{{Short description|British people of Asian descent}} {{For|subgroupings of British people of Asian descent|Central Asians in the United Kingdom|East Asians in the United Kingdom|South Asians in the United Kingdom|Southeast Asians in the United Kingdom}} {{hatnote|For British Asians from East or Southeast Asia, also known as the "Far East", see British East and Southeast Asian.}} {{Infobox ethnic group | group = British Asians | image = Asian percentage UK wide in 2011.svg | image_caption = Asian/Asian British population percentage across the United Kingdom in 2011 | population = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''United Kingdom: 5,758,104 – 8.6% (2021/22 Census)'''{{efn|All usual residents of the ethnic group 'Asian, Asian Scottish, Asian Welsh or Asian British' across the United Kingdom (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Other Asian)}}<ref name=2021census>{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/bulletins/ethnicgroupenglandandwales/census2021|title=Ethnic group, England and Wales: Census 2021|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=29 November 2022}}</ref><ref name="2022census_Scot">{{cite web |url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/media/trbdxzme/scotland-s-census-2022-ethnic-group-national-identity-language-and-religion-chart-data.xlsx |title=Scotland's Census 2022 - Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion - Chart data |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=21 May 2024 |website=Scotland's Census |publisher=National Records of Scotland |access-date=21 May 2024 }} [https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/search-the-census#/search-by Alternative URL] 'Search data by location' > 'All of Scotland' > 'Ethnic group, national identity, language and religion' > 'Ethnic Group'</ref><ref name=NICensus2021>{{cite web|url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b01.xlsx|title=MS-B01: Ethnic group|publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency|date= 22 September 2022|accessdate=7 January 2023}}</ref><br /> *Indian – '''1,927,150''' – 2.9% (2021/22) *Pakistani – '''1,662,286''' – 2.5% (2021/22) *Bangladeshi – '''651,834''' – 1.0% (2021/22){{efn|Excludes Northern Ireland}} *Chinese – '''502,216''' – 0.8% (2021/22) * Other Asian – '''1,010,209''' – 1.5% (2021/22) | region1 = '''Countries'''<ref name=2011census/> | region2 = {{flag|England}} | pop2 = '''5,426,392''' – 9.7% (2021) | region3 = {{flag|Scotland}} | pop3 = '''212,022''' – 3.9% (2022) | region4 = {{flag|Wales}} | pop4 = '''89,028''' – 3.0% (2021) | region5 = Northern Ireland | pop5 = '''30,667''' – 1.6% (2021) | langs = British English{{·}}Asian languages<br />{{smaller|Bengali{{·}}Burmese{{·}}Cantonese{{·}}Gujarati{{·}}Hakka{{·}}Hindi{{·}} Tamil{{·}}Haryanvi{{·}}Mandarin{{·}}Min{{·}}Punjabi{{·}}Telugu{{·}}Tagalog{{·}}Sindhi{{·}}Sinhala{{·}}Sylheti{{·}}Vietnamese{{·}}Thai{{·}} Urdu}} | rels = Predominantly Islam (46.0%); minority follows Hinduism (17.5%), Christianity (10.5%), Sikhism (7.7%), other faiths (3.9%){{efn|Including Buddhism (2.9%), Judaism (0.03%), Jainism, Ravidassia, Zoroastrianism and others}} or are irreligious (9.1%)<br /><small>2021 census, NI, England and Wales only</small><ref name="ReligionNI2021">{{cite United Kingdom census |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=ETHNIC_GROUP_INTERMEDIATE&v=RELIGION_BELONG_TO_AGG19 |table=DT-0036 - Ethnic group by religion |year=2021 |publisher= Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency |access-date=30 June 2023}}</ref><ref name="Religion_E&W21">{{cite web |title=RM031 Ethnic group by religion |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM031/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/217f1401-dab4-43d3-aa77-6c9382220c0c#summary |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref>{{reflist|group=note}} | related = {{hlist|Asian people|Dutch Asians|Asian Americans|Asian Canadians|Asian Caribbeans|Asian Africans|Asian Brazilians}} }}
'''British Asians''' (also referred to as '''Asian Britons''')<ref>{{cite book |doi= 10.1007/978-1-349-26302-8_4 |chapter=British Asian Entrepreneurs: Culture and Opportunity Structures |first1=Tariq |last1=Modood |first2=Hilary |last2=Metcalf |first3=Satnam |last3=Virdee |title=Choice and Public Policy |year=1998 |pages=62–78 |editor-first=Peter |editor-last=Taylor-Gooby |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-73131-4 }}</ref> are British people of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with a population of 5.76 million people or 8.6% of the population identifying as Asian or Asian British in the 2021 United Kingdom census.<ref name="Ethnic group - Census Maps, ONS">{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group - Census Maps, ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/identity/ethnic-group/ethnic-group-tb-6a/asian-asian-british-or-asian-welsh |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref name="2022census_Scot"/><ref name=NICensus2021/> This represented an increase from a 6.9% share of the UK population in 2011, and a 4.4% share in 2001.
Represented predominantly by South Asian ethnic groups, census data regarding birthplace and ethnicity demonstrate around a million Asian British people derive their ancestry between East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/|title=Statistics - release calendar - GOV.UK|access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> Since the 2001 census, British people of general Asian descent have been included in the "Asian/Asian British" grouping ("Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British" grouping in Scotland) of the UK census questionnaires.<ref name="autogenerated1991">{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ethnicity/focus-on-ethnicity-and-identity/a-guide-to-comparing-1991-and-2001-census-ethnic-group-data/comparing-1991-and-2001-census-ethnic-group-data.pdf|title=A guide to comparing 1991 and 2001 Census ethnic group data|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=27 April 2015}}</ref> Categories for British Indians, British Pakistanis, British Bangladeshis, British Chinese, British Hongkongers and other Asians have existed under an Asian British heading since the 2011 census.<ref name="ukcensus2011"/> In British English usage, especially in less formal contexts, the term "Asian" usually refers to people who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent or South Asia, contrary to other Anglosphere countries such as Australia, Canada, Latin America, and the United States, where the term "Asian" usually refers to people who trace their ancestry to East and Southeast Asia.<ref name="bhopal2004">{{cite journal|title=Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate|first=Raj|last=Bhopal|journal=Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health|volume=58|issue=6|pages=441–445|year=2004|doi=10.1136/jech.2003.013466|pmc=1732794|pmid=15143107}}</ref><ref name=BSA>{{cite web|url=http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/25564/EqualityandDiversity_LanguageandtheBSA_RaceMar05.doc?1429559280759|title=Language and the BSA: Ethnicity & Race|publisher=British Sociological Association|date=March 2005|access-date=27 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427143029/http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/25564/EqualityandDiversity_LanguageandtheBSA_RaceMar05.doc?1429559280759|archive-date=27 April 2015}}</ref>
There is a long history of migration to the United Kingdom (and its predecessor states) from across Asia. British colonies and protectorates throughout Asia brought lascars (sailors and militiamen) to port cities in Britain. Immigration of small numbers of South Asians to England began with the arrival of the East India Company to the Indian subcontinent, and the decline of the Mughal Empire, at the end of the 16th century. Between the 17th and mid-19th century, increasingly diverse lascar crews heading for Britain imported East Asians, such as Japanese and Chinese seamen, Southeast Asians, such as Malays, South Asians such as the Indians (including the people from Pakistan), Bengalis and Ceylonese and post-Suez Canal; West Asians, such as Armenians and Yemenis, who settled throughout the United Kingdom.
In particular, Indians also came to Britain for educational or economic reasons during the British Raj (with most returning to India after a few months or years)<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fisher|first=Michael H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iPHqigUD6FUC&q=settled|title=Counterflows to Colonialism: Indian Travellers and Settlers in Britain, 1600–1857|chapter=Introduction |page=1 |isbn=978-81-7824-154-8|year=2006|publisher=Orient Blackswan }}</ref> and in greater numbers as the Indian independence movement led to the partition of 1947, eventually creating the separate countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The most significant wave of Asian immigration to and settlement in the United Kingdom came following the Second World War with the resumed control of Hong Kong, the breakup of the British Empire and the independence of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and later Bangladesh, especially during the 1950s and 1960s. An influx of Asian immigrants also took place following the expulsion or flight of Indian communities (then holders of British passports) from the newly independent Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the early 1970s.
Since the 2010s, British Asians have achieved positions of high political office; Sadiq Khan (of Pakistani descent) became Mayor of London in 2016, Rishi Sunak (of Indian descent) became the first British Asian Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in October 2022 and Humza Yousaf (also of Pakistani descent) became First Minister of Scotland in March 2023.
==Terminology== In Britain, the word "Asian" most frequently refers to people with ancestry from the Indian subcontinent (Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans). This usage contrasts with that in the United States, where it is used primarily to refer to people of East and Southeast Asian origin.<ref name="bhopal2004"/><ref name=BSA/>
In British English usage, the term ''Asian'' usually refers to people who trace their ancestry to South Asia, in particular the former British Raj and Ceylon (the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives). The British Sociological Association's guidelines on equality and diversity suggest that "South Asian" is more precise than "Asian" and that the latter should not be used where there is a risk of it conflating South Asians with people from elsewhere in Asia.<ref name=BSA/>
===Census=== The Office for National Statistics uses the term "Asian / Asian British" to categorise British Indians, British Pakistanis, British Bangladeshis, British Chinese people and people of any other Asian ancestry.
Definitions and naming conventions for the category have evolved in the history of UK censuses. The 1991 United Kingdom census was the first to include a question on ethnicity (apart from in Northern Ireland, where the question was not asked until 2001). The question had tick-boxes for "Indian", "Pakistani" and "Bangladeshi". There was also a tick box, as well as a general "Any other ethnic group (please describe)" option for those not wishing to identify with any of the pre-set tick boxes. For the 2001 census, in England and Wales, "Indian", "Pakistani" and "Bangladeshi" and "Any other Asian background (please write in)" options were grouped under an "Asian or Asian British" heading, with appearing under a separate heading. In Scotland, all of these tick-boxes were grouped together under an "Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British" heading, and in Northern Ireland no broad headings were used, just tick-boxes for each of the Asian groups.<ref name="autogenerated1991"/>
The 2011 census questionnaire was more consistent with regard to the grouping of Asian ethnicities, such that Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and any other Asian background options appeared under a broad "Asian/Asian British" ("Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British" in Scotland) heading in all parts of the UK. Shown in order, as listed on the 2011 Census form, the five categories of Asian British are:<ref name="ukcensus2011">{{cite web|url=http://ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/measuring-equality/equality/ethnic-nat-identity-religion/ethnic-group/index.html|title=Ethnic group|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=27 April 2015|date=2 November 2011}}</ref> * '''Asian / Asian British: Indian''', a reference to the South Asian nation of India and British Indians. * '''Asian / Asian British: Pakistani''', a reference to the South Asian nation of Pakistan and British Pakistanis. * '''Asian / Asian British: Bangladeshi''', a reference to the South Asian nation of Bangladesh and British Bangladeshis. * '''Asian / Asian British: Chinese''', a reference to the East Asian nation of China and British Chinese people. * '''Asian / Asian British: Other Asian''', a broad description suitable for specifying self-identified ethnic descent from South Asian nations without an exclusive category (e.g. Sri Lanka and British Sri Lankans), the same application for other East Asian nations (e.g. Japan and British Japanese) and British people of Central Asian and Southeast Asian heritage.
