the average female at 22, giving an average age of 21. 3.2 per cent of Pakistani males report that they have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI), compared to 3.6 per cent of Pakistani females.[165] Cultural norms regarding issues such as chastity and marriage have resulted in British Pakistanis having a substantially older age for first intercourse, lower number of partners, and lower STI rates than the national average.[165] Cousin marriages and health risksResearch in Birmingham in the 1980s suggested that 50-70% of marriages within the Pakistani community were consanguineous.[166] Such consanguinity can double the likelihood of a child suffering from a birth defect from 3% to 6%.[167] Children born to closely related Pakistani parents had an autosomal recessive condition rate of 4% compared to 0.1% for the European group.[166] Cousin marriages or marriages within the same tribe and clan are common in some parts of South Asia, including rural areas of Pakistan.[168] A major motivation is to preserve patrilineal tribal identity.[169] The tribes to which British Pakistanis belong include Jats, Ahirs, Gujjars, Awans, Arains, Rajputs and several others, all of whom are spread throughout Pakistan and north India. As a result, there are some common genealogical origins within these tribes.[170] Some Mirpuri British Pakistanis view cousin or in-tribe marriages as a way of preserving this ancient tribal tradition and maintaining a sense of brotherhood, an extension of the biradri system which underpins community support networks.[150][171] Most British Pakistanis prefer to marry within their own ethnic group,[172] and in 2009, it was estimated that six in ten British Pakistanis choose a spouse from Pakistan.[44] Forced marriageAccording to the British Home Office, 38 per cent of the cases of forced marriage investigated in 2014 involved families of Pakistani origin. This was the highest nationality, followed by Indians and Bangladeshis.[173] The Home Office estimates that 79% of cases involved female victims and 21% involved male victims.[173] Sixty per cent of the Pakistani forced marriages handled by the British High Commission assistance unit in Islamabad are linked to the small towns of Bhimber and Kotli and the city of Mirpur in Azad Kashmir.[174] According to 2017 data by the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), a joint effort between the Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, of the 439 callers related to Pakistan, 78.8% were female and 21.0% were male, 13.7% were under the age of 15 and another 13.0% were aged 16–17. Over 85% of the cases dealt with by the FMU were dealt with entirely in the UK, preventing the marriage before it could take place. Victims were in some cases forced to sponsor a visa for the spouse.[175] EducationData from the 2011 census shows that 25% of British Pakistanis in England and Wales hold degree level qualifications, in comparison to 26% of White British people. This has increased since 1991, when the figures for both groups holding a degree were 7% and 13%, respectively.[176][177] The younger generation of British Pakistanis tends to be more educationally qualified than the older generation.[177] 26% of British Pakistanis in England and Wales did not have qualifications, compared to 24% of White British people, making them of one of the least qualified major groups.[177][178] Secondary educationPakistani pupils perform slightly below the national average when measured by the proportion of pupils gaining grade 4 or above in English and Maths GCSEs.[179] The British Pakistani GCSE pass rates does not distinguish the differences in achievement around the country, and Pakistani pupils have greater regional fluctuations than other groups.[28] For example, in 2015, Pakistani pupils from London were achieving above the results for White British pupils regionally and nationally. 73.9% of Pakistani pupils in London achieved five or more A*-C grades, compared to the White British London average of 69.5% in London and 65.9% across England and Wales.[180] In the London borough of Croydon, 79.7% of Pakistani pupils gained five or more A*-C grades, compared to an average of 77.8% of Indian pupils and 71.3% of White British pupils.[180] These nationwide differences are the result of differences in material circumstances, social class, and migration histories of the different communities which make up British Pakistanis.[28] In 2012, 46.5% of Pakistani students in England who were eligible for free school meals achieved five or more A*-C GCSE grades including English and mathematics. This figure is 10.2% higher than the national average of 36.3%.[181] British-Pakistani[182] Ash Amin is the Chair of Geography at Cambridge University.[183]GCSE pass rates, England only [179]Percentage achieving Grade 4/C or above in English and MathematicsPakistani pupilsAll pupils2013/1453.4%58.9%2014/1553.6%59.2%2015/1658.1%63.0%2016/1760.1%63.9%2017/1861.3%64.2%2018/1962.2%64.6%There are several Muslim schools which also cater to British Pakistani pupils.[184][185] Higher educationAccording to the Office for National Statistics, there were 249,508 British Pakistani graduates in 2017.[186] In 2017, approximately 16,480 British Pakistani students were admitted to university, almost a two-fold increase from 8,460 in 2006.