Punjabi,
Mirpuri,
Hindko (dialects of Punjabi),
Sindhi,
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
,
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
and
Saraiki. Gujaratis who emigrated from India and East Africa speak
Gujarati
Gujarati may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India
* Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat
* Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them
* Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, and
Kutchi (a dialect of Sindhi), while a sizeable number of
Gujarati Muslims speak Urdu for religious and cultural reasons. Bangladeshis speak
Sylheti
Sylheti may refer to:
* Sylhetis, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group in the Sylhet division and South Assam
* Sylheti language, a language of the Sylheti region
* Sylheti Nagri
Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nagari ( syl, , ISO: , ), known in cla ...
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.
Religion
![East London Mosque Front View](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/East_London_Mosque_Front_View.jpg)
Asian Britons have significant numbers of adherents to various major religions. Based on
2011 census figures for
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
(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.
[DC2201EW - Ethnic group and religion (Excel sheet 21Kb)](_blank)
ONS. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
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
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
,
Jains
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
, and smaller numbers of Christians and
Zoroastrians. Notable religious buildings are the
East London Mosque
The East London Mosque (ELM) is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between Whitechapel and Aldgate East. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, it is one of the largest mosques in Europe accommodating ...
,
London Central Mosque
The London Central Mosque (also known as the Regent's Park Mosque) is an Islamic place of worship located on the edge of Regent's Park in central London.
Design and location
It was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, completed in 1977, and ...
,
Birmingham Central Mosque,
Baitul Futuh Mosque,
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (also commonly known as the Neasden Temple) is a Hindu temple in Neasden, London, England. Built entirely using traditional methods and materials, the Swaminarayan mandir has been described as being Britain's fir ...
,
Bradford Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple
The Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple in Bradford is the largest Hindu temple (mandir) in Northern England. The temple was designed by local Yorkshire architects and built by a local construction company. The temple is faced with Yorkshire stone, and ...
, Shikharbandi Jain Derasar in
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population was ...
,
Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha
Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Southall (SGSS) is a Sikh gurdwara situated on Guru Nanak Road and Park Avenue, Southall, in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the largest Sikh temple in London. Building work at the Havelock Road site commence ...
in
Southall
Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
and
Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara
The Guru Nanak Temple is a Sikh Gurdwara situated in the town of Gravesend, Kent. It is the largest Gurdwara in Europe and also one of the largest outside India.
The complex has 3 prayer rooms and 2 langar halls. There is a building used for ...
in
Gravesend
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
.
The publication of
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...
's novel ''
The Satanic Verses
''The Satanic Verses'' is the fourth novel of British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism ...
'' in 1988 caused
major controversy. Muslims condemned the book for
blasphemy
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
. On 2 December 1988 the book was publicly burned at a demonstration in
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
attended by 7,000 Muslims, followed by a similar demonstration and book-burning in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
on 14 January 1989. In 1989
Ayatollah
Ayatollah ( ; fa, آیتالله, āyatollāh) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy in Iran and Iraq that came into widespread usage in the 20th century.
Etymology
The title is originally derived from ...
Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
issued a
fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie.
Britain is also home of notable Asian religious leaders and scholars. Some of them are
Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Mirza Masroor Ahmad ( ur, ; born 15 September 1950) is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Fifth Caliph of the Messiah ( ar, خليفة المسيح الخامس, ''khal ...
(Caliph of the
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
Community),
Sheikh Abdul Qayum (one of the best known scholars in Europe and Chief Imam of
East London Mosque
The East London Mosque (ELM) is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between Whitechapel and Aldgate East. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, it is one of the largest mosques in Europe accommodating ...
),
Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq
Riyadh ul Haq (born 1971) is a British Islamic scholar. He has been lecturing and teaching as the lead scholar at Al Kawthar Academy, Leicester since 2004.
Early life
Riyadh ul Haq was born in the village of Nani Naroli, Gujarat, India in 1971 ...
(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
Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi (born 1967) is a Muslim scholar, principal of the Hijaz College, National Convenor of the Muslim Action Committee (MAC), Secretary General of the International Muslims Organisation, Grand Blessed Guide of the Naqshbandi ...
(principal of
Hijaz College
Hijaz College is a British Muslim school located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Hijaz College combines traditional Islamic education with the British National Curriculum. The philosophy of Hijaz was formulated by its patron and founder A ...
),
Ajmal Masroor
Ajmal Masroor ( bn, আজমল মসরূর; born 19 October 1971) is a Bangladeshi-born British imam, broadcaster and politician. He is well known for being a television presenter on political discussions and on Muslim channels.
Early lif ...
(Imam and Liberal Democrats politician) and
Pramukh Swami Maharaj
Pramukh Swami Maharaj (born Shantilal Patel; ordained Narayanswarupdas Swami; 7 December 1921 – 13 August 2016) was the guru and Pramukh, or president, of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of t ...
(fifth spiritual successor of Hindu
Swaminarayan).
History in Britain
![Portrait Gandhi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Portrait_Gandhi.jpg)
The earliest date at which South Asians settled in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
is unclear. If the
Romany are included, then the earliest arrivals were in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. DNA surveys have linked Romanies to present-day South Asian populations and the
Romani language
Romani (; also Romany, Romanes , Roma; rom, rromani ćhib, links=no) is an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities. According to '' Ethnologue'', seven varieties of Romani are divergent enough to be considered languages of their ...
is a member of the
Indo-Aryan language family. Romanies are believed to have begun travelling westward around 1000 CE, and have mixed with
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
ren and European populations over many centuries. Romani began arriving in sizeable numbers in parts of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
in the 16th century. The Romani who settled in Britain are known as
Romanichal
Romanichal Travellers ( ; more commonly known as English Gypsies or English Travellers) are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. There are an estimated 200,000 Romani in the United Kingdom ...
.
The first educated South Asian to travel to Europe and live in Britain was
I'tisam-ud-Din
Mīrzā Sayyid Muḥammad Iʿtiṣām ad-Dīn ibn Tāj ad-Dīn ibn Shahāb ad-Dīn Panchnūrī or Itesham Uddin ( bn, মির্জা সৈয়দ মোহাম্মদ ইতেশামুদ্দীন পাঁচনূরী, fa, ...
, a
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
cleric,
munshi
Munshi is a Persian word, originally used for a contractor, writer, or secretary, and later used in the Mughal Empire and India for native language teachers, teachers of various subjects, especially administrative principles, religious texts, ...
and diplomat to the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
who arrived in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim during the reign of
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
.
