Punjabi diaspora
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The Punjabi diaspora (''pajābī pravāsī'') mainly refers to the descendants of ethnic
Punjabis The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...
who emigrated out of the
Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
before
Independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The Punjabis who migrated after the independence of both countries are either part of
Pakistani diaspora Overseas Pakistanis ( ur, ), or the Pakistani diaspora, refers to Pakistani people who live outside of Pakistan. These include citizens that have migrated to another country as well as people born abroad of Pakistani descent. According to th ...
or
Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of Indi ...
, depending on which Punjab they originated from. Punjabis constitute the largest ethnic group in both diasporas. The Punjabi diaspora worldwide is between 2.5 and 10 million, mainly concentrated in the UK, Canada, the United States, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.


Afghanistan


Bangladesh

Many families from
Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
migrated to erstwhile
East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
(present-day Bangladesh) as it was one country at the time. Some of these families chose to remain in Bangladesh after its independence. One such example is the family of Bangladeshi-Punjabi cricketer
Junaid Siddique Mohammad Junaid Siddique (born 30 October 1987) is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname Imrose. A left-handed batsman and occasional right arm off break bowler, he made his debut for Rajshahi Division in 2003/04 ...
.


Australia

Punjabis migrated to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
from other parts of the Punjabi diaspora, as well from the state of Punjab itself. The Majority were Sikh and Hindu Punjabis are the minority.


Canada

85% of
Indo-Canadians Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The terms ''Indo-Canadian'' or ''East Indian'' are sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of ...
in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
are Punjabi Sikhs, including former
premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
,
Ujjal Dosanjh Ujjal Dev Dosanjh ( pa, ਉੱਜਲ ਦੇਵ ਦੁਸਾਂਝ) (), (born September 9, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 33rd premier of British Columbia from 2000 to 2001 and as a Liberal Party of Canada member of ...
.


Germany

The Punjabi Sikh diaspora in Germany is around 15,000-21,000.


Georgia

In 2012 around 2000 farmers from Punjab, India migrated to
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
to do farming . As of 2018 around 200 out of them are still living there in Tsnori, a town in
Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
region.


Hong Kong

Among Hong Kong Indian adolescents, Punjabi is the third most common language other than
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
. The Punjabis were influential in the military, and in line with the British military thinking of the time (namely, the late 19th century and early 20th century) Punjabi Sikhs,
Punjabi Hindus Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region ...
and Punjabi Muslims formed two separate regiments. The regiments were as follows: *Punjab regiment: 25,000 soldiers (50% Muslim, 40% Hindu and 10% Sikh) *Sikh Regiment: 10,000 soldiers (80% Sikh, 20% Hindu) In 1939, Hong Kong's police force included 272 Europeans, 774 Indians (mainly Punjabis) and 1140
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 ...
. Punjabis dominated Hong Kong's police force until the 1950s. From the 2006 Government by-census results, it shows a population of roughly 20,444 Indians and roughly 11,111 Pakistanis residing at the former British territory.


Iran

Around 60 Punjabi Sikh families resides in Iran. Punjabi language is also taught at
Kendriya Vidyalaya Tehran Kendriya Vidyalaya Tehran ("Central School Tehran"; hi, केन्द्रीय विद्यालय संगठन; fa, مدرسه هندی تهران) is an Indian co-educational international school in the Baharestan District, Tehra ...
, an Indian co-educational school in Baharestan District,
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
.


Japan

There are 71,000 Punjabis. In
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
98% of the Punjabis are
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
and 1.5% of the Punjabis are
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
.


Kenya

Most Kenyan Asians are
Gujaratis The Gujarati people or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They primarily speak Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language. While G ...
, but the second largest group are
Punjabis The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...
. All three major religious groups (Sikh, Muslim and Hindu) are represented in the Punjabi population. The artisan Ramgharia caste used to be the largest group amongst the Sikhs.


Malaysia

Although most
Malaysian Indians Malaysian Indians or Indian Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Indian or South Asian ancestry. Today, they form the third-largest group in Malaysia after the Malays and the Chinese. Most are descendants of those who migrated from India durin ...
are
Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
, there were also many Punjabis that immigrated to
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. They are known to be the third largest Indian ethnic group in Malaysia, after the Tamils and Malayalees. According to Amarjit Kaur as of 1993 there were 60, 000 Punjabis in Malaysia. Robin Cohen estimates the number of Malaysian Sikhs as 30, 000 (as of 1995). Recent figures state that there are 130,000 Sikhs in Malaysia.