[187] University applicants from regions of predominantly non-Mirpuri settlement, such as Greater London and the South East, are over represented, Greater London by 7.5 per cent and the South East by 4.6 per cent.[28] In contrast, they are under represented by 4.9 per cent in the West Midlands, by 4.4 per cent in the East of England and by 4.3 per cent in Yorkshire and Humber. There is a slight over representation in other regions of between 0.2 per cent to 0.6 per cent.[28] Fifty-one per cent of British Pakistanis choose to continue their studies at the university level. This is higher than the rate for White (38%), Black Caribbean (41%), Mixed (40%), and lower than the rate for Indians (75%) and Bangladeshis (53%).[188] University level higher education drop out rate among British Pakistanis is, according to Rahema Nadeem, may be due to lower individualism where in family intereferes in educational and career choices leads to higher failuer rate due to individual interest not matching with forced selection of the career, secondly lack of enough role models in higher education within family also one of the reason.[189] Science and mathematics are the most popular subjects at A level and degree level among the youngest generation of British Pakistanis, as they begin to establish themselves within the field.[190] In addition, there are over 10,000 Pakistani international students who enrol and study at British universities and educational institutions each year.[44][191] There are numerous student and cultural associations formed by Pakistani pupils studying at British universities. Since 2008, thousands of British Pakistani graduates in Britain have been forced to work for low wages due to the rising unemployment and recession in the country. The majority of graduates attended post-1992 universities and graduated without experience. More than 20,000 British Pakistani students who graduated in 2012 were still without jobs six months after graduating. Moreover, an increasing number of university graduates are opting for low-paying minimum wage positions. In 2011 alone, some 10,270 graduates found work as labourers, couriers, office juniors, hospital porters, waiters, bar staff, cleaners, road sweepers and school dinner servers. This was almost double the number in 2008 before the UK recession struck.[192] Language educationUrdu courses are available in the UK and can be studied at GCSE and A level.[75][193] Urdu degrees are offered in a couple of British universities and institutes, while several others are also hoping to offer courses in Urdu, open to established speakers as well as beginners, in the future.[194][195][196][197] The Punjabi language is also offered at GCSE and A Level,[198] and taught as a course by two universities: SOAS[199] and King's College London.[200] Pashto is presently taught at SOAS and King's College London as well.[201] Economics Pakistani mangos, which were until recently only stocked by British Asian retailers,[202] are now sold in prestigious department stores, such as Harrods and Selfridges.[203][204]Location has had a great impact on the success of British Pakistanis. The existence of a North-South divide leaves those in the north of England economically depressed, although there is a small concentration of more highly educated Pakistanis living in the suburbs of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, as some Pakistani immigrants have taken advantage of the trading opportunities and entrepreneurial environment which exist in major UK cities.[205] But material deprivation and under-performing schools of the inner city have impeded social mobility for many Mirpuris.[205] British Pakistanis based in large cities have found making the transition into the professional middle class easier than those based in peripheral towns. This is due to the fact that cities like Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Oxford have provided a more economically encouraging environment than the small towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire.[31] On the other hand, the decline in the British textile boom brought about economic disparities for Pakistanis who worked and settled in the smaller mill towns following the 1960s, with properties failing to appreciate enough and incomes having shrunk.[172] Most of the initial funds for entrepreneurial activities were historically collected by workers in food processing and clothing factories.[206] The funds were often given a boost by wives saving "pin money" and interest-free loans which were exchanged between fellow migrants. By the 1980s, British Pakistanis began dominating the ethnic and halal food businesses, Indian restaurants, Asian fabric shops, and travel agencies.[205] Other Pakistanis secured ownership of textile manufacturing or wholesale businesses and took advantage of cheap family labour. The once multimillion-pound company Joe Bloggs has such an origin. Clothing imports from Southeast Asia began to affect the financial success of these mill-owning Pakistanis in the 1990s. However, some Pakistani families based in the major cities managed to buck this trend by selling or renting out units in their former factories.