===Subgroups=== There are several regional subgroupings of Asian British people, and Asians living in the United Kingdom generally.<ref name="grierson2020" /> As approximately defined concepts, sometimes due to varying geographical regionalisation of the Asian continent, the subgroups are often utilized in broad ethnic or cultural classification.<ref>{{Cite thesis|url=https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1228&context=gs_theses|title=Differences in Body Image: Comparing AsianAmerican Ethnic Groups and White Americans|author=Alefiyah Z. Pishori|page=6|date=2011|publisher=University of Connecticut|quote=Asians in their respective native countries (e.g., Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, India) or to Asian immigrants in other Western countries, such as Britain and Australia. ... Cross-cultural studies have found more body image dissatisfaction and/or disordered eating among South Asians and East Asians in their native countries compared to Whites and Asians living in Western nations.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=PLOS One|chapter=Defining Obesity Cut-Off Points for Migrant South Asians|author1=Laura J. Gray|author2=Melanie J. Davies|author3=Emer Brady|author4=David R. Webb|volume=6|date=October 2011|publisher=Public Library of Science|quote=Cut-off points should be lowered for East Asians but not for South Asians, however this study was carried out on a limited sample ... No other studies have derived both BMI and WC cut-off points using this methodology on a large bi ethnic population based UK data set.}}</ref> Despite wider use, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not provide geographic distinctions within the census, meaning all people born in Asia (regardless of region), or with Asian ancestry, are provided designation as "Asian / Asian British". The ONS did, however, acknowledge East, South, Southeast and West Asian individuals in its final recommendations report for the 2011 United Kingdom census.<ref name="ONSreport2009">{{Citation|title=Final recommended questions for the 2011 Census in England and Wales|chapter=6. Development of the question|page=53|date=October 2009|publisher=Office for National Statistics|quote=There may be some impact on the mixed/multiple ethnic group ‘White and Asian’ category, although there are indications that in 2001 this group already included white and Southeast Asian and white and East Asian individuals, as well as white and South Asian people. Among the mixed white and Asian group 7 per cent were born in South Asia, 5 per cent in East Asian and 4 per cent in the Middle East (that is West Asian) (Bradford 2006).}}</ref>
Census results show that Asian Britons with descent from across all of Asia are represented in the UK. For example, births in the Philippines and Thailand in Southeast Asia, or Iran and Iraq in West Asia, are among the highest in the Other Asian subcategory of "Asian / Asian British".<ref name="ONSbirths2011" /> Outside of the census, organisation and bodies have made explicit use of such geographic classifications. These have included the British Heart Foundation,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-bame-patients|title=Why are so many people of ethnic minority background dying from coronavirus?|date=24 April 2020|publisher=British Heart Foundation|quote=The same large study of people in hospital with Covid-19 found that people that were Black or had a South Asian or “Other Ethnic Minority” background (which in this study includes West Asian, Arab and Latin American) were more likely to require critical care and to need a ventilator compared with White people|access-date=1 December 2020|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125135755/https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/news/behind-the-headlines/coronavirus/coronavirus-and-bame-patients|url-status=dead}}</ref> the Greater London Authority,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/gla_migrate_files_destination/asian_business_conference_report_3.pdf|title=Spotlight on Asian Business: Their contribution to London|page=38|date=December 2007|publisher=Greater London Authority|location=London Development Agency|quote=Figure A1 Sample sizes for different ethnicities of business owners from LABS: East Asian 14; West Asian 32}}</ref> and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384758/SE_Asia_II__2_.pdf|title=The South-East Asia Diaspora in the UK|date=2015|publisher=Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office}}</ref> In alphabetical order, some of these subgroups are: * '''British East Asians''',<ref name="smith2021">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/19/stark-reality-of-anti-asian-racism-in-the-uk|title=Stark reality of anti-Asian racism in the UK|author=Alex Smith|date=19 March 2021|work=The Guardian|quote=COVID-19 hasn't caused the racism towards British east Asians and south-east Asians, as the UK media likes to claim.}}</ref><ref name="ng2021">{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coronavirus-racism-hate-crime-south-east-asians-b1770177.html|title=How British east and southeast Asians are fighting racism during the pandemic|author=Kate Ng|date=13 January 2021|work=The Independent|quote=Elsewhere, six east and southeast Asian women created Britain's east and southeast Asian Network (besea.n), a grassroots movement that aims to tackle negative stereotypes and promote positive media representation of the community in the UK.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-45590163|title=Crazy Rich Asians: What it's really like being British East Asian|author=Elise Wicker|date=22 September 2018|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="ONSreport2009" /> including British Chinese, British Hongkongers, British Japanese, British Koreans and British Mongolians *'''British South Asians''',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/20/young-british-asian-cricketers-research|title=White British cricketers from private schools 34 times more likely than young Asians to reach elite level|date=20 November 2021|work=The Guardian|quote=Privately educated white British players are 34 times more likely to become professional cricketers than state-educated British South Asians, according to academic research that is likely to invite further investigation of the game's treatment of ethnic minorities.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/6/british-south-asians-partition-history-school-curriculum|title=UK South Asians push for partition history in school curriculum|author=Shaistha Khan|date=6 August 2021|work=Al Jazeera|quote=As per the 2001 census in the UK, South Asians are the largest minority group, accounting for 50 percent of all ethnic minorities in England and Wales.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/19/south-asians-in-uk-most-likely-to-die-of-covid-19-study-finds|title=South Asians in Britain most likely to die in hospital of Covid-19, study finds|author= Haroon Siddique|date=19 June 2020|work=The Guardian|quote=People of south Asian heritage are the most likely in Great Britain to die after being admitted to hospital for Covid-19}}</ref><ref name="ONSreport2009" /> including British Afghans, British Bangladeshis, British Bhutanese, British Indians, British Nepalese, British Pakistanis and British Sri Lankans *'''British Southeast Asian''',<ref name="smith2021" /><ref name="ng2021" /><ref name="ONSreport2009" /> including British Burmese, British Filipinos, British Indonesians, British Malaysians, British Singaporeans, British Thais and British Vietnamese *'''British West Asian''',<ref>{{Cite book|title=Oriental Identities in Super-Diverse Britain: Young Vietnamese in London (Identity Studies in the Social Sciences)|isbn=978-1137275189|author=Tasmin Barber|date=2015|publisher=Palgrave|quote=Instead, their identities were constructed as a byproduct of encounters between the more dominant black and white groups. This also reflects the experience of other groups such as Cypriots (Anthias 1992) and West Asians (Barrett et al.)}}</ref><ref name="ONSreport2009" /> including British Armenians, British Azerbaijanis, British Iranians, British Iraqis, British Israelis, British Kurds, British Lebanese, British Syrians, British Turks and British Yemenis
===Various terms=== Terms to describe British people with Asian heritage are varied and are subject to gradual change created by study in academia, reporting in journalistic works, coverage in other media forms, as well as concepts of self-identity and personhood. Some of the terms used to describe residents and citizens of the United Kingdom with ancestry from Asia are, in alphabetical order, as follows:
====Asian Briton==== The term Asian Briton has been consistently used to refer to someone who is a British citizen or resident with ancestry from across the continent of Asia.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-must-join-forces-for-the-battle-of-barking-to-stop-bnp-6720123.html|title=Londoners must join forces for the Battle of Barking to stop BNP |date=16 November 2009|work=Evening Standard|quote=Did he, as an Asian Briton, not see the contradiction of supporting a party that opposed immigration and used the word "British" as a euphemism for "white"?}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/race-against-time-in-hunt-for-britains-al-qaeda-sleepers-tn03ft7xr03|title=Race against time in hunt for Britain's Al Qaeda sleepers|author1=David Leppard|author2=Nick Fielding|author-link1=David Leppard|author-link2=Nick Fielding|date=30 November 2003|work=The Times|quote=The 24-year-old Asian Briton was born and bred in the West Country cathedral city. His parents, Mohammad and Zubeida, emigrated from their native Malawi more than 25 years ago.}}</ref> In 2005, social science researcher Praful Bidwai used Asian Briton as an example of a "mixed" identity.<ref>{{Cite book|title=''Frontline''|chapter=France Explodes the Uniformity Myth|author=Praful Bidwai|author-link=Praful Bidwai|date=1 May 2006|publisher=The Hindu Group|quote=Thus, there are no hyphenated or "mixed" identities in France like Indian-American, African-American, Asian Briton or Turkish German. They are all simply French.}}</ref> In 2011, multiple scholars, such as Timothy Garton Ash and Sonja Licht, used the term as an example of a hyphenated or dual identity within Europe.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/living-together-in-europe/|title=Living together in Europe|author1=Joschka Fischer|author2=Emma Bonino|author3=Timothy Garton Ash|author4=Martin Hirsch|author5=Danuta Hübner|author6=Ayse Kadioglu|author7=Sonja Licht|author8=Vladimir Lukin|author9=Javier Solana|author-link1=Joschka Fischer|author-link2=Emma Bonino|author-link3=Timothy Garton Ash|author-link4=Martin Hirsch|author-link5=Danuta Hübner|author-link7=Sonja Licht|author-link8=Vladimir Lukin|author-link9=Javier Solana|date=5 April 2011|work=Politico|quote=If one can be an African- or Italian-American, why not a ‘hyphenated European’ – a Turkish-German, a North African-Frenchwoman or an Asian-Briton?}}</ref>
Use of "Asian Briton" has appeared as both an illustrative term in media and for purposes of self-identity. For example, in 2005, politician Shailesh Vara was described as an Ugandan Asian Briton.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1489208/Ugandan-Asian-Briton-tipped-for-the-top.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1489208/Ugandan-Asian-Briton-tipped-for-the-top.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Ugandan Asian Briton tipped for the top|author=Amit Roy|date=3 May 2005|work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Television presenter Sonia Deol and journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown have identified themselves as Asian Britons.<ref name="Wells2002">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/oct/29/broadcasting.bbc|title=Asian radio network goes national |author=Matt Wells|date=29 October 2002|work=The Guardian|quote="Growing up as an Asian Briton, I have lived with these two cultures and the dilemmas they throw up. These need to be talked about."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/yasmin-alibhai-brown/yasmin-alibhai-brown-where-can-we-blacks-holiday-then-5364644.html|title=Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Where can we blacks holiday then?|author=Yasmin Alibhai-Brown|author-link=Yasmin Alibhai-Brown|date=23 July 2001|work=The Independent|quote=Many of us black and Asian Britons are getting richer as the years go by and with these disposable incomes come desires for expensive holidays abroad.}}</ref> In 1999, Alibhai-Brown published an Institute for Public Policy Research report,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Whitehall CO show true colours: Richard Ford on drive to combat racism in the corridors of power|author=Richard Ford|date=8 February 1999|work=The Times|quote=Ministers are also to adopt the American practice of linking members of ethnic groups to their origins, using such terms as African Briton, Asian Briton ... Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, author of the report entitled True Colours, said: "The challenge is for white people to transform their notion of nationhood so that ethnic-minority Britons have a place within it. It is also to get black and Asian Britons to see themselves as an integral pan of the nation and not at the fringes.}}</ref> advising various departments of the Government of the United Kingdom to use the term Asian Briton.<ref>{{Cite book|title=True Colours: Attitudes to Multiculturalism and the Role of Government|author=Yasmin Alibhai-Brown|author-link=Yasmin Alibhai-Brown|date=1999|publisher=Institute for Public Policy Research|isbn=978-1860300837}}</ref> Research project Minorities at Risk described this as an effort "to link ethnic groups to their heritage, and to make greater recognition of the sacrifices made by members of ethnic groups during World War II".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mar.umd.edu/chronology.asp?groupId=20005|title=Chronology for Afro-Caribbeans in the United Kingdom|publisher=Minorities at Risk}}</ref>
====British Asian==== British Asian is a widely used term to describe British persons of Asian descent with either citizenship or residency in the UK. Although not following the UK's census formatting, there are numerous examples of the term gaining cultural traction in the country.