New Zealand

In New Zealand, Punjabis are one of the largest group of
Indian New Zealander Indian New Zealanders are persons of Indian origin or descent, living in New Zealand. The term includes Indians born in New Zealand, as well as immigrants from India, Fiji, as well as other regions of Asia, parts of Africa such as South Africa as ...
s.


Persian Gulf states

In the Gulf states, the largest group among Pakistani expatriates are the Punjabis.


Indonesia

Punjabis are the second largest
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
group in Indonesia, right after
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
people, some of them are known as film producer, politician and athlete such as
Manoj Punjabi Manoj Punjabi (born 7 December 1972) is an Indonesian film and television producer. He is the CEO & Founder of MD Entertainment, the biggest production house in Indonesia and the only national film company listed on the Indonesia Stock Exhange ( ...
, H. S. Dillon,
Gurnam Singh Gurnam Singh (25 February 1899 – 31 May 1973) was an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Punjab from 8 March 1967 to 25 November 1967, and again between 17 February 1969 to 27 March 1970. He was the first Shiromani Akali Dal Ch ...
,
Ayu Azhari Khadijah Azhari (born 19 November 1967), better known as Ayu Azhari, is an Indonesian actress, model and author of mixed Indian and Sundanese descent. Biography Azhari was born on 19 November 1967. She comes from Bangka, the oldest of seven ...
, and Musa Rajekshah. Punjabis in Indonesia are majority following Sikhism or Islam, according to some source, the population of Punjabi are estimate about 35,000 to 60,000.


Philippines

The Philippines has over 50,000 Punjabi Indians as recently as the year 2016, not including illegal Punjabi Indian immigrants. This makes the Philippines having the 6th highest population of Punjabi Indians in the world.


Singapore

The third largest group among Indo-Singaporeans in 1980 were Punjabis (after
Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
- who form a majority of Indo-Singaporeans - and
Malayalis The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomina ...
), at 7.8% of the Indo-Singaporean population.


Thailand

Most
Indians in Thailand Thai Indians are Thai people with full or partial Indian ancestry. But these ancestral ties are usually left out of statistics. About 65,000 Indian Thais have full Thai citizenship, but around 400,000 persons of Indian origin settled in Thailand ...
are Punjabis.


United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, around two-thirds of direct migrants (excluding South Asians that immigrated from the Caribbean, Fiji and other regions) from South Asia were Punjabi. The remaining third is mostly
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 ...
and
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 ...
. They form a majority of both the South Asian British Sikh and Hindu communities. Most "twice-migrants" - a term describing South Asian descendants who migrated to the United Kingdom not directly from South Asia (mainly from the
Indian diaspora in Southeast Africa The Indian diaspora in Southeast Africa consists of approximately 3 million people of Indian origin. Some of this diaspora in Southeast Africa arrived in the 19th century from British India as indentured labourers, many of them to work on the K ...
and other British Colonies) were also Punjabi or
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 ...
.
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 ...
is also known as the birthplace of
bhangra music Bhangra () is a type of non-traditional music of Punjab originating in the Southall area of United Kingdom. It is a type of upbeat popular music associated with the Punjabi diaspora in Britain. The style has its origins in the folk music of Pu ...
, a style of non traditional Punjabi music created by the Punjabi diaspora.


United States

The earliest South Asian immigrants to the United States were Punjabis, who mostly immigrated to the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
, particularly
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Half of
Pakistani Americans Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...
are Punjabis. 85% of the early Indian immigrants to the US were Sikhs, although they were incorrectly branded by
White Americans White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
as "Hindus". 90% of Indians who settled in the Central Valley of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
were Punjabi Sikhs.


See also

*
Sikh diaspora The Sikh diaspora is the modern Sikh migration from the traditional area of the Punjab region of India. Sikhism is a religion, the Punjab region of India being the historic homeland of Sikhism. The Sikh diaspora is largely a subset of the Pu ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punjabi Diaspora Punjab Pakistani diaspora Ethnic groups in India Social groups of Pakistan