[205] In the housing rental market, Pakistani landlords first rented out rooms to incoming migrants, who were mostly Pakistani themselves. As these renters settled in Britain and prospered to the point where they could afford to buy their own homes, non-Asian university students became the main potential customers to these landlords. By 2000, several British Pakistanis had established low-cost rental properties throughout England.[205] Aneel Mussarat is an example of a property millionaire. His company, MCR Property Group, specialises in renting apartments to university students in Manchester and Liverpool. British Pakistanis are most likely to live in owner-occupied Victorian terraced houses of the inner city.[207] In the increasing suburban movement amongst Pakistanis living in Britain,[208] this trend is most conspicuous among children of Pakistani immigrants.[209] Pakistanis tend to place a strong emphasis on owning their own home and have one of the highest rates of home ownership in the UK at 73 per cent, slightly higher than that of the white British population.[210] Many first generation British Pakistanis have invested in second homes or holiday homes in Pakistan.[211] They have purchased houses next to their villages and sometimes even in more expensive cities, such as Islamabad and Lahore. Upon reaching the retirement age, a small number hand over their houses in Britain to their offspring and settle in their second homes in Pakistan.[205] This relocation multiplies the value of their British state pensions. Investing savings in Pakistan has limited the funding available for investing in their UK businesses. In comparison, other migrant groups, such as South Asian migrants from East Africa, have benefited from investing only in Britain.[205] Economic statusStatistics from the 2011 census show that Pakistani communities in England particularly in the North and the Midlands, are disproportionately affected by low pay, unemployment and poverty.[212][213] Thirty-two per cent of British Pakistanis live in a deprived neighbourhood, compared to 10 per cent for England overall.[214] Consequently, many fall within the welfare net.[215] In Scotland however, Pakistanis were less likely to live in a deprived area than the average.[216] Conversely, there were around 100 British Pakistani millionaires in 2001, representing a variety of industries.[217][218] Sir Anwar Pervez, owner of one of the UK's largest companies, the Bestway group,[219] is the richest British Pakistani and also among the UK's 50 richest people, with assets exceeding £1.5 billion.[220] In addition, several wealthy Pakistanis including prominent politicians own millions of pounds' worth of assets and properties in the UK, such as holiday homes.[221][222][223][224] In 2017, 19.8 per cent of Pakistani secondary school students were eligible for free school meals, compared to 13.1 per cent of White British pupils. Amongst pupils in Key Stage 1, 14.1 per cent of both Pakistani and White British children were eligible for FSM.[225] A 2020 report by the Runnymede Trust found that British Pakistani households have an estimated median total wealth of £127,000, placing them in third place out of the major ethnic groups in the UK.[226] The statistics show the following: Ethnic groupMedian total wealthWhite British£282,000Indian£266,000Pakistani£127,000Black Caribbean£89,000Other Asian£50,000Bangladeshi£28,000Black African£28,000Employment One in seven British Pakistanis works as a taxi driver, cab driver or chauffeur.[37]According to the 2011 Census:[227] Economic ActivityAllMaleFemaleEmployed49%68%32%Self-Employed24%30%10%Economically Inactive41%24%60%Data from the 2011 Census shows that British Pakistanis had one of the lowest employment rates amongst other ethnic groups and a lower than average employment rate in all regions of England and Wales, reported at 49%. The statistics also showed that Pakistanis had one of the highest rates of unemployment at 12%. Around 60% of British Pakistani women were economically inactive and 15% were unemployed in 2011.[228] Amongst older employed Pakistani women, many work as packers, bottlers, canners, fillers, or sewing machinists.[37] Pakistani women have recently begun to surge into the labour market.[229] Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that British Pakistanis are far more likely to be self-employed than any other ethnic group, at 25%.[230] The latest available data from the Labour Force Survey show that in the fourth quarter of 2019, the employment rate for British Pakistanis stood at 57% and unemployment rates were 7%.[231] According to General Medical Council statistics,[when?] 14,213 doctors from Pakistan are registered in the UK,[232] and 2,100 dentists of Pakistani ethnicity were registered with the General Dental Council as of 2017.[233] Pakistani-origin doctors make up 4.6 per cent of all doctors in the UK[232] and Pakistan is one of the largest source countries of foreign young doctors in the UK.[234] Social classThe majority of British Pakistanis are considered to be working or middle class.[235] According to the 2011 Census, 16.5 per cent of Pakistanis living in England and Wales were in managerial or professional occupations, 19.3 per cent in intermediate occupations, and 23.5 per cent in routine or manual occupations. The remaining 24.4 per cent and 16.3 per cent were classified under never worked or long-term unemployed and full-time students.