Founded by Charles, Prince of Wales in 2007, the British Asian Trust follows the naming convention resultant from the popularity of the term, and projects an association to the category of British Asian people. After the appointment of Katy Perry as an ambassador of the Trust in 2020, ''The Guardian'' questioned the merit of whether the American singer was a person "who inhabits the values of the British Asian community", reporting that Perry was "neither British nor Asian".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2020/feb/05/why-was-katy-perry-chosen-to-be-an-ambassador-for-the-british-asian-trust|title=Why was Katy Perry chosen to be an ambassador for the British Asian Trust?|date=5 February 2020|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
The term has also received some criticism. BBC Asian Network commissioned an opinion poll that found that the majority of Asians in the UK disliked the term due to its inferred generalisation.<ref name="Wells2002" /> Academic Roxy Harris has critiqued the term of "British Asian" as essentialising and hierarchising the values, or order of priority, of "British" and "Asian". The portmanteau ''Brasian'' has also been proposed as an alternative form of the term.<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Ethnicities and Language Use (Language and Globalization) |author=Roxy Harris|date=2006|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1403998941|quote='essentializes both terms, as well as hierarchizing the former against the latter' (ibid.: 219). I concur with this judgement but suggest that perhaps the hyphenation of the term as Br-Asian achieves a similar effect. I therefore propose the fused term ''Brasian'' as a way of partly overcoming the implied essentialised dichotomy with its hint of 'hierarchization'.}}</ref> In the course of the 2010s, usage of British Asian broadened in British media usage and in self-identification by British citizens or residents, to increasingly also include British people of heritage other than South Asia, such as East Asia<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomphillips/fact-check-is-boris-johnson-right-about-harry-potter |title=Fact Check: Is Boris Johnson Right About Harry Potter? |last=Phillips|first=Tom |quote=Cho Chang is not an "overseas student" at Hogwarts ... JK Rowling never describes her as that. As far as we can tell, she's British-Asian.|date=14 October 2013|work=BuzzFeed UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14984362.harry-potter-star-katie-leung-hits-out-after-theatre-puts-on-chinese-play-with-all-white-cast-for-play-set-in-china/ |title=Harry Potter star Katie Leung hits out after theatre puts on Chinese play with all-white cast for play set in China |date=23 December 2016|work=The Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/yellowface-protest-racist-casting-london-theatre/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/yellowface-protest-racist-casting-london-theatre/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Yellowface protest over 'racist' casting at London theatre |last=Fane Saunders|first=Tristram |date=20 January 2017|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=3 June 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="faberestelegraph2017">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/yellowface-row-proved-british-theatre-stuck-past-could-new/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/yellowface-row-proved-british-theatre-stuck-past-could-new/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The 'yellowface' row proved British theatre is stuck in the past - but could a new play bring it forward? |last=Fane Saunders|first=Tristram |quote=The play is staged in a Peter Brook-esque empty space, and has a British Asian cast led by 42-year-old actress Lourdes Faberes as the titular warlord.|date=20 March 2017|work=The Daily Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/work/asian-women-achievement-meet-14-winners-shaping-uk/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/work/asian-women-achievement-meet-14-winners-shaping-uk/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Asian women of achievement: Meet the 14 winners shaping the UK |last=Chandler-Wilde|first=Helen |date=30 April 2019|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=3 June 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="chanbbc2020">{{Cite news |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20200116-is-it-time-the-all-white-period-drama-was-made-extinct |title=Is it time the all-white period drama was made extinct?|first=Hanna|last= Flint|quote=It's one of the reasons why she cast British Asian actor Gemma Chan ... as white historical figures Bess of Hardwick|date=20 January 2020|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.weareresonate.com/2019/06/gemma-chan-doesnt-want-to-be-the-only-successful-british-asian-actress/ |title=Gemma Chan doesn't want to be 'the only successful British Asian actress'|last=Tran|first=Joanna |quote=And now I just hope it's going to open the door for others. I don't want to be the only successful Asian actress or British Asian actress.|date=21 June 2019|work=Resonate}}</ref><ref>{{Cite podcast|url= https://www.allure.com/story/allure-podcast-gemma-chan-interview-recording-transcript |title=The Allure Podcast: Gemma Chan on Aging, Self-Acceptance, and Being a Kid of the '90s|first=Michelle |last=Lee|date= 11 November 2019|work=Allure|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/gemma-chan-critics-choice-awards |title=Gemma Chan's Critics' Choice Gown Is Decidedly Dramatic |last=Pithers|first=Ellie |quote=Gemma Chan: Sandra at Jimmy Choo is British-Asian. I like to support diversity and promote inclusivity in fashion whenever possible.|date=14 January 2019|work=Vogue|location=UK}}</ref> and West Asia.<ref name="bbcnaseem2014">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01s2mxk |title=The next big British Asian boxer? |quote=With Amir Khan and Prince Naseem there's a strong boxing pedigree in the British Asian community. So could Ryan Nandha add his name to that list?|date=11 February 2014|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="theguardian2019">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jul/27/podcast-brown-girls-do-it-too-talking-proudly-about-sex |title='We're women with brown skin, talking proudly about sex' |last=Iqbal|first=Nosheen |date=27 July 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="huffpostuk2019">{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/brown-girls-do-it-too-7-things-the-sex-positive-podcasters-want-you-to-know_uk_5d39ac8fe4b0419fd3390122 |title=Brown Girls Do It Too: 7 Things The Sex-Positive Podcasters Want You To Know |last=Gallagher|first=Sophie |quote=British Asian women are deeply flawed too – we make mistakes and do antifeminist things in sex because we think men will like it, we want to present this.|date=2 August 2019|work=HuffPost UK}}</ref> In the 2011 census, the two categories Chinese and Other Asian were listed explicitly under the broad heading and within the grouping of "Asian/Asian British".<ref name="ukcensus2011" />
== Demographics == ===Population=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%; margin:auto;" |+ British Asian population by region and country |- ! rowspan="2" |Region / Country ! colspan="2" |2021{{refn|2021/22: England and Wales,<ref name=2021regionethnic>{{cite web |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/87c867f1-15bc-4f2a-a1ec-51f5a0c2d410 |title= Ethnic group - England and Wales regions |publisher=Office for National Statistics |date=29 November 2022 |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref> Scotland,<ref name="2022census_Scot"/> and Northern Ireland<ref name=NICensus2021/>}} ! colspan="2" |2011{{refn|2011: England and Wales,<ref name="QS201EW">{{cite web |title=QS201EW: Ethnic Group |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/qs201ew |publisher=Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics |access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref> Scotland,<ref name="2011census_Scot">{{cite United Kingdom census|url=https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS201SC.pdf|table=Table KS201SC - Ethnic group|publisher=National Records of Scotland|year=2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704124858/https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS201SC.pdf|archive-date=4 July 2018}}</ref> and Northern Ireland<ref name="NI_2011">{{cite web |title=Ethnic Group - Full Detail: QS201NI |url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS201NI.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023054518/https://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202011_Excel/2011/QS201NI.xls|archive-date=23 October 2014 |access-date=22 July 2014}}</ref>}} ! colspan="2" |2001{{refn|2001: England and Wales,<ref name="KS006">{{cite web |title=KS006: Ethnic group |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2001/ks006 |publisher=Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics |access-date=30 June 2003}}</ref> Scotland,<ref name="2001census_Scot">{{cite web|title=Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census - Summary Report |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/02/18876/32939|access-date=6 September 2014}}</ref> and Northern Ireland<ref name="NI_2001">{{cite web |title=Ethnic Group: KS06 (statistical geographies) |url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202001_Excel/2001/KS06%20%20(st).xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730020427/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/Download/Census%202001_Excel/2001/KS06%20%20(st).xls|archive-date=30 July 2014 |access-date=22 July 2014}}</ref>}} ! colspan="2" |1991{{efn-lg|name=fn1|For the purpose of harmonising results to make them comparable across censuses, Chinese is included in this definition of 'Asian or British Asian' instead of in the 'Chinese or other ethnic group'. The 2011 census was the first time that Chinese was included in the 'Asian or Asian British' category.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of ethnic groups |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/style-guide/ethnic-groups/#2011-census |website=gov.uk |publisher=Race Disparity Unit |access-date=11 November 2022}}</ref>}}{{refn|1991: Great Britain.<ref name="GB_LBS91_1991">{{cite web |title=1991 census - local base statistics |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/lbs91 |publisher=Nomis: Official Census and Labour Market Statistics |access-date=14 June 2023}} ''Tables L01 to L18: Demographic and economic characteristics > L06 Ethnic group''</ref> Northern Ireland did not record ethnic group data in the 1991 census.<ref>{{cite web |title=1991 Census - Tables |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/1991-census-tables |publisher=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency |access-date=2 March 2006}}</ref>}} |- !Number !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !Number !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !Number !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} !Number !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} |- |'''{{flag|England}}''' | '''5,426,392''' | '''9.61%''' | '''4,143,403''' | '''7.82%''' | '''2,248,289''' | '''4.58%''' | '''1,762,262''' | '''3.75%''' |- | —Greater London | 1,817,640 | 20.66% | 1,511,546 | 18.49% | 866,693 | 12.08% | 690,031 | 10.33% |- | —West Midlands | 794,264 | 13.35% | 604,435 | 10.79% | 385,573 | 7.32% | 297,829 | 5.78% |- | —South East | 650,545 | 7.01% | 452,042 | 5.24% | 186,615 | 2.33% | 149,198 | 1.99% |- | —North West | 622,685 | 8.39% | 437,485 | 6.20% | 229,875 | 3.42% | 174,878 | 2.60% |- | —Yorkshire and the Humber | 487,055 | 8.89% | 385,964 | 7.30% | 222,486 | 4.48% | 159,355 | 3.29% |- | —East of England | 405,869 | 6.41% | 278,372 | 4.76% | 121,752 | 2.26% | 99,720 | 1.97% |- | —East Midlands | 391,103 | 8.01% | 293,423 | 6.47% | 168,913 | 4.05% | 135,257 | 3.42% |- |—South West | 159,184 | 2.79% | 105,537 | 2.00% | 32,800 | 0.67% | 28,368 | 0.62% |- |—North East | 98,046 | 3.70% | 74,599 | 2.87% | 33,582 | 1.34% | 27,626 | 1.09% |- |'''{{flag|Scotland}}''' | '''212,022'''{{efn-lg|name=fn2|Scotland held its census a year later after the rest of the United Kingdom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, data shown is for 2022 as opposed to 2021.}} | '''3.90%''' | '''140,678''' | '''2.66%''' | '''71,317''' | '''1.41%''' | '''47,456''' | '''0.95%''' |- |'''{{flag|Wales}}''' | '''89,028''' | '''2.86%''' | '''70,128''' | '''2.29%''' | '''25,448''' | '''0.88%''' | '''24,399''' | '''0.86%''' |- | '''Northern Ireland''' | '''30,667''' | '''1.61%''' | '''19,130''' | '''1.06%''' | '''6,824''' | '''0.40%''' | {{n/a}} | {{n/a}} |- !'''{{flag|United Kingdom}}''' ! '''5,758,109''' ! '''8.60%''' ! '''4,373,661''' ! '''6.92%''' ! '''2,578,826''' ! '''4.39%''' ! '''1,834,117'''{{efn-lg|name=fn3|Figures are for Great Britain only, i.e. excludes Northern Ireland}} ! '''3.34%''' |- |}
===2021 census=== upright=1.15|thumb|Distribution by local authority, 2021 census thumb|249x249px|Asian/Asian British population pyramid in 2021 thumb|British Asians by country of birth (2021 census, England and Wales)<ref>{{cite web |title=Country of birth (extended) and ethnic group |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/create/filter-outputs/f86827e1-d05a-4d0e-9740-5ce82a7c43f4#get-data |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=28 March 2023}}</ref> According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, those identifying as Asian British in England and Wales enumerated 5,515,420, or 9.3% of the population<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/bulletins/ethnicgroupenglandandwales/census2021#:~:text=%22White%22%20remained%20the%20largest%20high,(48.2%20million)%20in%202011. |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref><ref name="Ethnic group - Census Maps, ONS"/> In Northern Ireland, 30,667, or 1.6% of the population, identified as Asian or British Asian.<ref name=NICensus2021/> The census in Scotland was delayed for a year and took place in 2022, the equivalent figure was 212,022, representing 3.9% of the population.<ref name="2022census_Scot"/> The ten local authorities with the largest proportion of people who identified as Asian were: Redbridge (47.33%), Slough (46.75%), Harrow (45.23%), Tower Hamlets (44.43%), Leicester (43.40%), Newham (42.21%), Luton (36.99%), Hounslow (36.73%), Blackburn with Darwen (35.66%) and Hillingdon (33.32%). In Scotland, the highest proportion was in Glasgow at 11.08%; in Wales, the highest concentration was in Cardiff at 9.66%; and in Northern Ireland, the highest concentration was in Belfast at 3.74%.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS021/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/24422250-263c-4b84-8dd4-6159ee18b8e6#get-data |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>