He wrote of his experiences and travels in his
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
book, ''Shigurf-nama-i-Wilayat'' ('Wonderous Chronicle of Europe'). 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
Lieutenant-Colonel James Achilles Kirkpatrick (1764 – 15 October 1805) was an East India Company officer and diplomat who served as the Resident at Hyderabad Deccan from 1798 until 1805. Kirkpatrick also ordered the construction of the Koti Resi ...
was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as the ''Prince of
Sylhet''. The man was waited upon by the
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...
, and then dined with the
Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King.
Lascars
When the Portuguese explorer
Vasco da Gama arrived in
Calicut, India in 1498, he established the first
European-Asian sea route
The European-Asian sea route, commonly known as the sea route to India or the Cape Route, is a shipping route from the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Asia's coast of the Indian Ocean passing by the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas ...
(commonly called the Cape Route), opening up direct maritime passage between South Asia and Europe. An extension of this route, devised by the Dutch explorer
Hendrik Brouwer
Hendrik Brouwer (; 1581 – 7 August 1643) was a Dutch explorer and governor of the Dutch East Indies.
East Indies
Brouwer is thought to first have sailed to the Dutch East Indies for the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1606. In 1610, ...
in 1611 and known as the
Brouwer Route
The Brouwer Route was a 17th-century route used by ships sailing from the Cape of Good Hope to the Dutch East Indies, as the eastern leg of the Cape Route. The route took ships south from the Cape (which is at 34° latitude south) into the Roar ...
, subsequently found a new waterway to Southeast Asia.
In the following centuries, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and its predecessor states, utilised these sea routes to form the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. Capitilising on their growing naval dominance among the other European powers, the British colonised the coastal areas in the West, South, Southeast and East of the continent, creating dozens of British colonies and protectorates in Asia. The administrators of the British Empire termed Asian labourers working for them ''
coolies
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
'', of which ''
lascars
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
'' were considered the maritime equivalent.
Lascars were sailors or seamen from many different ethnic backgrounds. The term was sometimes used to specifically refer to a sailor of any Asian ancestry, however there were also African lascars recorded in Britain.
Of the Asian lascars, Austronesian
Malay people
Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations — areas that are ...
, from Southeast Asia, formed a significant part of the lascar population settling in, and sailing to and from Britain. From East Asia,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
and
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
seamen were often operating as lascars for British ships and trading companies.
From South Asia, Indians made up a huge proportion of these sea crews, particularly in the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's earliest decades of operation.
Parsees
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim co ...
(who originate from
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, West Asia) and
Luso-Asians
Luso-Asians (Portuguese: ''luso-asiáticos'') are people whose ethnicity is partially or wholly Portuguese and ancestrally are based in or hail primarily from Portugal, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. They historically came under the ...
of mixed Portuguese and Indian heritage, also came from South Asia to work as lascars.
From West Asia,
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
formed part of diverse lascar crews,
and
Yemenis
Yemenis or Yemenites ( ar, يمنيون) are the nationals of Yemen.
Social hierarchy
There is a system of social stratification in Yemen that was officially abolished at the creation of the Republic of Yemen in 1962 but, in practice, this syst ...
increasingly served as lascar sailors and militiamen after the completion of the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
in 1869, going on to open businesses, like
boarding houses, in port cities such as Cardiff and South Shields. There were also the Ceylonese (Sri Lankans) and the Bengalis who also took part in sailing.
Post–World War II migration
Following the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
breakup of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, 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
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
colonies (including
Indo-Caribbeans
Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th c ...
) 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-Indian
Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The '' Oxford English ...
s who were recruited to work on the railways as they had done in India.
*Workers mainly from the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
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
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
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
Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
which is populated by many
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
.
*During the same time, medical staff from the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
were recruited for the newly formed
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
. 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
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
social reformer and founder of the All-India Seamen's Federation,
Aftab Ali
Aftab Ali ( bn, আফতাব আলী; 1907–1972) was an early 20th-century Bengali social reformer, politician and entrepreneur. His work is recognised to have helped thousands of British Asian lascars to migrate, settle and find employmen ...
's work is recognised to have helped thousands of Asian
lascar
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
s to migrate, settle and find employment in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. He organised rallies and meetings with the likes of the
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre
A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...
. 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.
Asian migration from East Africa
Beginning around 1964
Africanization
Africanization or Africanisation (lit., making something African) has been applied in various contexts, notably in geographic and personal naming and in the composition of the civil service via processes such as indigenization.
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".
In 1972, all South Asians were
expelled from Uganda by the controversial figure
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
, then president of Uganda. Those holding British passports came to Britain. Many such displaced people who were predominantly of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
i 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
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act entailed stringent restrictions on the entry of Commonwealth citizens into the United Kingdom. Only those with work permits (which were typically on ...
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.
Notable contributions
Arts and entertainment
Several 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
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
films, including major
film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series.
This article explains what film series are ...
, 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
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'', ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'', ''
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'' and ''
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...
'', have all had a number of Asian characters portrayed by British actors of Asian heritage.
Tsai Chin Tsai Chin may refer to:
* Tsai Chin (actress) (born 1933), actress from Shanghai, also known as Irene Chow
* Tsai Chin (singer) (born 1957), Taiwanese singer
{{Hndis ...
, the first Asian British actress to play a
Bond girl
A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, o ...
, appeared in 1967's ''
You Only Live Twice'' and the 2006 re-make of ''
Casino Royale''.
Burt Kwouk
Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...
, who appeared in over fifty films, including three of the
James Bond film series
James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Niv ...
, received an
OBE for services to drama in 2010.
Art Malik had notable roles in ''
The Jewel in the Crown'' and ''
The Living Daylights
''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...
'', and Sir
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...
(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
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
,
BAFTA,
Golden Globe and
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
awards throughout his career, including the
Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
for his performance in ''
Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
'' (1982).
The actor
Dev Patel
Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor. His breakthrough came in 2008 with the leading role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's drama ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which Patel was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Lead ...
, who played the role of
Anwar Kharral
Anwar Kharral is a fictional character in the television series '' Skins'' portrayed by Dev Patel.
Characterisation
Anwar is portrayed as a boy of Pakistani origin. Raised in an Islamic household, Anwar claims to pray five times a day. However, ...
in the teen drama series ''
Skins'', portrayed the leading role in
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...
's ''
Slumdog Millionaire
''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...
'', for which he received several awards and was nominated for the
2009 BAFTA Award for
Best Leading Actor.