[236] Whilst British Pakistanis living in the Midlands and the North are more likely to be unemployed or suffer from social exclusion,[28] some Pakistani communities in London and the south-east are said to be "fairly prosperous".[42] It was estimated that, in 2001, around 45 per cent of British Pakistanis living in both inner and outer London were middle class.[237] MediaCinemaNotable films that depict the lives of British Pakistanis include My Beautiful Laundrette, which received a BAFTA award nomination, and the popular East is East which won a BAFTA award, a British Independent Film Award and a London Film Critics' Circle Award. The Infidel looked at a British Pakistani family living in East London.[238] The Infidel depicted religious issues and the identity crisis facing a young member of the family. The film Four Lions also looked at issues of religion and extremism. It followed British Pakistanis living in Sheffield in the North of England. The sequel to East is East, called West is West was released in the UK on 25 February 2011.[239] Citizen Khan is a sitcom developed by Adil Ray which is based on a British Pakistani family in Sparkhill, Birmingham, dubbed the "capital of British Pakistan."[240] The soap opera EastEnders also features many British Pakistani characters.[241] Pakistani Lollywood films have been screened in British cinemas.[242][243] Indian Bollywood films are also shown in British cinemas and are popular with many second generation British Pakistanis and British Asians.[244] TelevisionBBC has news services in Urdu and Pashto.[245][246] In 2005, the BBC showed an evening of programmes under the title "Pakistani, Actually". The programmes offered an insight into the lives of Pakistanis living in Britain and some of the issues faced by the community.[247][248] The executive producer of the series said, "These documentaries provide just a snapshot of contemporary life among British Pakistanis—a community who are often misunderstood, neglected or stereotyped."[247] The Pakistani channels of GEO TV, ARY Digital and many others are available to watch on subscription. These channels are based in Pakistan and cater to the Pakistani diaspora, as well as anyone of South Asian origin. They feature news, sports and entertainment, with some channels broadcast in Urdu/Hindi. Mishal Husain is a newsreader and presenter for the BBC of Pakistani descent.[249] Saira Khan hosts the BBC children's programme Beat the Boss. Martin Bashir is a Christian Pakistani[250] who worked for ITV, then American Broadcasting Company, before becoming BBC News Religious Affairs correspondent in 2016. RadioThe BBC Asian Network is a radio station available across the entire UK and is aimed at Britons of South Asian origin under 35 years of age.[251] Apart from this popular station, there are many other national radio stations for or run by the British Pakistani community, including Sunrise and Kismat Radios of London. Regional British Pakistani stations include Asian Sound of Manchester, Radio XL and Apni Awaz of Birmingham and Sunrise Radio Yorkshire which based in Bradford.[252] These radio stations generally run programmes in a variety of South Asian languages. PrintThe Pakistani newspaper the Daily Jang has the largest circulation of any daily Urdu-language newspaper in the world.[253] It is sold at several Pakistani newsagents and grocery stores across the UK. Urdu newspapers, books and other periodical publications are available in libraries which have a dedicated Asian languages service.[254] Examples of British-based newspapers written in English include the Asian News (published by Trinity Mirror) and the Eastern Eye. These are free weekly newspapers aimed at all British Asians.[255][256] British Pakistanis involved in print media include Sarfraz Manzoor, who is a regular columnist for The Guardian,[257] one of the largest and most popular newspaper groups in the UK. Anila Baig is a feature writer at The Sun, the biggest-selling newspaper in the UK.[258] PoliticsSee also: British Asians in politics of the United KingdomBritish Pakistanis are represented in politics at all levels. In 2017 there were twelve British Pakistani MPs in the House of Commons.[259] Notable members have included Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Sadiq Khan[260] and Home Secretary, Sajid Javid,[261] described by The Guardian as a 'rising star' in the Tory party.[262] The Guardian stated that "The treasury minister is highly regarded on the right and would be the Tories' first Muslim leader." Whereas The Independent have stated that Javid could become the next Chancellor of the Exchequer.[263] Ahead of the 2019 UK general election there were a record number of British Pakistanis contesting UK polls. [264] Notable British Pakistanis in the House of Lords include Minister for Faith and Communities and former Chairman of the Conservative Party Sayeeda Warsi,[265] Tariq Ahmad,Nazir Ahmed,[266][267] and Qurban Hussain.[268] Mohammad Sarwar of the Labour Party was the first Muslim member of the British parliament, being elected for Glasgow in 1997 and serving till 2010.[269] In 2013, Sarwar quit British politics and returned to Pakistan, where he joined the government and briefly served as the Governor of Punjab.