Due to a growing sense of affiliation with Britain, many third generation South Asians chose to not mark "Asian or British Asian" and instead marked "British Asian" in the "Other Asian" write in section.<ref name="Gardener">{{cite web|last1=Gardener|first1=David |last2=Connolly|first2=Helen |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/other_ethnicgroups.pdf |title=Who are the 'Other' ethnic groups?|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=October 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060215210252/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/other_ethnicgroups.pdf|archive-date=15 February 2006}}</ref>
===2011 census=== The 2011 United Kingdom census recorded 1,451,862 residents of Indian, 1,174,983 of Pakistani, 451,529 of Bangladeshi, 433,150 of Chinese, and 861,815 of "Other Asian" ethnicity, making a total Asian British population of 4,373,339 (6.9 per cent of the total population), excluding people of mixed ethnicity.<ref name="2011census">{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-the-united-kingdom---part-1/rft-ks201uk.xls|title=2011 Census: Ethnic group, local authorities in the United Kingdom|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=11 October 2013|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref>
The 2011 population represented a 1,794,513 increase on the 2001 United Kingdom census figures. All five of the subcategories (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and Other Asian) rose in their own right, representing both outright population growth, as well as increased demographic share of the UK's total population from 4.4% to 6.9%.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right" |- ! style="width:160px;" |Census category!! Population (2001) !! Percentage (2001) !! Population (2011) !! Percentage (2011) |- | align="left" |Indian || 1,053,411 || 1.8% ||1,451,862 || {{gain}} 2.3% |- | align="left" |Pakistani || 747,285 || 1.3% || 1,174,983 || {{gain}} 1.9% |- | align="left" |Bangladeshi || 283,063 || 0.5% || 451,529 || {{gain}} 0.7% |- | align="left" |Chinese || 247,403 || 0.4% || 433,150 || {{gain}} 0.7% |- | align="left" |Other Asian || 247,664 || 0.4% || 861,815 || {{gain}} 1.4% |- !{{flagicon|GBR}} '''Total: Asian British'''|| style="text-align:right" |'''2,578,826'''|| style="text-align:right" |'''4.4%'''|| style="text-align:right" |'''4,373,339'''|| style="text-align:right" |{{gain}} '''6.9%''' |}
=== Birthplace === In terms of birthplace, the first four categories of "Asian / Asian British" people are vastly represented by births in the United Kingdom and the corresponding national-based category (E.g. China and "Asian / Asian British: Chinese"). The following birthplace figures cover the region of England and Wales, which constitute 94.7 percent of the UK's Asian British statistics:<ref name="ONSbirths2011" />
* For the British Indian category, 606,298 (42.9 percent) were born in the United Kingdom, and 579,521 (41 percent) were born in India, accounting for 83.9 percent of the group. * In the British Pakistani category, 631,171 (56.1 percent) were born in the UK, and 443,414 (39.4 percent) were born in Pakistan, accounting for 95.5 percent of the group. * For the British Bangladeshi category, 232,089 (51.9 percent) were born in the UK, and 202,626 (45.3 percent) were born in Bangladesh, accounting for 97.1 percent of the group. * In the British Chinese category, 93,164 (23.7 percent) were born in the UK, and 209,104 (53.2 percent) were born in China and its special administrative regions, accounting for 76.9 percent of the group. The break down of which was 139,723 in China (35.5 percent), 67,761 in Hong Kong (17.2 percent) and 1,620 in Macao (0.4 percent). *In the Other Asian category, 207,319 (24.8 percent) were born in the UK, and then with significant births in many diverse nations, mainly in Asia. For example, in the 2011 census, countries of birth with significant representation (over 10,000 births) were recorded across different regions of Asia. In alphabetical order, these included two nations in East Asia (Japan and South Korea), four in South Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), four in Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam), and two nations in West Asia (Iran and Iraq).
In 2001, the ONS designated the "Main countries of birth of Other Asian group" (the 10 places of birth with highest recorded figures), which, in descending order of population, were: United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Iran, India, Iraq, Mauritius, Pakistan, Kenya, Nepal and Yemen.<ref name="Gardener" /> As updated a decade later by the Office for National Statistics, the 2011 United Kingdom census recorded the following population figures for the "Asian / Asian British: Other" group by birthplace:<ref name="ONSbirths2011">{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/articles/2011censusanalysisethnicityandreligionofthenonukbornpopulationinenglandandwales/2015-06-18|title=2011 Census analysis: Ethnicity and religion of the non-UK born population in England and Wales: 2011|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=18 June 2015}}</ref>[[File:Members of the Asian community with David Cameron.jpg|thumb|Members of the Asian community with the then prime minister David Cameron in 2014]] {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:right" |- |+ "Asian / Asian British: Other" population by birth in England and Wales (2011)<ref name="ONSbirths2011" /> |- ! scope="col" | Region ! scope="col" | ONS ! scope="col" | Country ! scope="col" | Population ! scope="col" | Percentage |- ! scope="row" |Northwest Europe |926 |align=left|United Kingdom |207,319 |{{Percentage | 207319| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |South Asia |144 |align=left|Sri Lanka |112,511 |{{Percentage | 112511| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |Southeast Asia |608 |align=left|Philippines |104,075 |{{Percentage | 104075| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |South Asia |004 |align=left|Afghanistan |48,776 |{{Percentage | 48776| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |South Asia |524 |align=left|Nepal |44,243 |{{Percentage | 44243| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |Southeast Asia |764 |align=left|Thailand |31,135 |{{Percentage | 31135| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |East Asia |392 |align=left|Japan |28,137 |{{Percentage | 28137| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |West Asia |364 |align=left|Iran |27,460 |{{Percentage | 27460| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |South Asia |356 |align=left|India |27,061 |{{Percentage | 27061| 835720| 1}} |- ! scope="row" |East Africa |480 |align=left|Mauritius |17,069 |2.0% |- ! scope="row" |20px '''Asian British: Other''' |align=left|'''<small>Not applicable</small>''' |align=left|'''<small>Not applicable</small>''' |'''861,815''' |'''{{Percentage | 835720| 56075912| 1}}''' |} <small>'''ONS''' = Office for National Statistics, coding index.</small>
=== Employment === thumb|British Asian professionals at a networking event in the City of London The unemployment rate among Indian men was only slightly higher than that for White British or White Irish men, 7 per cent compared with 5 per cent for the other two groups. On the other hand, Pakistanis have higher unemployment rates of 13–14%, and Bangladeshis have one of the highest rates, around 23%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=1089&Pos=2&ColRank=2&Rank=768|title=Office for National Statistics (ONS) - ONS|access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> Some surveys also revealed the Indian unemployment rate to be 6–7%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/foe2004/Ethnicity.pdf |title=Ethnicity & Identity |series=Focus On|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=January 2004|page=12|access-date=22 July 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20040722020737/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/foe2004/Ethnicity.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2004 }}</ref> Persons of Indian or mixed Indian origin are more likely than White British to have university degrees, whereas Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are less likely.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/foe2004/Ethnicity.pdf |title=Ethnicity & Identity |series=Focus On|publisher=Office for National Statistics|date=January 2004|page=5|access-date=22 July 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20040722020737/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/foe2004/Ethnicity.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2004 }}</ref> With the exception of Bangladeshi women, every other group of South Asians, have higher attendance at university than the national average.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/type,COUNTRYREP,MRGI,,49749c8c28,0.html|title=Refworld - World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - United Kingdom : South Asians|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|work=Refworld|access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> GCSE pass rates have been rising for all South Asians.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/images/20071027/CBR228.gif|title=Overtaking | newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>
In the UK South Asian population has higher rates of unemployment compared to the White-British population, and number of 16 to 64 year old's who were employed, by ethnicity showed Indians overall had the same ratio in employment as White-British at 76%. However those from Pakistani, Bangladeshi backgrounds have far lower rates in employment at 57%. The gap between men and women was biggest in the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group, where 75% of men and 39% of women were employed compared to 80% of men and 73% of women amongst White-British.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/work-pay-and-benefits/employment/employment/latest|title=Employment|website= Gov.uk |date=October 2019|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref>
{{As of|2020}}, citizens of India and the Philippines are the largest foreign-national groups of National Health Service workers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/coronavirus-filipino-front-line-workers-pay-ultimate-price-uk-200501075917665.html|title=Coronavirus: Filipino front-line workers pay ultimate price in UK|first=Ylenia|last=Gostoli|date=1 May 2020|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=21 May 2020}}</ref>
=== Ethnoregion === South Asian ethnic groups mostly originate from a few select places in South Asia, these are known as place of origins. East Asian ethnic groups are particularly represented by the Han Chinese in the United Kingdom. British Indians tend to originate mainly from the two Indian States, Punjab and Gujarat.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Ballard |editor1-first=Roger |year=2007 |title=Desh Pardesh : the South Asian presence in Britain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74ZVFb37zuIC&pg=PA20 |location=London |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. |page=19 |isbn=978-1-85065-091-1}}</ref> Evidence from Bradford and Birmingham have shown, Pakistanis originate largely from the Mirpur District in Azad Kashmir. The second largest ethnic group of British Pakistanis are the Punjabi people, largely from Attock District of Punjab followed by Pashtuns and other ethnic groups from the districts of Nowshera, Peshawar and Ghazi in province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In the London Borough of Waltham Forest there are substantial numbers of Pakistani people originating from Jhelum, Punjab.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=Alison |year=2000 |title=Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain Studies|publisher=Routledge |page=16 |isbn=978-90-5823-075-1}}</ref> Studies have shown 95 per cent of British Bangladeshis originate from the Sylhet Division, located in the Northeastern part of Bangladesh. British Chinese people originate primarily from former British colonies, such as Hong Kong, but also from areas of Southeast Asia, where they were already diasporic populations.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tang|first=Lynn |title=Recovery, Mental Health and Inequality: Chinese Ethnic Minorities as Mental Health Service Users|isbn=978-0-367-22443-1|date=2019|publisher=Routledge|quote=Between World War II and the 1950s Chinese immigrants were mostly from South East Asia. Hong Kong was a colony of the UK from 1841 to 1997. The late 1950s saw a wave of Chinese immigration to the UK from Hong Kong.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Wai-kam Yu|first=Sam |title=Chinese Older People: A need for Social Inclusion in Two Communities|isbn=978-1-86134-242-3|date=2000|publisher=Policy Press|quote=The majority of Chinese immigrants arrived in the UK in two waves. The first took place in the late 1950s. Most were young males coming from rural areas of Hong Kong.}}</ref>
There have been three waves of migration of Hindus in the United Kingdom. The first wave was before India's independence in 1947. In the early 1950s the Conservative Health Minister, Enoch Powell recruited a large number of doctors from the Indian subcontinent. The second wave occurred in the 1970s mainly from East Africa. The later communities included those from Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius and Fiji. The last wave of migration began in the 1990s and included Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka and professionals including doctors and software engineers from India.