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
Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primet ...
plays the role of
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah ( ar, سَعِيد حَسَّان جَرَّاح, ''Sa‘īd Ḥassān Jarrāḥ'') is a fictional character from the ABC show '' Lost'' portrayed by Naveen Andrews.
Appearances Prior to the crash
Sayid originally served as ...
in the popular US TV series ''
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', and also had a prominent role in the award-winning film ''
The English Patient
''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main characters are: an unrecognisably burn ...
'' (1996).
Kunal Nayyar
Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor. He portrayed Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom ''Sanjay and Craig'' (2013–2016). Nayyar als ...
plays the character of
Raj Koothrappali
Rajesh "Raj" Ramayan Koothrappali, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by British actor Kunal Nayyar. He is one of four characters in the show, alongside Howard Wolowitz, Sheldon Coope ...
in the popular US sitcom, ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...
''.
Gemma Chan
Gemma Chan (born 29 November 1982) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Chan attended the Newstead Wood School for Girls and studied law at Worcester College, Oxford before choosing to pursue a career in acting instead, enrolling at t ...
and
Benedict Wong
Benedict Wong (born 3 July 1971) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Kublai Khan in Netflix's ''Marco Polo'' (2014–2016), Bruce Ng in '' The Martian'' (2015), and Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since ''Doctor Strange'' (2 ...
have featured in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
franchise. Chan has had two starring roles in both 2019's ''
Captain Marvel'' and ''
Eternals'' (2021), making her the first actress to portray separate characters within the cinematic universe. Wong, who has also appeared in two
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
films (''
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...
'' 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
Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to:
Film
* ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film)
* ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film
* ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...
'' (2019), the latter of which is the highest grossing release in film history.
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...
has starred in both the ''
Bourne
Bourne may refer to:
Places UK
* Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town
** Bourne Abbey
** Bourne railway station
* Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex
* Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset
* Bourne ...
'' film series and ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' saga, appearing in anthology film ''
Rogue One
''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by L ...
''. ''Star Wars'', Marvel's ''
The Avengers'', the Bourne and
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film series are some of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.
Art and design
Anish Kapoor
Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK ...
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
Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation.
It offers further education, further ...
. Kapoor received the
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...
in 1991.
Poulomi Desai, born in Hackney, London is a photographer and
sound artist
Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...
working with noise and electricity since the 1980s. She is an Oram Awards winner and curator of Usurp Art. Born in London and of Asian origin,
Shezad Dawood
Shezad Dawood (born 1974) is an artist born and based in London.
Shezad Dawood works across the disciplines of painting, film, neon, sculpture, performance, virtual reality and other digital media to ask key questions of narrative, history and emb ...
became known for this work in various media in the early 2000s. Also born in London and of Pakistani origin,
Haroon Mirza
Haroon Mirza (born 1977) is a British contemporary visual artist, of Pakistani descent. He is best known for sculptural installations that generate audio compositions.
Early life and education
Mirza was born in 1977 in London, England. He is ...
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
Shahidul Alam (born 1955) 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".
Alam founded the ...
is a
Bangladeshi
Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
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".
Saiman Miah is an
architectural designer
The term architectural designer may refer to a building designer who is not a registered architect, architectural technologist or any other person that is involved in the design process of buildings or urban landscapes.
Architectural designers ...
and
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
who designed one of the two £5
commemorative coin
Commemorative coins are coins issued to commemorate some particular event or issue with a distinct design with reference to the occasion on which they were issued. Many coins of this category serve as collectors items only, although some countries ...
s for the
2012 London Summer Olympics.
Theatre company
RIFCO Arts has been producing and touring productions based on the British Asian experience since 1999.
Literature
Well-known South Asian writers include
Muhammad Mojlum Khan
Muhammad Mojlum Khan (born 6 December 1973) is a Bangladeshi-born British non-fiction writer.
Early life
Khan was born in Habiganj District, Bangladesh, and was brought up and educated in England.
Khan studied classical Arabic and traditional ...
,
Abdur Rouf Choudhury
Abdur Rouf Choudhury (1 March 1929 – 1996) was a Bengali writer.
Early life
Choudhury was born on 1 March 1929, in Mukimpur, Nabiganj, Habiganj District, Bangladesh (then part of Assam) where his father Azhar Choudhury, a land owner, and h ...
,
Aminul Hoque,
Shahida Rahman
Shahidun Nessa Rahman ( bn, শহীদুন নেসসা রহমান; née Karim bn, করিম; born 14 December 1971), commonly known by her pseudonym Shahida Rahman, is an English author, writer and publisher. She is best known ...
,
H.S. Bhabra,
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...
,
Ghulam Murshid
Ghulam Murshid ( Born 8 April 1940 ) is a Bangladeshi author, scholar and journalist, based in London. He won a number of awards, including Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1982 for his contribution to research.; Prothom Alo Book Award in 2007 ...
,
Tahir Shah
Tahir Shah ( fa, طاهر شاه, gu, તાહિર શાહ; ''né'' Sayyid Tahir al-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد طاهر الهاشمي); born 16 November 1966) is a British author, journalist and documentary maker of Afghan-Indian descent. ...
,
Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha, (born 10 January 1960) is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in England. The common theme among her work showcases the trials of Indian women living in the UK and ho ...
,
Nazrin Choudhury
Nazrin Choudhury is a British screenwriter and actress of Bangladeshi descent, best known for her radio dramas and extensive work in American television.
Early life
Choudhury was born in South West London, England to parents of Bangladeshi or ...
,
Rekha Waheed,
Hanif Kureishi
Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist of South Asian and English descent. In 2008, ''The Times'' included Kureishi in its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.
Early l ...
,
Monica Ali
Monica Ali FRSL (born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English heritage. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' magazine based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut nove ...
,
Meera Syal
Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...
,
Gautam Malkani
Gautam Malkani is a journalist for ''The Financial Times'', and the author of the novel '' Londonstani''. He has worked on the FT's UK news desk in London as well as in the Washington bureau. He is currently an associate editor on the FT Weekend M ...
,
Bali Rai
Bali Rai (born 30 November 1971) is an English author of children's and young adult fiction.
Early life
Rai was born in Leicester in 1971, to Punjabi parents. At the age of eleven, he read ''The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole'' by Sue Townsend, w ...
and
Raman Mundair
Raman Mundair (Punjabi: ਰਮਨ ਮੰਡੈਰ) is a British poet, writer, artist and playwright. She was born in Ludhiana, India and moved to live in the UK at the age of five. She is the author of two volumes of poetry, ''A Choreographer's ...
.