[270] Other politicians in Pakistan known to have held dual British citizenship include Rehman Malik,[271] Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan,[272] and some members of the Pakistani national and provincial legislative assemblies.[273][274] In 2007, 257 British Pakistanis were serving as elected councillors or mayors in Britain.[275] British Pakistanis make up a sizeable proportion of British voters and are known to make a difference in elections, both local and national.[276] They are much more active in the voting process, with 67 per cent voting in the last general elections of 2005, compared to just over 60 per cent for the whole country.[277] Apart from their involvement in domestic politics, the British Pakistani community also maintains keen focus on the politics of Pakistan and has served as an important soft power prerogative in historical, cultural, economic and bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United Kingdom.[278][279] Major Pakistani political parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League (N),[280] Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf,[281] Pakistan Peoples Party,[282] Muttahida Qaumi Movement[283] and others have political chapters and support in the UK. Some of the most influential names in Pakistani politics are known to have studied, lived or exiled in the UK.[284] London in particular has long served as a hub of Pakistani political activities overseas.[284][285][286][287] The British Mirpuri community has a strong culture of diaspora politics, playing a significant role in advocating the settlement of the Kashmir conflict and raising awareness of human rights issues in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.[288][289][290] Much of Pakistani lobbying and intelligence operations in the UK are focused on this key diaspora issue.[291] Labour PartyThe Labour Party has traditionally been the natural choice for many British Pakistanis. The Labour Party are also said to be more dependent on votes from British Pakistanis than the Conservative Party.[292] British Pakistani support for Labour reportedly fell because of party's decision to take part in the Iraq War,[293] when a substantial minority of Muslim voters switched from Labour to the Liberal Democrats.[294] A 2005 poll carried out by ICM showed that 40 per cent of British Pakistanis intended to vote for Labour, compared to 5 per cent for the Conservative Party and 21 per cent for the Liberal Democrats.[295] However, according to survey research, 60 per cent of Pakistani voters voted Labour in the subsequent general election, held in 2010[296] and this figure rose to more than 90 per cent in the 2017 general election.[294] High-profile British Pakistani politicians within the Labour Party include Shahid Malik and Lord Nazir Ahmed, who became the first Muslim life peer in 1998.[297] Sadiq Khan became the first Muslim cabinet minister in June 2009, after being invited to accept the post by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[298] Anas Sarwar served as an MP for Glasgow Central between 2010 and 2015. Shabana Mahmood is the current Labour Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Conservative Party Sajid Javid, Conservative MP for Bromsgrove, is the former Chancellor of the Exchequer.[261] He was the Vice-President of Chase Manhattan Bank before working as a Managing Director for Deutsche Bank.[299]Some commentators have argued that the Conservative Party has become increasingly popular with some British Pakistanis, as they become more affluent.[300] However, analysis of a representative sample of ethnic Pakistani voters in the 2010 general election from the Ethnic Minority British Election Study shows that 13 per cent of them voted Conservative, compared to 60 per cent Labour and 25 per cent Liberal Democrat.[296] The proportion of British Pakistanis voting Conservative fell in the 2015 and 2017 general elections.[294] Michael Wade, Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Pakistan, has argued that while polls have showed that only one third of British Pakistani men would never vote Conservative, "the fact is that the Conservative Party has not been successful in reaching out to the British Pakistani community; and so they, in turn, have not looked to the Conservative Party as the one that represents their interests".[301] The Conservative Friends of Pakistan aims to develop and promote the relationship between the Conservative Party, the British Pakistani community and Pakistan.[302] David Cameron opened a new gym aimed at British Pakistanis in Bolton after being invited by Amir Khan in 2009.[303] Cameron also appointed Tariq Ahmad, Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon, a Mirpuri-born politician, a life peerage. Multi-millionaire Sir Anwar Pervez, who claims to have been born Conservative,[304] has donated large sums to the party.[305][306] Sir Anwar's donations have entitled him to become a member of the influential Conservative Leader's Group.[307] Shortly after becoming the Conservative Party leader, Cameron spent two days living with a British Pakistani family in Birmingham.[308] He said that the experience taught him about the challenges of cohesion and integration.[308] Sajjad Karim is a Member of the European Parliament. He represents North West England through the Conservative Party. In 2005, Karim became the founding Chairman of the European Parliament Friends of Pakistan Group. He is also a member of the Friends of India and Friends of Bangladesh groups.