=== Language === {{See also|Urdu in the United Kingdom}} Chinese Britons speak the Mandarin, Cantonese, Min, and Hakka languages. The language spoken by Indians are Punjabi, Gujarati, Kutchi, Hindustani (Hindi–Urdu), Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. People from Pakistan speak Urdu, Punjabi, Mirpuri, Hindko (dialects of Punjabi), Sindhi, Kashmiri, Pashto and Saraiki. Gujaratis who emigrated from India and East Africa speak Gujarati, Hindi, and Kutchi (a dialect of Sindhi), while a sizeable number of Gujarati Muslims speak Urdu for religious and cultural reasons.<ref>{{cite web|title=Urdu/Hindi today by Viv Edwards|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/urdu.shtml|website=BBC.co.uk|access-date=23 March 2015|quote=The Urdu community in the UK is very much larger than the Hindi community. Most of those who identify themselves as Urdu speakers use a variety of Panjabi as the language of the home, and speak Urdu as a second language for religious and cultural reasons. The overwhelming majority comes from the west Panjab and the Mirpur district of Azad Kashmir, but smaller groups of Gujarati Muslims from both India and East Africa also use Urdu for religious purposes.}}</ref> Bangladeshis mainly speak Sylheti Bengali and other dialects of Bengali. People from Sri Lanka speak Tamil and Sinhala. Speakers of different dialects mainly refer to their dialects as the main language, for example Sylheti Bengali speakers refer to the Sylheti dialect as just "Bengali" and Mirpuri speakers sometimes say they speak Punjabi. The reason for this is that for any given ethnic community, their region-specific dialect is the normative form of the language used.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schott|first1=Judith |last2=Henley|first2=Alix |title=Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society: A Handbook for Health Professionals|year=1996 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |isbn=978-0-7506-2050-5}}{{page needed|date=June 2020}}</ref>
=== Religion === [[File:East London Mosque Front View.jpg|thumb|The East London Mosque, is one of the largest mosques in Europe, and the biggest in the UK<ref name="VisitMyMosque">{{cite news|last=Sherwood|first=Harriet|title=Visit My Mosque day: questions from prayers to beards answered|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/07/visit-my-mosque-day-questions-from-prayers-to-beards-answered|newspaper=The Guardian|date=7 February 2016|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref>]] Asian Britons have significant numbers of adherents to various major religions. Based on 2011 census figures for England and Wales (94.7 percent of UK statistics), Muslims account for 43% of the group, while Hindus make up over 18%, and Christians almost 11%. Sikhs constitute nearly 9% of British Asians, and 3.5% are Buddhists.<ref name="religion2011ukcensus">[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/business-transparency/freedom-of-information/what-can-i-request/previous-foi-requests/population/ethnicity-and-religion-by-age/dc2201ew---ethnic-group-and-religion.xls DC2201EW - Ethnic group and religion (Excel sheet 21Kb)] ONS. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.</ref>
British Chinese are mainly irreligious, with 55% of the population subscribing to no religion, 19% Christians and 12% Buddhists. British Pakistanis and Bangladeshis tend to be religiously homogeneous, with Muslims accounting for 92% of each group while their counterparts of Indian and Sri Lankan origin are more religiously diverse, with 55% Hindus, 29% Sikhs, and 15% Muslims. British Gujaratis are predominantly Hindu, belonging to various caste organizations, with large minorities of Muslims, Jains, and smaller numbers of Christians and Zoroastrians. Notable religious buildings are the East London Mosque, London Central Mosque, Birmingham Central Mosque, Baitul Futuh Mosque, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Bradford Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple, Shikharbandi Jain Derasar in Potters Bar,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hegner|first1=Victoria|last2=Margry|first2=Peter Jan|title=Spiritualizing the City: Agency and Resilience of the Urban and Urbanesque habitat|date=2017|publisher=Routledge|location=Oxford UK|isbn=978-1-138-93072-8|pages=121–123|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Di4lDwAAQBAJ&q=jain&pg=PA115}}</ref> Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall and Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend.
The publication of Salman Rushdie's novel ''The Satanic Verses'' in 1988 caused major controversy. Muslims condemned the book for blasphemy. On 2 December 1988 the book was publicly burned at a demonstration in Bolton attended by 7,000 Muslims, followed by a similar demonstration and book-burning in Bradford on 14 January 1989.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lustig|first1=Robin|last2=Bailey|first2=Martin|last3=de Bruxelles|first3=Simon|last4=Mather|first4=Ian|title=War of the Word|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1989/feb/19/race.world|access-date=7 July 2014|work=The Observer|date=19 February 1989}}</ref> In 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/14/newsid_2541000/2541149.stm | work=BBC News | title=1989: Ayatollah sentences author to death | date=14 February 1989}}</ref>
Britain is also home of notable Asian religious leaders and scholars. Some of them are Mirza Masroor Ahmad (Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Community), Sheikh Abdul Qayum (one of the best known scholars in Europe and Chief Imam of East London Mosque), Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq (Khateeb of Birmingham Central Mosque), Dr. Mahmudul Hasan (Khateeb of Essex Mosque), Abdur Rahman Madani (Chairman of Global Eid Trust and Chief Imam of Darul Ummah Mosque), Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi (principal of Hijaz College), Ajmal Masroor (Imam and Liberal Democrats politician) and Pramukh Swami Maharaj (fifth spiritual successor of Hindu Swaminarayan).
==History in Britain== [[File:I'tisam-ud-Din.png|thumb|Munshi I'tisam-ud-Din was the first South Asian to travel and live in Europe, and write about his experiences]] [[File:Portrait Gandhi.jpg|thumb|Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who studied in England, played a pivotal role in leading the Indian independence movement]]
The earliest date at which South Asians settled in Great Britain is unclear. If the Romany are included, then the earliest arrivals were in the Middle Ages. DNA surveys have linked Romanies to present-day South Asian populations and the Romani language is a member of the Indo-Aryan language family. Romanies are believed to have begun travelling westward around 1000 CE, and have mixed with Middle Eastern and European populations over many centuries. Romani began arriving in sizeable numbers in parts of Western Europe in the 16th century. The Romani who settled in Britain are sometimes known as Romanichal, but there are several subgroups within the Romani population of the United Kingdom today.<ref>{{Citation |last=Matras |first=Yaron |title=The Roots of Romani |date=2010-10-05 |work=Romani in Britain |pages=31–56 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9780748639045.003.0002 |access-date=2024-09-02 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press|doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9780748639045.003.0002 |isbn=978-0-7486-3904-5 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
The first educated South Asian to travel to Europe and live in Britain was I'tisam-ud-Din, a Bengali Muslim cleric, munshi and diplomat to the Mughal Empire who arrived in 1765 with his servant Muhammad Muqim during the reign of King George III.<ref name=buckland>{{cite book|last=Buckland|first=C.E. |title=Dictionary of Indian Biography |publisher=Haskell House Publishers Ltd |year=1968 |page=217}}</ref> He wrote of his experiences and travels in his Persian book, ''Shigurf-nama-i-Wilayat'' ('Wonderous Chronicle of Europe').<ref>{{cite news|title=For casual reader and connoisseur alike|last=Alam|first=Shahid|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=12 May 2012|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-233759}}</ref> This is also the earliest record of literature by a British Asian. Also during the reign of George III, the ''hookah-bardar'' (hookah servant/preparer) of James Achilles Kirkpatrick was said to have robbed and cheated Kirkpatrick, making his way to England and stylising himself as the ''Prince of Sylhet''. The man was waited upon by the British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, and then dined with the Duke of York before presenting himself in front of the King.<ref>{{cite book|title=Life of the Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone|first=Thomas Edward|last=Colebrooke|pages=34–35|year=1884|author-link=Sir Edward Colebrooke, 4th Baronet|chapter=First Start in Diplomacy|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108097222|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tSoMEJ-_Nx0C&q=hookah&pg=PA34}}</ref>
===Lascars=== {{see also|South Asians in the United Kingdom#Lascars}}
When the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut, India in 1498, he established the first European-Asian sea route (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 in 1611 and known as the Brouwer Route, subsequently found a new waterway to Southeast Asia.