Music
Since 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
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
lead singer
Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
, East Africa, to parents of
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
descent from
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(now Mumbai). In 2006, ''
Time Asia
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Ma ...
'' magazine voted him as one of the most influential South
Asians in the past 60 years.
At around the same time, music producer, composer and songwriter
Biddu
Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro d ...
gained worldwide fame for a number of hit songs, including "
Kung Fu Fighting
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song by Jamaican vocalist Carl Douglas, written by Douglas and produced by British-Indian musician Biddu. It was released in 1974 as the first single from his debut album, '' Kung Fu Fighting and Other Great Lo ...
" by
Carl Douglas
Carlton George Douglas (born 10 May 1942) is a Jamaican recording artist based in the UK who is best known for the 1974 disco single "Kung Fu Fighting".
Early life
Carlton George Douglas was born in Kingston, Colony of Jamaica. He later liv ...
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
Steven Kapur (born 11 May 1967), known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song " Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ...
, whose 1993 single "
Boom Shack-A-Lak
"Boom Shack-A-Lak" is a 1993 song by British musician Apache Indian. It was included on his EP ''Nuff Vibes''. The EP gave him his biggest hit in the United Kingdom, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart in 1993. The song and EP were al ...
" was used in many
Hollywood movies, and
Jas Mann
Jasbinder Singh "Jas" Mann ( Punjabi: ਜਸਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਮੱਨ, born 24 April 1971) is a British songwriter, musician, singer, record producer and film producer. He was lead singer of Babylon Zoo, known for their 1996 UK cha ...
, who headed
Babylon Zoo
Babylon Zoo were an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1992 in Wolverhampton. Their song "Spaceman (Babylon Zoo song), Spaceman" gained considerable exposure through its use in a Levi's jeans television advert in the United Kingdom in late ...
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 Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
s for her single "
Paper Planes", and has been nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...
for "
O... Saya", from the
''Slumdog Millionaire'' soundtrack.
In 2009, R&B and hip-hop artist,
Mumzy Stranger
Muhammad Mumith Ahmed ( bn, মুহাম্মদ মুমিথ আহমেদ; born 18 January 1984), known professionally as Mumzy Stranger or his producing name SP (an abbreviation of Stranger Productions), is a British rapper, singer, ...
, became the first British Bangladeshi to release a music single; titled "One More Dance". In October 2009, Jay Sean's single "
Down" reached the #1 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and sold four million copies in the United States,
making him the first South Asian-origin solo artist and "the first UK
Urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
act to top ''Billboard''s Hot 100," "the most successful male UK urban artist in US chart history," and the most successful
British male artist in the US charts since
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
in 1997. A new generation of British Asian musicians have followed such as
Raxstar
Raxstar (born 21 November 1983) is British rapper from Luton. Raxstar came into popularity after the release of "Keep It Undercover" in 2005. Following up with tracks like "Jaaneman", "Ego", "Poison" and "Balwant", he gained more mainstream atte ...
, Bilal and Nish. In the early 2010s, Asian boy band members,
Siva Kaneswaran
Siva Michael Kaneswaran ( ta, சிவ மைக்கல் கணேசுவரன்) (born 16 November 1988) is an Irish singer best known for being a member of the boy band The Wanted.
Early life
Kaneswaran grew up in Corduff Blanchar ...
of
the Wanted
The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to ...
and
Zayn Malik
Zain Javadd Malik ( ; born 12 January 1993), known mononymously as Zayn, is an English pop and R&B singer. Zayn auditioned as a solo contestant for the British music competition television series ''The X Factor'' in 2010. After being eliminate ...
of
One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...
, have gained considerable mainstream popularity worldwide; the Wanted reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with "
Glad You Came
"Glad You Came", also known as "I'm Glad You Came", is a song by British-Irish boy band the Wanted, released on 10 July 2011 as the second single from their second studio album, '' Battleground''. The song was written by Steve Mac, Wayne Hecto ...
" 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.
Charity and interfaith
There 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 Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
for his interfaith and voluntary works.
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
Muslim Aid is a UK based Islamic International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO).Muslim Aid Souvenir Brochure, (2010) Published by Muslim Aid, London The international humanitarian charity has relief and development programmes in countries ac ...
and
Islamic Help, and he also founded the charities Faith Regen foundation, MADE in Europe and Global One 2015.
Responsible investment consultant and writer,
Niaz Alam was a trustee of the charity
War on Want from 2000 to 2007.
Sports
Mohammed Salim of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
became the first
South Asian to play for a European football club in 1936.
[Breck, A. ''Alan Breck's Book of Scottish Football''. Scottish Daily Express, 1937, cited in See also, ] In his two appearances for
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...
, he played the entire matches barefoot and scored several goals.
Anwar Uddin
Anwar Uddin ( bn, আনোয়ার উদ্দিন; born 1 November 1981) is an English ´ football manager and former player who works as assistant manager at National League side Aldershot Town. During a career which began at West H ...
began his career at
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, where he joined the winning team of the
1999 FA Youth Cup Finals. In May 2015, he was appointed manager of
Sporting Bengal United.
Aston Villa defender,
Neil Taylor and
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
midfielder
Hamza Choudhury
Hamza Dewan Choudhury (born 1 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship side Watford, on loan from Leicester City. He has made over 80 appearances for Leicester since 2017, and ...
are the first players of Bengali descent to play in the Premier League. Choudhury has also made appearances for the
England under-21 team.
Michael Chopra
Rocky Michael Chopra (born 23 December 1983) is an English former professional footballer who plays as a striker for West Allotment Celtic.
A product of the Newcastle United youth system, he spent six years at the club without managing to se ...
played for the
England national under-21 football team
The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team.
This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...
and became the first
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
of Indian descent to play and score in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
. 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.
Jawaid Khaliq
Jawaid Khaliq, MBE (born 30 July 1970), is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2004. A dual Pakistan national, he became the first British Asian boxing world champion, winning the lightly-regarded IBO welterweight ti ...
, the first world champion boxer of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
i origin, was born in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
.
Amir Khan, born in Bolton, won a silver medal at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and went on to become a world light-welterweight boxing champion.
Bulbul Hussain of
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
is a wheelchair rugby player of Bengali origin, and he has been a part of the
Great Paralympic Team since 2008.
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.
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.
Regardless, many British South Asians have gone on to represent
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in cricket internationally.
Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain (born 28 March 1968) is a British cricket commentator and former cricketer who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003, with his overall international career extending from 1990 to 2004. A pugnacious right-ha ...