[309] Rehman Chishti became the new Conservative Party MP for Gillingham and Rainham.[310] Sayeeda Warsi was promoted to Chairman of the Conservative Party by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom shortly after the 2010 UK general election. Warsi was the shadow minister for community cohesion when the Conservatives were in opposition. She is the first Muslim and first Asian woman to serve in a British cabinet. Both of Warsi's grandfathers served with the British Army in the Second World War.[311] OthersIn the 2003 Scottish Parliament elections, Scottish Pakistani voters supported the Scottish National Party (SNP) more than the average Scottish voter.[62] The SNP is a centre-left civil nationalist party that campaigns for the independence of Scotland from the United Kingdom. SNP candidate Bashir Ahmad was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent Glasgow at the 2007 election, becoming the first Member of the Scottish Parliament to be elected with a Scottish Asian background.[312] Salma Yaqoob is the former leader of the left-wing, anti-Zionist Respect Party. The small party has seen success in areas such as Sparkbrook in Birmingham and Newham in London, where there are large Pakistani populations. Qassim Afzal is a senior Liberal Democrat politician of Pakistani origin. In 2009 he accompanied the then Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to meetings with Pakistan's President, Asif Ali Zardari.[313] Contemporary issuesAllegations of extremismGareth Price, head of the Asia Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London stated that young British Pakistanis are more likely to be radicalised compared with other Muslim communities in Britain.[314][failed verification] In 2008, the British government launched its Prevent Strategy which aims to combat "violent extremism" within British Islamic communities. The initiative has given grants and financial support to community projects.[315] Fifty-three million pounds was spent on the strategy between 2007 and 2010.[316] DiscriminationSee also: Anti-Pakistan sentiment, Paki (slur), Racism in the United Kingdom, and Stereotypes of South AsiansThe chance of a Pakistani being racially attacked in a year is greater than 4 per cent—the highest rate in the country, along with British Bangladeshis—though this has come down from 8 per cent a year in 1996.[317] The term "Paki" is often used as a racist slur to describe Pakistanis and can also be directed towards non-Pakistani South Asians. There have been some attempts by the youngest generation of British Pakistanis to reclaim the word and use it in a non-offensive way to refer to themselves, though this remains controversial.[318] In 2001 riots occurred in Bradford. Two reasons given for the riots were social deprivation and the actions of extreme right wing groups such as the National Front (NF).[319] The Anti-Nazi League held a counter protest to a proposed march by the NF leading to clashes between police and the local South Asian population, with the majority of those being involved being of Pakistani descent.[320][321] Paki-bashingMain article: Paki-bashingStarting in the late 1960s,[322] and peaking in the 1970s and 1980s, violent gangs opposed to immigration took part in frequent attacks known as "Paki-bashing", which targeted and assaulted Pakistanis and other South Asians.[323] "Paki-bashing" was unleashed after Enoch Powell's inflammatory Rivers of Blood speech in 1968,[322] and peaked during the 1970s–1980s, with the attacks mainly linked to far-right fascist, racist and anti-immigrant movements, including the white power skinheads, the National Front, and the British National Party (BNP).[324][325] These attacks were usually referred to as either "Paki-bashing" or "skinhead terror", with the attackers usually called "Paki-bashers" or "skinheads".[322] According to Robert Lambert, "influential sections of the national and local media" did "much to exacerbate" anti-immigrant and anti-Pakistani rhetoric.[325] The attacks were also fuelled by systemic failures of state authorities, which included under-reporting of racist attacks, the criminal justice system not taking racist attacks seriously, and racial harassment by police.[322] Notable peopleBritish Sri Lankans (Sinhala: බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයන් Britanya Shri Lankikayan, Tamil: பிரித்தானிய இலங்கையர்) are a demographic construct that contains people who can trace their ancestry to Sri Lanka. It can refer to a variety of ethnicities and races, including Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors/Muslims, and Burghers. Contents1History1.1Pre-Republic "Lanka"1.2Republic of Sri Lanka1.3Civil War in Sri Lanka1.4The British Born Generation2Culture2.1Religion3Demographics3.1Tamils3.2Sinhalese4Community4.1Organisations4.2Newspapers5Notable Sri Lankan Brits6References7External linksHistoryPre-Republic "Lanka"Since the times of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Sri Lanka historically had contact with Western Europe by being a stop on the highly profitable trade routes between the West and the East, whether through Arabic traders, or directly through Western European traders. The term "serendipity" comes from the Latin word used by Romans for the island.