In the following centuries, the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states, utilised these sea routes to form the British Empire. 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'', of which ''lascars'' were considered the maritime equivalent.<ref>{{Cite book|title=South Asian Resistances in Britain, 1858-1947|chapter=Littoral Struggles, Liminal Lives|page=39|author=Rehana Ahmed|date=2011|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-1441117564|quote=From the eighteenth century East India Company and government legislators and administrators used racialized terms to describe and define different categories of labourers ... The 'coolie' was the unskilled, mobile Asian labourer and the 'lascar' was the maritime equivalent of the 'coolie' ... The term 'coolie' was used in a derogatory way throughout British colonies to label those workers, and their families, who came from a range of Indian, Chinese and Malay backgrounds.}}</ref>
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.<ref name="Seed2014">{{Cite book|title=Asian Migrants in Europe: Transcultural Connections|chapter=Maritime Labour and Asian sailors in Nineteenth-Century London|page=37|editor1=Sylvia Hahn|editor2=Stan Nadel|author=John Seed|date=2014|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=978-3847102540|quote="Lascar" was also sometimes used to signify a sailor from any part of Asia, including Chinese, Japanese and Malaya ... So when any contemporary referred to "a Lascar" he (or she) might have been referring to a sailor from the Indian sub-continent but equally might be been referring to a Chinese or Arab or African seaman.}}</ref> Of the Asian lascars, Austronesian Malay people, from Southeast Asia, formed a significant part of the lascar population settling in, and sailing to and from Britain.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A South-Asian History of Britain: Four Centuries of Peoples from the Indian Sub-Continent|page=67|author1=Michael H. Fisher|author2=Shompa Lahiri |author3=Shinder Thandi|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn= 978-1846450082|quote=Behind the tall compound wall that separated Gole's barracks from the surrounding British society, lascars largely organised themselves. Indians, Chinese, Arabs, and Malays tended to live in separate areas.}}</ref> From East Asia, Japanese and Chinese seamen were often operating as lascars for British ships and trading companies.<ref name="Seed2014" /> From South Asia, Indians made up a huge proportion of these sea crews, particularly in the East India Company's earliest decades of operation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ethnic Labour and British Imperial Trade: A History of Ethnic Seafarers in the UK (Immigrants & Minorities)|chapter=The Black Poor of London: Initiatives of Eastern Seamen in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries|page=7|author=Norma Myers|date=1995|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0714641850|quote=J.G. Birch ''Limehouse Through Five Centuries'' (London, 1931) noted that from the reign of King Henry VII 'in Limehouse any day in the week, one may meet strangers whose home address is in any corner of the seven seas - Lascars with slip-shod gait, Malays and Chinese, turbaned Indians'; previously John Salter writing in 1873 referred to this sub-group of seamen in ''The Asiatics in England''.}}</ref> Parsees (who originate from Persia, West Asia) and Luso-Asians of mixed Portuguese and Indian heritage, also came from South Asia to work as lascars.<ref name="Fischer-2006">{{Cite book|title=Counterflows to Colonialism: Indian Traveller and Settler in Britain, 1600–1857|first=Michael H.|last=Fisher|year=2006|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-154-8|pages=111–9, 129–30, 140, 154–9, 160–8, 172, 181|quote=Lists of names of lascars suggest a single lascar crew might include Muslims, Catholic and Protestant Christians (of part Portuguese or other European descent), Parsis, Armenians, and/or Hindus ... In contrast, identities like Indian, Chinese, Arab, or Malay apparently remained potent on board ship and in Britain ... Tensions around lascars in London especially increased from the fall 1813 season onwards. The particularly large number of Asian seamen arriving that year exacerbated conflicts aboard ship, inside the depot, and with the surrounding British community ... In September 1813 alone, Malay sailors fought Arabs, killing one; Chinese tongs fought each other}}</ref> From West Asia, Armenians formed part of diverse lascar crews,<ref name="Fischer-2006" /> and Yemenis increasingly served as lascar sailors and militiamen after the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, going on to open businesses, like boarding houses, in port cities such as Cardiff and South Shields.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Last of the Lascars: Yemeni Muslims in Britain 1836-2012|chapter=Epilogue|author=Mohammed Siddique Seddon|date=2014|publisher= Kube Publishing|isbn=978-1847740359|quote=A long and continued presence of Syrian and Moroccan cotton traders and Yemeni and Somali lascars across the industrial and port cities of Britain from as early as the mid-nineteenth century.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Islam Outside the Arab World|chapter=Britain|editor1=Ingvar Svanberg|editor2=David Westerlund|author=Ron Geaves|date=1999|publisher=Routledge|isbn= 978-0700711246|quote=The activities of the East India Company which recruited seamen known as 'lascars' from the subcontinent ... These shifting settlements of seamen expanded considerably after the opening of the Suez canal in 1869 when large numbers of Yemenis and Somalis were recruited in Aden. The Yemenis, in particular, began to open boarding houses in Cardiff and South Shields and the Somalis settled in Liverpool.}}</ref> There were also the Ceylonese (Sri Lankans) and the Bengalis who also took part in sailing.<ref>{{Cite thesis | title=Unfortunate Strangers: Lascars in the British Maritime World c. 1849-1912 | url=https://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10063/7666/thesis_access.pdf?sequence=5 | access-date=2024-12-23 | website=researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz| date=2018 | doi=10.26686/wgtn.17072291.v1 | last1=Broughton | first1=Dean }}</ref>
===Post–World War II migration=== Following the Second World War and the breakup of the British Empire, South Asian migration to the UK increased through the 1950s and 1960s from Pakistan (including present-day Bangladesh), India and Sri Lanka (who are all members of the Commonwealth). Immigrants from former Caribbean colonies (including Indo-Caribbeans) were also moving to Britain.
Although this immigration was continuous, several distinct phases can be identified: *Manual workers, mainly from Pakistan, were recruited to fulfill the labour shortage that resulted from World War II. These included Anglo-Indians who were recruited to work on the railways as they had done in India. *Workers mainly from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan arrived in the late 1950s and 1960s. Many worked in the foundries of the English Midlands and a large number worked at Heathrow Airport in west London. This created an environment to where the next generation of families did not lose their identity as easily. An example would be Southall which is populated by many Sikhs. *During the same time, medical staff from the Indian subcontinent were recruited for the newly formed National Health Service. These people were targeted as the British had established medical schools in the Indian subcontinent which conformed to the British standards of medical training.
Bengali social reformer and founder of the All-India Seamen's Federation, Aftab Ali's work is recognised to have helped thousands of Asian lascars to migrate, settle and find employment in Britain.<ref>{{cite book|title=Aftab Ali: The Hero of Indian Seamen|last=Ahmed|first=Giasuddin|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|date=7 January 2017}}{{page needed|date=June 2020}}</ref> He organised rallies and meetings with the likes of the Trades Union Congress. He encouraged lascars and seamen to remain and settle in the United Kingdom. In the 1950s, he founded the Overseas Seamen's Welfare Association which campaigned distressed seamen and their families to be granted British passports. Ali also played an instrumental role in the opening of a passport office in his own home in Sylhet.<ref name=ansar>{{cite book|title=Bengalis in London's East End|url=https://www.swadhinata.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Bengalis-in-Londons-East-End-Book.pdf|last=Ullah|first=Ansar Ahmed |date=2010}}</ref>
====Asian migration from East Africa==== Beginning around 1964 Africanization policies in East Africa prompted the arrival of Asians with British passports from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. At first these were the people employed in government and administrative roles, but this was expanded to include those Asians engaged in commerce. The movement was called the "Exodus".<ref>{{cite book|last=Pereira|first=Clifford |chapter=Goans of the North Atlantic: A Transnational Study of Migration, Technology Adaptation, and Neoculturation across Six Generations|title=Migration, Technology and Transculturation: A Global Perspective|editor-last1=German|editor-first1=Myna |editor-last2=Banerjee|editor-first2=Padmini |place=St. Charles, Missouri |year=2011|pages=174–176|isbn=978-0-9846307-4-5}}</ref>
In 1972, all Asians were expelled from Uganda by the controversial figure Idi Amin who was president of Uganda at the time. Those holding British passports came to Britain.<ref name="Mamdani">{{Cite book |last=Mamdani |first=Mahmood |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLFAi7-rLGoC |title=From Citizen to Refugee: Uganda Asians Come to Britain |date=2011-12-08 |publisher=Fahamu/Pambazuka |isbn=978-1-906387-57-0 |language=en}}</ref> Many such displaced people who were predominantly of Gujarati origins had left behind successful businesses and vast commercial empires in Uganda, but built up their lives all over again in Britain, starting from scratch. Although, since the Asians had already experienced discrimination in Uganda, they expected it in England as well.<ref name="Mamdani"/> Despite hardships, some of these "twice-over" migrants became retailers, while others found suitable employment in white-collar professions.
The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 and Immigration Act 1971 largely restricted any further primary immigration, although family members of already-settled migrants were still allowed. In addition, much of the subsequent growth in the South Asian community has come from the births of second and third-generation South Asian Britons.
===Post–Brexit migration=== After Brexit, EU nationals working in the health and social care sector were replaced by migrants from non-EU countries such as India.<ref>{{cite news |title='Europeans are almost not coming to the UK any more' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/9/europeans-are-almost-not-coming-to-the-uk-any-more |work=Al Jazeera |date=9 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Net migration drops to 685,000 after hitting record levels, as even more arrived in UK last year than previously thought |url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/net-migration-drops-to-685-000/ |date=23 May 2024 |work=LBC}}</ref> About 250,000 people came from India, 90,000 from China and 83,000 from Pakistan in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=Migration: How many people come to the UK and how are the salary rules changing? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48785695 |work=BBC News |date=23 May 2024}}</ref>
In 2021, the government launched a scheme for Hongkongers, with more than 200,000 Hong Kong residents immigrating to the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=Safe and Legal (Humanitarian) routes to the UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-march-2024/safe-and-legal-humanitarian-routes-to-the-uk#british-national-overseas-bno-route |publisher=Home Office |access-date=23 May 2024}}</ref>
==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 films, including major film series, and receiving subsequent international recognition and media attention. In television, prominent roles in American sitcoms, series, and long-running British soap operas, such as ''Coronation Street'', ''EastEnders'', ''Emmerdale'' and ''Hollyoaks'', have all had a number of Asian characters portrayed by British actors of Asian heritage.