, who was the captain of the
England cricket team
The England cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club (the MCC) since 1903. Engla ...
, was born in Madras, India. Other success stories of the past have included
Mark Ramprakash
Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected for England aged 21. A gifted, and one of the heaviest-scoring, English b ...
, of
Indo-Caribbean descent,
Isa Guha
Isa Tara Guha (born 21 May 1985) is an English cricket commentator, television and radio cricket broadcaster, and a former England cricketer who played in the 2005 World Cup and the 2009 World Cup.[Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...]
descent, and
Monty Panesar
Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (born 25 April 1982) is a former English international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In E ...
, of Indian Sikh descent. Currently,
Moeen Ali
Moeen or Moein or Moien is a given name and surname. It is a Quranic name which means: helper, supporter, or provider of refuge.
Notable persons with the name include:
Persons with the given name
* Moein (singer) (born 1951), Iranian singer
* ...
and
Adil Rashid
Adil Usman Rashid (born 17 February 1988) is an English cricketer who plays for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket, he represents Yo ...
are the only players in the England men's squad, both of Pakistani (Mipuri) descent.
Other British Asian sport personalities:
*
Akaash Bhatia
*
Haroon Khan
Haroon Iqbal "Harry" Khan (born 10 May 1991) is a Pakistan-British professional boxer, and Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist.
Personal life
Khan was born in Bolton, England, to a Pakistani Punjabi family with roots in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. ...
*
Vikram Solanki
Vikram Singh Solanki (born 1 April 1976) is an English cricket coach and former first-class cricketer. In limited over international cricket, he played over 50 One Day Internationals for England as a batsman and occasional off-spinner.
In cou ...
*
Qasim Nisar
*
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
*
Tanveer Ahmed
*
Sajid Mahmood
Sajid Iqbal Mahmood (Urdu: ساجد اقبال محمود, ''Sājid Iqbāl Maḥmūd''; born 21 December 1981) is a former English cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler who played international cri ...
*
Saqlain Mushtaq
Saqlain Mushtaq BND ( ur, ; born 29 December 1956) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer who, as of February 2022, is the head coach of the Pakistani national cricket team. Regarded as one of the best spin bowlers in t ...
*
Adam Khan
Adam Khan (born 24 May 1985) is a British sportsman and racing driver of Pakistani descent. Having competed in the Euro3000 series in 2008, and despite missing the first four races he narrowly missed out on the championship. His performances ...
*
Dimitri Mascarenhas
*
Ravi Bopara
Ravinder Singh Bopara (born 4 May 1985) is an English cricketer who plays for Sussex County Cricket Club in one day cricket. Originally a top-order batsman, his developing medium pace bowling has made him a batting all rounder in the one day ...
*
Kabir Ali
Kabir Ali (born 24 November 1980) is an English former cricketer. A right-arm seam bowler and useful lower-order right-handed batsman, he played one Test match for England in 2003, while also earning 14 ODI caps between 2003 and 2006.
He star ...
*
Owais Shah
Owais Alam Shah (born 22 October 1978) is a former England cricketer. A middle-order batsman, he played for Middlesex from 1995 to 2010 and Essex from 2011 to 2013 before announcing his retirement from first-class cricket. He played Twenty20 ...
*
Kadeer Ali
*
Hamza Riazuddin
*
Min Patel
Minal Mahesh Patel (born 7 July 1970) is a retired Indian-born English cricketer who made two appearances in Test cricket for the England cricket team. He was a right-handed batsman and a slow left arm bowler, who primarily played for Kent Cou ...
*
Samit Patel
Samit Rohit Patel (born 30 November 1984) is an English cricketer. A right-handed batsman and a slow left-arm bowler, he plays first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Patel made his One Day International debut for England ...
*
Riaz Amin
Riaz Amin ( bn, রিয়াজ আমিন; born 27 February 1998) is an English martial artist who practices Shotokan Karate and Filipino Martial Arts. He is the current World Escrima-Kalis-Arnis Federation (WEKAF) World Championships ...
*
Adil Rashid
Adil Usman Rashid (born 17 February 1988) is an English cricketer who plays for England in One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, and previously played for the Test team. In domestic cricket, he represents Yo ...
*
Zesh Rehman
Zeshan Rehman ( ur, ; born 14 October 1983) is an English-born Pakistani former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently U18 coach and acting assistant coach at Portsmouth FC.
He was the first British Asian to start ...
*
Bilal Shafayat
Bilal Mustapha Shafayat (born 10 July 1984) is an English former first-class cricketer. He played as a middle-order batsman, bowler and wicket-keeper. Shafayat was a former captain of the England under-19 side.
He was educated at the Nottingh ...
*
Harpal Singh
Harpal Singh (born 15 September 1981) is an English former professional footballer. During his career he played for various clubs including Leeds United, Stockport County, Sligo Rovers, Bohemians and Dundalk.
Career
Singh was born in Bradf ...
*
Anwar Uddin
Anwar Uddin ( bn, আনোয়ার উদ্দিন; born 1 November 1981) is an English ´ football manager and former player who works as assistant manager at National League side Aldershot Town. During a career which began at West H ...
*
Usman Afzaal
Usman Afzaal (born 9 June 1977) is a Pakistani born English cricketer who has played three Test matches for England, all against Australia in 2001. He is a left-handed middle order batsman and occasional left arm slow bowler.
He started his f ...
*
Adnan Ahmed
Adnan Farooq Ahmed (Urdu: ; born 7 June 1984) is a former footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in England, he represented the Pakistan national team. He had an 11-year career in football, including a six-year international career in whi ...
*
Hammad Miah
Hammad Miah ( bn, হাম্মাদ মিঞা; born 6 July 1993) is a British professional snooker player of Bangladeshi-origin.
In May 2013, Miah qualified for the 2013–14 and 2014–15 professional Main Tour as one of four semi- ...
*
Nayan Doshi
Nayan Dilip Doshi (born 6 October 1978, Nottingham) is an English cricketer, who was released by Derbyshire. He is the son of Dilip Doshi, who is a former Indian Test bowler. Doshi, a left arm spin bowler, first played for Surrey in June 2004, ...
*
Majid Haq
Rana Majid Haq Khan (born 11 February 1983), better known as Majid Haq, is a Scottish cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and an off spin bowler. He has represented Scotland at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 23 levels, making his debut for the ...
*
Ronnie Irani
Ronald Charles Irani (born 26 October 1971) is a former England cricketer who played Tests and ODIs for England. He played only three Tests for England, with decidedly mixed success, but found a niche in One Day Internationals, where he gained muc ...