[2] The first Western Europeans to make substantial contact with Sri Lanka were the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and then finally the British. Sri Lankans have since been migrating to Britain for several centuries, up from the time of British ruled Ceylon.[3] Republic of Sri LankaBetween the 1950s to the 1980s, the United Kingdom served as the major immigration destination for highly-educated Sri Lankans, due to the relaxed immigration rules given to Sri Lankan citizens due the politics surrounding post-Empire connections such as the Commonwealth of Nations. This initial group of immigrants consisted of a very settled group of people who followed a migration model of a single journey with a settled home at the end of it. Many of these people who came are well-educated and very well off economically and have become established in British society. During the 1960s, understaffing in the UK’s National Health Service opened up the opportunity for many Sri Lankans to become doctors and consultants; others managed to secure other white-collar jobs. Before 1983, when the Civil War started, social spaces for a Sri Lankan elite existed, there were hardly any ethnic boundaries and all ethnicities attended Sri Lankan High Commission receptions and the frequent intra-school sports competitions organized by Sri Lankan schools alumnae. During that time the public perceived the Sri Lankan community as one of the most successful immigrant communities in the UK. Especially during the 1970s, political organization increased among both Tamils and Sinhalese.[4] Civil War in Sri LankaThe onset of the Sri Lankan Civil War in the 1980s and 1990s caused a large scale exodus of Tamils to countries in the West. The Sri Lankan Tamils who emigrated to the UK often came on student visas (or family reunion visas for the family of said people) due to the well-educated in Sri Lanka being literate in English. This resulted in the first generation diaspora falling into highly professional jobs such as medicine and law after studying at British educational facilities.[5][6] In 1991, Sri Lankans were the sixth biggest Asian community, with over 39,000 residents of Britain having been born in Sri Lanka.[7] The British Born GenerationThe children of first generation immigrants are a third grouping that have predominantly come-of-age in the late 2000s and 2010s. These children often grew up without siblings due to the low birth rates in the community, with one child for two parents being the norm,[8] but often fared better economic and cultural prospects than other similar refugee groups due to the strong education ethic imposed by Hindu culture.[9] This grouping has been widely praised as hard-working, with little problems relating to criminality and anti-social behaviour, and high levels of educational achievement. A number of reports and articles has praised the community as "middle class" and "progressive".[10] CultureAs Sri Lankans are similar to other South Asian communities in the UK[11] it has often meant that Sri Lankans unknowingly assimilate into the local Asian cultures, particularly due to the small size of the Sri Lankan community, thanks to intermixing at shops and cultural centres such as temples.[12] Statue of Tara at British MuseumTara, currently at the British Museum, shows evidence of the cultural interaction of Buddhism with Hinduism among Sri Lankas. She had been a Hindu mother goddess but was redesigned for a new role within Buddhism.ReligionSri Lankans in the United Kingdom predominantly come from Tamil heritage, which has led to a situation where Hinduism is more statistically prevalent among the community than Buddhism, but the unique manner in how Tamils kept traditional Hindu Sri Lankan Tamil culture and simply imposed the laws of the hindu scriptures has meant that religious divisions between Hindus and Buddhists are not stark.[citation needed] Hinduism nevertheless continues to be a cultural rallying point for most Sri Lankan Tamils. A number of temples have been built throughout the UK in order to service the needs of Sri Lankan Tamils, including the Sivan Kovil and Murugan Kovil in West London, though these temples do not necessarily serve as community building organisations due to Hinduism's lack of requirement for temple visits. The community mainly follow the Saivite sect.[13] The smaller Sinhalese community has also been well served by a large network of Buddhist temples, including a major Sinhalese one at Kingsbury in London called Vihara, and six other prominent Sinhalese temples that have been ethnically linked to the community.[14] "Though present London Buddhist Vihāra traces its birth to 1926, until the arrival of three Sri Lankan monks as residents in 1928, the premises in Ealing seems to have functioned as Headquarters of British Maha Bodhi Society." Demographics

Price: 249.11 USD

Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

End Time: 2024-12-03T17:08:56.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD

Product Images

Item Specifics

Return shipping will be paid by: Seller

All returns accepted: Returns Accepted

Item must be returned within: 30 Days

Refund will be given as: Money Back

Subject: England

Photo Type: CDV

Type: Photograph

Format: Carte de Visite (CDV)