Tsai Chin, the first Asian British actress to play a Bond girl, appeared in 1967's ''You Only Live Twice'' and the 2006 re-make of ''Casino Royale''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/joy-luck-clubs-tsai-chin-looks-on-her-6-decade-career.html|title='They Don't Know Me': The Joy Luck Club's Tsai Chin Looks Back on Her 6-Decade Career|last=Frederick|first=Candice |date=8 May 2019|work=New York|quote=The classically trained Chinese-born British actress, who's had a stellar six-decade career on stage and screen ... her most iconic film roles — including the unwavering Lindo Jong in The Joy Luck Club, the steely Auntie in ''Memoirs of a Geisha'', and the beguiling Bond Girl, Ling, in You Only Live Twice — continue to resonate with audiences}}</ref> Burt Kwouk, who appeared in over fifty films, including three of the James Bond film series, received an OBE for services to drama in 2010.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12090365 | title=New Year Honours for Lennox, Suchet, Hancock and Webb|work=BBC News | date=31 December 2010|quote=Burt Kwouk, 80, is named an OBE. He is best known as martial arts expert Cato from the Pink Panther movies but more recently starred in Last of the Summer Wine and Channel 4 comedy betting show Banzai!}}</ref> Art Malik had notable roles in ''The Jewel in the Crown'' and ''The Living Daylights'', and Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji) is one of Britain's most acclaimed and well-known performers. Kingsley is one of few actors to have won all four major motion picture acting awards, receiving Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards throughout his career, including the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Gandhi'' (1982).<ref>{{cite web|title=Awards for Ben Kingsley|website=Internet Movie Database|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001426/awards|access-date=25 January 2009}}</ref>
The actor Dev Patel, who played the role of Anwar Kharral in the teen drama series ''Skins'', portrayed the leading role in Danny Boyle's ''Slumdog Millionaire'', for which he received several awards and was nominated for the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Leading Actor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Awards for Dev Patel|website=Internet Movie Database|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2353862/awards|access-date=4 January 2009}}</ref> Parminder Nagra, who played a prominent role in the US TV series ''ER'', starred in successful British film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002). The actor Naveen Andrews plays the role of Sayid Jarrah in the popular US TV series ''Lost'', and also had a prominent role in the award-winning film ''The English Patient'' (1996). Kunal Nayyar plays the character of Raj Koothrappali in the popular US sitcom, ''The Big Bang Theory''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-05-29 |title=The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) {{!}} Entertainment {{!}} Mr Big Bang |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080707/jsp/entertainment/story_9512204.jsp |access-date=2024-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529002914/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080707/jsp/entertainment/story_9512204.jsp |archive-date=2012-05-29 }}</ref>
Gemma Chan and Benedict Wong have featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Chan has had two starring roles in both 2019's ''Captain Marvel'' and ''Eternals'' (2021), making her the first actress to portray separate characters within the cinematic universe.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/gemma-chan-eternals-marvel-1203290315/|title=Gemma Chan in Talks to Join Marvel's 'The Eternals'|last=Kroll|first=Justin |date=5 August 2019|work=Variety|quote=Earlier this year, Chan portrayed Minn-Erva in "Captain Marvel," but its unknown if she will be playing the same role in "The Eternals." Some sources have indicated that her part in "The Eternals" would be a completely different role, which if true, would mark one of the first times a star will have played two different characters in the same cinematic universe.}}</ref> Wong, who has also appeared in two Ridley Scott films (''Prometheus'' and ''The Martian''), first appeared for a Marvel production in 2016's ''Doctor Strange'', twice reprising the role for ''Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018) and ''Endgame'' (2019), the latter of which is the highest grossing release in film history.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a32175616/what-we-do-in-the-shadows-season-2-benedict-wong/|title=Avengers: Endgame star makes surprise appearance in season 2 premiere of What We Do In The Shadows|last=Anderton|first=Joe |date=16 April 2020|work=Digital Spy|quote=The season 2 premiere, ''Resurrection'', featured a guest appearance from one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's funniest stars, Benedict Wong. You'll know him as Doctor Strange's buddy, Wong.}}</ref> Riz Ahmed has starred in both the ''Bourne'' film series and ''Star Wars'' saga, appearing in anthology film ''Rogue One''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jul/23/riz-ahmed-talks-rogue-one-and-jason-bourne|title=Riz Ahmed: 'You don't need to tell me we live in scary times. I'm Muslim' |last=Godfrey|first=Alex |date=23 July 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref> ''Star Wars'', Marvel's ''The Avengers'', the Bourne and James Bond film series are some of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/most-successful-movie-franchises-of-all-time-at-box-office-2018-3?r=US&IR=T#2-star-wars-9097-billion-22|title=The 23 most successful movie franchises of all time|last=Lynch|first=John |date=20 March 2018|work=Business Insider|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref>
===Art and design=== [[File:Shahidul Alam (38123779086).jpg|thumb|Shahidul Alam was one of the persons of the year selected by ''Time'' magazine in 2018]] [[File:ArcelorMittal Orbit, April 2012.jpg|thumb|ArcelorMittal Orbit, London Olympic Park, designated by the Indian Anish Kapoor]] Anish Kapoor is an Indian-born British sculptor. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor has lived and worked in London since the early 1970s when he moved to study art, first at the Hornsey College of Art and later at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. Kapoor received the Turner Prize in 1991. Poulomi Desai, born in Hackney, London is a photographer and sound artist working with noise and electricity since the 1980s. She is an Oram Awards winner and curator of Usurp Art.<ref>{{cite web|title=Home|url=http://www.usurp.org.uk/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Usurp Art|language=en-US}}</ref> Born in London and of Asian origin, Shezad Dawood became known for this work in various media in the early 2000s. Also born in London and of Pakistani origin, Haroon Mirza emerged as an artist in the late 2000s. Best known for his sculptural installations that generate sound, Mirza was awarded the Silver Lion for the Most Promising Artist at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011.
Shahidul Alam is a Bangladeshi photojournalist, teacher and social activist. He has been a photographer for more than forty years and "his photographs have been published in almost every major western media outlet".<ref name="guardian-safi">{{cite news |first1=Michael|last1=Safi|title=Photographer charged as police crackdown in Bangladesh intensifies|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/06/famed-bangladeshi-photographer-held-over-road-protest-comments|date=6 August 2018|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=8 August 2018}}</ref> Saiman Miah is an architectural designer and graphic designer who designed one of the two £5 commemorative coins for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.<ref name="bdnews24">{{cite news|last=Pasha|first=Syed Nahas |url=http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=211499&cid=1|title=Bangladeshi designs London Olympic coin|work=Bdnews24.com|date=17 November 2011|access-date=1 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119024135/http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=211499&cid=1|archive-date=19 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Osman Yousefzada, of Afghan and Pakistani heritage, is an artist and fashion designer who was referred to as the "re-inventor of the Little Black Dress" by ''Vogue'' magazine in 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/osman-yousefzada-is-reinventing-the-little-black-dress-840988.html | title=Osman Yousefzada is reinventing the little black dress | website=Independent.co.uk | date=7 June 2008 }}</ref> He had eventually become a renowned dresser, with several famous female celebrities wearing dresses created by Yousefzada.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/osmans-women-mjv5s7hc30p | title=Osman's women }}</ref> He also designed a large piece of public art at Selfridges Birmingham, in his home city, which was on display during the 2022 Commonwealth Games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maghribi |first=Layla |date=2021-07-26 |title=Selfridges unveils Osman Yousefzada art installation wrapped around store |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2021/07/26/selfridges-unveils-osman-yousefzada-art-installation-wrapped-around-store/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref>
Theatre company RIFCO Arts has been producing and touring productions based on the British Asian experience since 1999.<ref>{{cite interview|last=Kumar|first=Pravesh |title=Rifco theatre company chief: 'diversity does not always mean cost'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2015/jan/13/rifco-theatre-pravesh-kumar-interview|interviewer= Matthew Caines|work=The Guardian|date=13 January 2015|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref>
===Literature=== Well-known South Asian writers include Muhammad Mojlum Khan, Abdur Rouf Choudhury, Aminul Hoque, Shahida Rahman, H.S. Bhabra, Salman Rushdie, Ghulam Murshid, Tahir Shah, Gurinder Chadha, Nazrin Choudhury, Rekha Waheed, Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, Meera Syal, Gautam Malkani, Bali Rai and Raman Mundair.
===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 lead singer Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, East Africa, to parents of Parsi descent from Bombay (now Mumbai). In 2006, ''Time Asia'' magazine voted him as one of the most influential South Asians in the past 60 years.<ref name="TimeAsia2006">{{cite news|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Liam |url=http://www.time.com/time/asia/2006/heroes/at_bulsara.html |title=Farrokh Bulsara|work=Time Asia|date=2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211203952/http://www.time.com/time/asia/2006/heroes/at_bulsara.html|archive-date=11 December 2006}}</ref> At around the same time, music producer, composer and songwriter Biddu gained worldwide fame for a number of hit songs, including "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas and "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)" for Tina Charles. In the 1990s the South Asian artists who gained mainstream success included Apache Indian, whose 1993 single "Boom Shack-A-Lak" was used in many Hollywood movies, and Jas Mann, who headed Babylon Zoo and whose 1996 single "Spaceman" set a UK chart record when it sold 418,000 copies in its first week of release. The most successful South Asian musician in 2008 was the British Tamil artist M.I.A., who was nominated for two Grammy Awards for her single "Paper Planes", and has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for "O... Saya", from the ''Slumdog Millionaire'' soundtrack.
In 2009, R&B and hip-hop artist, Mumzy Stranger, became the first British Bangladeshi to release a music single; titled "One More Dance".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtviggy.com/desi/music-video-mumzy-stranger-one-more-dance |title=Music Video: "One More Dance" by Mumzy Stranger|publisher=MTV Iggy |date=28 May 2009|access-date=18 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531002148/http://www.mtviggy.com/desi/music-video-mumzy-stranger-one-more-dance|archive-date=31 May 2009}}</ref> In October 2009, Jay Sean's single "Down" reached the #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnson| first=Billy Jr. |url=http://new.music.yahoo.com/programs/the-new-now/2108/jay-sean-american-boy|title=Jay Sean: American Boy|work=Yahoo! Music|date=8 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012054639/http://new.music.yahoo.com/programs/the-new-now/2108/jay-sean-american-boy|archive-date=12 October 2009}}</ref> and sold four million copies in the United States,<ref name="riaa">{{cite web|title=Searchable Database |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH |access-date=21 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626050454/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH |archive-date=26 June 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=After 2,000 gigs, Hounslow singer tops the US charts|last=Akbar|first=Arifa |newspaper=The Independent|date=30 October 2009|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/after-2000-gigs-hounslow-singer-tops-the-us-charts-1811724.html|access-date=30 October 2009}}</ref> making him the first South Asian-origin solo artist and "the first UK Urban act to top ''Billboard''{{'}}s Hot 100,"<ref>{{cite news|title=Jay Sean's the Urban US legend|newspaper=Daily Mirror|date=10 October 2009|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/10/10/jay-sean-s-the-urban-us-legend-115875-21736136/|access-date=30 September 2009}}</ref> "the most successful male UK urban artist in US chart history,"<ref>{{cite news|last=Youngs |first=Ian |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8269400.stm |title=British R&B star conquers America |work=BBC News |date=23 September 2009 |access-date=8 October 2009}}</ref> and the most successful British male artist in the US charts since Elton John in 1997. A new generation of British Asian musicians have followed such as Raxstar, Bilal and Nish. In the early 2010s, Asian boy band members, Siva Kaneswaran of the Wanted and Zayn Malik of One Direction, have gained considerable mainstream popularity worldwide; the Wanted reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with "Glad You Came" while One Direction topped the ''Billboard'' 200 with ''Up All Night''. British Bangladeshi YouTuber-turned-rapper Koomz is best known for his breakthrough single "Mariah" which has hit over 10 million streams and views across many platforms and also Number 1 in the Official Asian Music Chart of 2018.<ref name="bbclondon">{{Cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bSM8lAC4rk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/3bSM8lAC4rk |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Amar Koomz: from Brixton to the big time |work=BBC London|via=YouTube|date=15 August 2018|access-date=20 September 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jan/11/asian-underground-music-eastern-electro-drumnbass|website=The Guardian|title=The birth of Asian underground: 'This music was for us and by us, and that was very powerful'|first=Ammar|last=Kalia|date=11 January 2019|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref>
===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 for his interfaith and voluntary works.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hillingdontimes.co.uk/news/15801145.Hillingdon_inter-faith_campaigner_made_MBE_in_New_Year_Honours/|title=Hillingdon inter-faith campaigner made MBE in New Year Honours|website=Hillingdon Times|date=January 2018 |access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref> Saif Uddin Ahmad is a humanitarian and chief executive officer of Al-Khair Foundation. He was formerly the chief executive officer of the UK charities Muslim Aid and Islamic Help, and he also founded the charities Faith Regen foundation, MADE in Europe and Global One 2015.<ref name="alkhair">{{cite web|url=http://www.alkhair.org/saif-ahmad-joins-al-khair-foundation-as-ceo/|title=Saif Ahmad Joins Al-Khair Foundation as CEO|publisher=Al Khair Foundation|date=19 May 2015|access-date=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222132347/http://alkhair.org/saif-ahmad-joins-al-khair-foundation-as-ceo/|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Responsible investment consultant and writer, Niaz Alam was a trustee of the charity War on Want from 2000 to 2007.<ref name="lpfa">{{cite journal|year=2010|title=Governance Report 2010 -2011|url=https://www.lpfa.org.uk/Files/Files/Annual%20Reports/2011/GovernanceReportV1Approved1072011.pdf|journal=LPFA Governance Report|page=5|access-date=1 July 2018|archive-date=9 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309001110/https://www.lpfa.org.uk/Files/Files/Annual%20Reports/2011/GovernanceReportV1Approved1072011.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
=== Religion after the expulsion === After the Asians were expelled from Uganda, more religious sites started to emerge in the UK as well. Temples and mosques emerged in repurposed buildings such as churches, meeting houses, and even factories.<ref name="Brown 218–222">{{Cite journal |last=Brown |first=Cynthia |date=2003-10-01 |title=Point of Arrival |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03064220308537316 |journal=Index on Censorship |language=EN |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=218–222 |doi=10.1080/03064220308537316 |issn=0306-4220|url-access=subscription }}</ref> These spaces gave Asians a place to practice their beliefs and a place for gatherings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nair |first=Savita |date=August 2018 |title=Despite dislocations: Uganda's Indians remaking home |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/africa/article/despite-dislocations-ugandas-indians-remaking-home/A23DB19FE690E62F850F6F55A8D1B40B |journal=Africa |language=en |volume=88 |issue=3 |pages=492–517 |doi=10.1017/S0001972018000190 |issn=0001-9720}}</ref> Furthermore, these spaces made way for Asian culture to flourish within the UK. For example, Diwali festivities started to draw in many crowds and turned districts into dazzling displays of light and sound.<ref name="Brown 218–222"/>
===Sports=== {{see also|British Asians in association football}} [[File:Mohammed Salim (Indian footballer) having feet bandaged at Celtic FC, 1936 photograph.jpg|thumb|right|Mohammed Salim, the first South Asian footballer to play for a foreign club. Due to playing in bare feet, he is having them bandaged by Jimmy McMenemy in 1936.]] [[File:Khan and Malignaggi 2.jpg|thumb|245px|left|Amir Khan (left), with American boxer Paulie Malignaggi (right)]] [[File:Hammad Miah PHC 2016.jpg|thumb|left|Hammad Miah is a professional snooker player of Bengali origin.]]