*
Omer Hussain
Rana Omer Hussain (born 3 December 1984 in Paisley, Scotland), better known as Omer Hussain, is a Pakistani Scottish cricket player. He made his debut for the Scottish cricket team on 18 September 2005 in a C&G Trophy match against Warwickshi ...
*
Tosh Masson
Tajiv Singh Masson (born 27 February 1985), known as Tosh Masson, is a rugby union player who played for Harlequin F.C., Harlequins in the Guinness Premiership, playing primarily as a Centre (rugby union), centre.
He is the only Sikh to have ...
*
Kash Gill
*
Netan Sansara
Netan Nico Sansara (born 3 August 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Råde.
He has previously played for Walsall, Dundee, AFC Telford United, Corby Town, PAEEK FC, FC Vestsjælland, Fredrikstad and FC Edmonton.
Early ...
*
Mandip Sehmi
*
Rikki Bains
Rikki Lee Bains (born 3 February 1988 in Coventry) is an English footballer who plays for Bedworth United. He is a defender.
Playing career
Coventry City
Bains, who is of Asian origin, began his career as a trainee with Coventry City where h ...
*
Rajiv Ouseph
Theratil Rajiv Ouseph (born 30 August 1986) is a former badminton player from England who represented both England and Great Britain in the international tournaments. Ouseph was the European Champion, winning in 2017.
Ouseph was born and brough ...
*
Ali Jacko
*
Bulbul Hussain
*
Ruqsana Begum
*
Zubair Hoque
Celebrities in popular culture
![Shazia Mirza](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Shazia_Mirza.jpg)
The comedians
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar (born 31 October 1963) is a British actor, comedian and television presenter. He is best known for his work in the BBC Two sketch comedy series '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and as the star of the sitcom ''The Kumars at No. 42''. H ...
,
Meera Syal
Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...
,
Papa CJ and
Shazia Mirza
Shazia Mirza ( ur, ) is an English comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her stand-up comedy, and her articles in British newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Daily Telegraph''.
Early life and education
Mirza was born in Birmi ...
are all well-recognised figures in British
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
. The presenter and match maker of the BBC marriage arranging show ''
Arrange Me a Marriage
''Arrange Me a Marriage'' is a British reality TV series, for which the pilot episode aired on BBC2 in March 2007; while the first of five series episodes aired on 22 November 2007.
Background
It was Aneela Rahman's sister, Sidra Khan, who d ...
'' is a South Asian-Scot
Aneela Rahman
''Arrange Me a Marriage'' is a British reality TV series, for which the pilot episode aired on BBC2 in March 2007; while the first of five series episodes aired on 22 November 2007.
Background
It was Aneela Rahman's sister, Sidra Khan, who d ...
.
Hardeep Singh Kohli
Hardeep Singh Kohli (born 21 January 1969) is a Scottish presenter of Sikh heritage who has appeared on various radio and television programmes.
Background
Kohli was born in London and moved to Glasgow, Scotland, when he was four. His parents ...
is a presenter, reporter and comedian on British television and radio. British Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian contestants have appeared on ''
The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...
'' including
Syed Ahmed, Tre Azam, Lohit Kalburgi, Ghazal Asif, Shazia Wahab, Sara Dhada, and most notably
Saira Khan
Saira Khan (born 15 May 1970) is an English television personality. She was a contestant on the first series of ''The Apprentice'' in 2005, in which she finished as the runner-up. From 2012 to 2017, Khan co-presented '' The Martin Lewis Money ...
, who is now a British TV presenter. The broadcasters
Daljit Dhaliwal
Daljit Dhaliwal (born 8 September 1962) is a British newsreader and television presenter.
Dhaliwal is a former news presenter for the Al-Jazeera English news service that broadcast from Washington DC. Previously, she was the anchor chair of ...
,
Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Krishnan Guru-Murthy (born 5 April 1970) is a British journalist. He is the lead presenter of ''Channel 4 News''. He also presents '' Unreported World'', a foreign-affairs documentary series.
Early life
Guru-Murthy's father, an Indian consul ...
and
Samira Ahmed
Samira Ahmed (born 15 June 1968) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster at the BBC, where she has presented Radio 3's ''Night Waves'' and Radio 4's '' PM'', ''The World Tonight'', '' Sunday'' and '' Front Row'' and has presented the ...
are known for working on ''
Channel 4 News
''Channel 4 News'' is the main news programme on British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since Channel 4's launch in November 1982.
Current productions
''Channel 4 News''
''Channel 4 News'' ...
''.
![Save The World Awards 2009 show24 - Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Save_The_World_Awards_2009_show24_-_Suleman_Mirza_and_Madhu_Singh.jpg)
In 2008, in the
second series of reality television ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...
'', one of the country's most successful
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
shows, the South Asian dance duo
Signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...
, consisting of Suleman Mirza (a British Pakistani) and Madhu Singh (a
British Indian) performing a fusion of
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and
Bhangra music and dance styles, came second on the show.
Humza Arshad
Humza Mohammed Arshad ( ur, حمزه محمد ارشد; born 3 June 1985) is an English actor, comedian and writer of Pakistani descent. He produces the web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' (2010–2013) and '' Badman'' (2015–present). His hom ...
and
Ali Shahalom
Ali Shahalom ( bn, আলী শাহআলম; born 15 October 1992), also known by his stage name Ali Official, is an English people, English comedian and television presenter of British Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi descent.
Early life
Shahalom w ...
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
Humza Mohammed Arshad ( ur, حمزه محمد ارشد; born 3 June 1985) is an English actor, comedian and writer of Pakistani descent. He produces the web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' (2010–2013) and '' Badman'' (2015–present). His hom ...
's video was the seventh most viewed on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
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
Economic
In 2001, the Centre for Social Markets estimated that British Asian businesses contributed more than £5 billion to GDP. Many British Asians are regarded as affluent middle-class people. As business owners and entrepreneurs, Asian Britons are celebrated for revolutionising the corner shop, expanding the take-away food trade, including the revitalisation of the UK's
fish and chips industry by
British Chinese
British Chinese (also known as Chinese British or Chinese Britons) are people of Chineseparticularly Han Chineseancestry who reside in the United Kingdom, constituting the second-largest group of Overseas Chinese in Western Europe after France. ...
, and energising the British economy to a degree which changed Britain's antiquated retail laws forever. 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%.
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 their commercial success, there are a number of British citizens or UK-resident billionaires of Asian ancestry in the United Kingdom. From a
Baniya
__NOTOC__
The Bania (also spelled Baniya, Banija, Banya, Vaniya, Vani, Vania and Vanya) is a Vaishya community mainly found in Indian states of Gujarat, and Rajasthan, but they are also found in Madhya Pradesh. Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh ...
family,
Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (; born 15 June 1950) is an Indian steel magnate, based in the United Kingdom. He is the Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as Chairman of stainless steel manufacture ...
is one of Britain's richest men. In 2017, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' 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. 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
Srichand Parmanand Hinduja (born 28 November 1935) is an Indian-born British billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is the primary shareholder and chairman of Hinduja Group of companies. As of May 2020, together with his brot ...
, of
Sindhi heritage, who topped the rankings via the
Hinduja Group
Hinduja Group is an Indian transnational conglomerate. The group is present in eleven sectors including automotive, oil and specialty chemicals, banking and finance, IT and ITeS, cyber security, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project d ...
, with an estimated fortune of £22 billion.
Exceptions included British nationals
David and Simon Reuben
David Reuben (born 1941) and Simon Reuben (born 1944) are Indian-born British businessmen. In May 2020, they were named as the second richest family in the UK by the '' Sunday Times Rich List'' with a net worth of £16 billion.
Early life and b ...
, 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
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-resident,
Samuel Tak Lee is of East Asian descent and born in
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...
. Other 2019 ''Asian Rich List'' UK billionaires included British-Iraqi
Nadhmi Auchi
Nadhmi Shakir Auchi, ( ar, نظمي أوجي; born 11 June 1937) is a British-Iraqi businessman and billionaire, founding president of the Anglo–Arab Organisation, and the founder and chairman of General Mediterranean Holding (GMH), a conglom ...
and British-Iranian
Farhad Moshiri.
Food
The biggest influence of South Asians on popular British culture has probably been the spread of
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, he ...
, though of the 9,000 Indian restaurants in the UK, most are run by
Sylhetis
The Sylheti () are an Indo-Aryan ethnocultural group that are associated with the Sylhet region in South Asia, specifically in northeast of Bengal presently divided between the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh, and the Barak Valley of Assam, Ind ...
; their
ancestral home
An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...
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
The Muharram Rebellion ( bn, মুহররমের হাঙ্গামা, Muhôrrômer Haṅgama) was a Bengali uprising which took place in early December 1782 against the East India Company in colonial Sylhet, eastern Bengal (now Bangla ...
of 1782.
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.
Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi
Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi ( bn, শাহ আবদুল মজিদ কোরেশী), also known by his daak naam Moina Meah ( bn, ময়না মিঞা), was an early British Bangladeshi restaurateur and social reformer. He is nota ...
is said to be the first
Sylheti
Sylheti may refer to:
* Sylhetis, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group in the Sylhet division and South Assam
* Sylheti language, a language of the Sylheti region
* Sylheti Nagri
Sylheti Nagri or Sylheti Nagari ( syl, , ISO: , ), known in cla ...
to open a restaurant in the country. It was called ''Dilkush Delight'' and located in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
.
Another one of his restaurants, known as ''India Centre'', alongside
early Sylheti migrant
Ayub Ali Master
Ayub Ali Master ( bn, আইয়ুব আলী মাস্টার; died 1980), was an early British Bangladeshi social reformer, politician and entrepreneur. He is notable for pioneering social welfare work for many early British Asians. H ...
'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
Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...
,
Krishna Menon
Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, politician, and non-career diplomat. He was described by some as the second most powerful man in India, after the first list of Prime Ministers of In ...
and
Mulk Raj Anand
Mulk Raj Anand (12 December 1905 – 28 September 2004) was an Indian writer in English, recognised for his depiction of the lives of the poorer castes in traditional Indian society. One of the pioneers of Indo-Anglian fiction, he, togethe ...
. 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
Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...
and
Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The Indian International Chef of the Year Competition founded in 1991 by celebrity chef and restaurateur
Mohammad Ajman "Tommy" Miah MBE.
The British Curry Awards
The British Curry Awards is an annual awards dinner dedicated to the British curry industry. It was established in 2005 by Enam Ali and has continued to this day. Each individual award is split for geographic purposes — regional splits of Scotla ...
was founded by restaurateur
Enam Ali
Enam Ali (; 1 December 1960 – 17 July 2022) was a Bangladeshi-born British businessman who founded The British Curry Awards, ''Spice Business Magazine'', and ''Ion TV''.
Early life
Ali was born in Sylhet District, East Pakistan (now Banglad ...
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
in 2005.
Performing arts
Like India, Bhangra music has become popular among many in Britain not only from the works of
British South Asian musicians such as
Panjabi MC
Rajinder Singh Rai (Punjabi: ਰਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ), better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British-Indian recording artist, rapper, producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide 2002 bhangra hit "Mundian To Bach Ke", ...
,
Swami
Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...
and
Rishi Rich
Rishpal Singh Rekhi (Punjabi: ਰਿਸ਼ਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਰੈਖੀ, born 30 June 1976 in Croydon), better known by his stage name Rishi Rich, is a British-Indian music producer based in London. He began his career in the Asian Undergr ...
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
Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...
, 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
Diamond Duggal also known as DJ Swami is a British-Indian music producer, composer, sound designer and multi-instrumentalist. He has produced a diversity of award-winning global artists, including Shania Twain, Pras Michel, Apache Indian, Maxi Pri ...
has also collaborated with rapper
Pras
Prakazrel Samuel Michel (; born October 19, 1972) is a Haitian-American rapper, producer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. After the Fugees, he earned two ...
, of the
Fugees
Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with i ...
, and his band
Swami
Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...
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
Steven Kapur (born 11 May 1967), known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song " Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ...
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 Asian underground is a term associated with various British Asian and South Asian Canadian musicians (mostly Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan) who blend elements of Western underground dance music and the traditional Asian music of th ...
" artists went on to blend elements of western underground dance music and the traditional music of their home countries, such as
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian a ...
,
Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is an English musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica s ...
,
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and gui ...
,
Panjabi MC
Rajinder Singh Rai (Punjabi: ਰਜਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ), better known by his stage name Panjabi MC, is a British-Indian recording artist, rapper, producer and DJ. He is best known for the worldwide 2002 bhangra hit "Mundian To Bach Ke", ...
,
Raghav
Raghav Mathur (born April 2, 1981), known professionally as Raghav, is a Canadian singer. He has released three studio albums: the debut '' Storyteller'' in 2004, ''Identity'' in 2009, and '' The Phoenix'' in 2012. His most known commercial succe ...
, and the
Rishi Rich Project
Rishpal Singh Rekhi (Punjabi: ਰਿਸ਼ਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਰੈਖੀ, born 30 June 1976 in Croydon), better known by his stage name Rishi Rich, is a British-Indian music producer based in London. He began his career in the Asian Undergr ...
(featuring Rishi Rich,
Jay Sean
Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with "Dance with You", which reached ...
and
Juggy D
Jagwinder Singh Dhaliwal (Punjabi: ਜਗਵਿੰਦਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਧਾਲੀਵਾਲ, born 19 November 1977), is an Indian English singer from Southall, London of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent.
Music
Juggy D has been performing since the ...
).
![British Asian musicians combining Eastern and Western musical traditions](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/British_Asian_musicians_combining_Eastern_and_Western_musical_traditions.jpg)
The 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.
Media
The films ''
East Is East'', ''Chicken Tikka Masala'' and ''
Bend It Like Beckham
''Bend It Like Beckham'' (also known as ''Kick It Like Beckham'') is a 2002 sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knight ...
'' 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
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
on
ITV Sport
ITV Sport is a sport producer for ITV. It was formed following the merger between Granada Sport and Central Sport.[Corner Shop Show
''Corner Shop Show'' is a British comedy drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a gen ...](_blank)
'' was launched by actor and director
Islah Abdur-Rahman aired from 2014 to 2019.
In 2020,
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 released an episode of ''
A Very British History
''A Very British History'' is a British documentary television series that was broadcast on BBC Four. The four-part series explores migration to Britain in the 20th century and the shift in culture in various minority communities.
Production
...
'' focusing on the
history of British Bangladeshis and emigration from Bangladesh from the 1960s onwards, hosted by Dr
Aminul Hoque.
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
![Organisers and Hosts of the Asian Professional Awards](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Organisers_and_Hosts_of_the_Asian_Professional_Awards.jpg)
With 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
* Asian Women of Achievement Awards organised by
Pinky Lilani CBE DL since 1999
* Asian Legal Awards organised by the Society for Asian Lawyers since 1994 making it one of the oldest Asian awards ceremonies
* Asian Curry Awards celebrating the best of
Asian restaurants since 2010
*
The Asian Awards
The Asian Awards is an annual award ceremony for the global Asian community which takes place in the United Kingdom, with 14 categories that include business, philanthropy, entertainment, culture and sport. Nominees are selected by an independen ...
organised by the Lemon Group since 2010 and usually attended by a host of leading celebrities
*The Asian Professional Awards organised by
Jasvir Singh OBE and
Param Singh since 2014 aimed at celebrating success within the City professions
*
The British Curry Awards
The British Curry Awards is an annual awards dinner dedicated to the British curry industry. It was established in 2005 by Enam Ali and has continued to this day. Each individual award is split for geographic purposes — regional splits of Scotla ...
founded by restaurateur
Enam Ali
Enam Ali (; 1 December 1960 – 17 July 2022) was a Bangladeshi-born British businessman who founded The British Curry Awards, ''Spice Business Magazine'', and ''Ion TV''.
Early life
Ali was born in Sylhet District, East Pakistan (now Banglad ...
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
in 2005.
* Indian International Chef of the Year Competition founded in 1991 by celebrity chef and restaurateur
Mohammad Ajman "Tommy" Miah MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
.
Social and political issues
Discrimination and racism
![Shaheed Minar, Altab Ali Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Shaheed_Minar%2C_Altab_Ali_Park.jpg)
British Asians from a wide range of backgrounds have faced discrimination and racism since the second half of the twentieth century. There have been examples of abuse faced by British Asians and their communities, dating from the 1960s up until the 2020s. Following
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...
's
Rivers of Blood speech
The "Rivers of Blood" speech was made by British Member of Parliament (MP) Enoch Powell on 20 April 1968, to a meeting of the Conservative Political Centre in Birmingham, United Kingdom. His speech strongly criticised mass immigration, especi ...
, and the establishment of the
National Front in the late 1960s, the South Asian community in particular faced
racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
. This included overt racism in the form of
Paki bashing, predominantly from
white power skinhead
White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...
s, the National Front, and the
National Party, throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
British Asians have been historically subjected to forms of discrimination and racism since significant immigration into the UK during the 20th century. Drawing inspiration from the
civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, the
Black Power movement, and the
South African anti-Apartheid Movement, young British Asian activists began a number of
anti-racist
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
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
Altab Ali ( bn, আলতাব আলী; 1953 – 4 May 1978) was a Bangladeshi textile worker stabbed to death in London, in a racially motivated killing. His death sparked widespread outrage and grassroots action that helped to reduce racism ...
in 1978, and the
Newham Youth Movement following the murder of Akhtar Ali Baig in 1980.
According to the UK's
hate crime statistics, during the
coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
hate crimes directed at both South and East Asian communities increased between two and three-fold.
A 2020
YouGov
YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and sinc ...
survey found that 61 percent of Asians (under the label "Other Asian") had experienced being called a
racial slur
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...
, with
British Chinese
British Chinese (also known as Chinese British or Chinese Britons) are people of Chineseparticularly Han Chineseancestry who reside in the United Kingdom, constituting the second-largest group of Overseas Chinese in Western Europe after France. ...
in particular, self-reporting being racially abused at 76 percent.
LGBT communities
There have been reports and examples of cultural difficulties with tolerance for
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
people within some Asian British communities.
ITV News has reported: "For many in the Asian Community the fear of stigma or rejection from family leads them to hide their true self and in extreme cases turn to alcoholism, drugs and even suicide".
In 1987, pioneers, Shivanandan Khan and Poulomi Desai co-founded Shakt,
the first South Asian LGBTQ campaigning group in Europe.
In 2014, Nazim Mahmood, a British Asian medical doctor working in
Harley Street, committed suicide after being advised to "seek a cure" for his sexuality by his parents. As a result of Mahmood's suicide, the
Naz and Matt Foundation
Naz and Matt Foundation is a charity based in the United Kingdom that tackles homophobia triggered by religious and cultural beliefs.
The organisation was established in 2014 following the death of Dr Nazim Mahmood, by his long term fiancé Matt ...
was created, as a charity to challenge
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
caused by religious and cultural beliefs.
In 2017, it was reported how gay Asian Britons were "forced into heterosexual marriages" by cultural and religious pressure. As a result, some were actively finding other gay members of the opposite sex for, what the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
described as, "