Mohammed Salim of Bengal became the first South Asian to play for a European football club in 1936.<ref name="Breck">Breck, A. ''Alan Breck's Book of Scottish Football''. Scottish Daily Express, 1937, cited in {{cite web |url = http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/Salim%2C+Mohammed |title = ''Salim, Mohammed'' |publisher = thecelticwiki.org |date = 29 May 2006 |work = All time A to Z of Celtic players |access-date= 15 April 2013 }} See also, {{cite web |url = http://www.scotsman.com/sport/barefooted-indian-who-left-calcutta-to-join-celtic-1-1151472 |title = ''Barefooted Indian who left Calcutta to join Celtic'' |publisher = The Scotsman |date = 12 December 2008 |access-date= 15 April 2013 }}</ref> In his two appearances for Celtic F.C., he played the entire matches barefoot and scored several goals.<ref>''Scottish Daily Express'', 29 August 1936, cited in Majumdar, B. and Bandyopadhyay, K. [https://books.google.com/books?id=V-sMYjZkpigC&pg=PA68 ''A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score'']. Routledge, 2006, p. 68.</ref> Anwar Uddin began his career at West Ham United, where he joined the winning team of the 1999 FA Youth Cup Finals. In May 2015, he was appointed manager of Sporting Bengal United.<ref name="eastlondonadvertiser">{{cite news|url=http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/football/uddin_is_new_sporting_bengal_boss_1_4066130|title=Uddin is new Sporting Bengal boss|location=London|work=East London Advertiser|date=8 May 2015|access-date=1 June 2015|archive-date=29 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029045149/http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/football/uddin_is_new_sporting_bengal_boss_1_4066130|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="kickitout3">{{cite web|url=http://www.kickitout.org/news/anwar-uddin-joins-maldon-tiptree-as-assistant-manager/|title=Anwar Uddin appointed manager of Sporting Bengal United|website=Kick It Out|date=8 May 2015|access-date=1 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628101831/http://www.kickitout.org/news/anwar-uddin-joins-maldon-tiptree-as-assistant-manager/|archive-date=28 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="desiballers2">{{cite web|url=http://www.desiballers.com/?p=1771|title=Anwar Uddin named Sporting Bengal manager|website=Desiballers|date=11 May 2015|access-date=1 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213746/http://www.desiballers.com/?p=1771|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Aston Villa defender, Neil Taylor and Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury 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 played for the England national under-21 football team and became the first footballer of Indian descent to play and score in the Premier League. In 2006 he scored one of the fastest goals in Premier League history, as Chopra had only been on the pitch for fifteen seconds after coming on as a substitute.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4906562.stm | date = 17 April 2006 | title = Sunderland 1-4 Newcastle | access-date = 24 March 2008 | work = BBC Sport | publisher = bbc.co.uk }}</ref>
Jawaid Khaliq, the first world champion boxer of Pakistani origin, was born in Nottingham.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Amir Khan, born in Bolton, won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and went on to become a world light-welterweight boxing champion.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Bulbul Hussain of Whitechapel 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.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.skysports.com/other-sports/news/12040/11560637/british-asians-in-sport-and-physical-activity-summit-to-get-underway-at-edgbaston|title=British Asians in Sport and Physical Activity Summit to get underway at Edgbaston|website=Sky Sports|date=22 November 2018|access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> Regardless, many British South Asians have gone on to represent England in cricket internationally. Nasser Hussain, who was the captain of the England cricket team, was born in Madras, India.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hussain|first=Abid |url=https://www.rediff.com/sports/1999/jul/06nasser.htm|title=Rediff On The NeT: Hussain makes history|website=rediff.com|date=6 July 1999|access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref> Other success stories of the past have included Mark Ramprakash, of Indo-Caribbean descent, Isa Guha, of Bengali descent, and Monty Panesar, of Indian Sikh descent. Currently, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are the only players in the England men's squad, both of Pakistani (Mipuri) descent.
Other British Asian sport personalities:{{div col|colwidth=22em}} * Akaash Bhatia * Haroon Khan * Vikram Solanki * Qasim Nisar * Imran Khan * Tanveer Ahmed * Sajid Mahmood * Saqlain Mushtaq * Adam Khan * Dimitri Mascarenhas * Ravi Bopara * Kabir Ali * Owais Shah * Kadeer Ali * Hamza Riazuddin * Min Patel * Samit Patel * Riaz Amin * Adil Rashid * Zesh Rehman * Bilal Shafayat * Harpal Singh * Anwar Uddin * Usman Afzaal * Adnan Ahmed * Hammad Miah * Nayan Doshi * Majid Haq * Ronnie Irani * Omer Hussain * Tosh Masson * Kash Gill * Netan Sansara * Mandip Sehmi * Rikki Bains * Rajiv Ouseph * Ali Jacko * Bulbul Hussain * Ruqsana Begum * Zubair Hoque {{div col end}}
===Celebrities in popular culture=== [[File:Shazia Mirza.jpg|thumb|Shazia Mirza is a popular British comedian]]
The comedians Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Papa CJ and Shazia Mirza are all well-recognised figures in British popular culture. The presenter and match maker of the BBC marriage arranging show ''Arrange Me a Marriage'' is a South Asian-Scot Aneela Rahman. Hardeep Singh Kohli is a presenter, reporter and comedian on British television and radio. British Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian contestants have appeared on ''The Apprentice'' including Syed Ahmed, Tre Azam, Lohit Kalburgi, Ghazal Asif, Shazia Wahab, Sara Dhada, and most notably Saira Khan, who is now a British TV presenter. The broadcasters Daljit Dhaliwal, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Samira Ahmed are known for working on ''Channel 4 News''. The fashion model Neelam Gill has worked with Burberry, Abercrombie & Fitch and appeared in ''Vogue'' magazine.
[[File:Save The World Awards 2009 show24 - Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh.jpg|thumb|The award-winning dance act Signature involved a British Pakistani and a British Indian]]
In 2008, in the second series of reality television ''Britain's Got Talent'', one of the country's most successful reality television shows, the South Asian dance duo Signature, consisting of Suleman Mirza (a British Pakistani) and Madhu Singh (a British Indian) performing a fusion of Michael Jackson and Bhangra music and dance styles, came second on the show.
Humza Arshad and Ali Shahalom are well known British Asian comedians for their YouTube careers which normally consists of stereotyping Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Muslim culture. In 2011, one of Humza Arshad's video was the seventh most viewed on YouTube in Europe.<ref name="sky">{{cite news |url=http://news.sky.com/story/910270/talking-dogs-top-youtube-hit|title=Talking dog's top YouTube hit|publisher=Sky News|date=20 December 2011|access-date=1 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054550/http://news.sky.com/story/910270/talking-dogs-top-youtube-hit|archive-date=21 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="thenational">{{cite news |last=Hawkins|first=Si|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts/diary-of-a-funny-man-the-comedian-humza-arshad-on-love-and-hate-on-the-web-1.652880|title=Diary of a funny man: the comedian Humza Arshad on love and hate on the web|location=Abu Dhabi|newspaper=The National|date=24 August 2013|access-date=10 October 2013}}</ref> 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==
thumb|An Asian business leader showcasing his awards at the Grange Hotel in London|alt=
===Economic=== In 2001, the Centre for Social Markets estimated that British Asian businesses contributed more than £5 billion to GDP.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://csmworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/stat_overview.pdf|title=British Asians Today: A Statistical Overview|publisher=Centre for Social Markets|date=July 2001|access-date=20 January 2019|page=1}}</ref> Many British Asians are regarded as affluent middle-class people.<ref>{{cite book|last=Laud|first=Derek |title=The Problem with Immigrants|date=2015|publisher=Biteback Publishing|isbn=978-1-84954-877-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GR8mBgAAQBAJ&q=Gulu+Lalvani%2C+gujarati&pg=PT104|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ramachandaran|first=Shastri |title=India has much to learn from Britain and Germany|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-india-has-much-to-learn-from-britain-and-germany-2001769|website=Daily News and Analysis|access-date=22 October 2015|quote=Britain places high value on the power of commerce. After all, its political and military dominance when Britannia ruled the waves was founded on its trading power. The Gujaratis know this better than many others, which explains their prosperity and success in the UK.|date=14 July 2014}}</ref> As business owners and entrepreneurs,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Benton |first1=Gregor |last2=Gomez |first2=Edmund Terence |title=The Chinese in Britain, 1800–Present: Economy, Transnationalism, Identity|date=2008|page=115|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-52229-9|chapter=The Chinese Economy in Britain|quote=... a second wave of Chinese entered the fish-and-chip trade ... British-style fish-and-chip shops, whose original menus it supplemented (or, less commonly, supplanted) with Chinese dishes ... The chip shop was an ideal investment for the would-be takeaway owner or restaurateur and remained a target of Chinese immigrants for the rest of the century.}}</ref> Asian Britons are celebrated for revolutionising the corner shop, expanding the take-away food trade,<ref>{{cite book|author=Sam Wai-kam Yu|title=Chinese Older People: A Need for Social Inclusion in Two Communities|date=2000|page=4|publisher=Policy Press|isbn=978-1-86134-242-3|chapter=Chinese people's survival strategy in the UK|quote=As fewer Chinese seamen came to the UK; people shifted to laundry servies - in 1931 there were over 500 Chinese laundries in the UK ... In response to the decline in demand for laundry services, they started to work in the Chinese restaurant business and run Chinese take-aways, which had a fast growth in the 1960s.}}</ref> including the revitalisation of the UK's fish and chips industry by British Chinese,<ref>{{cite book|last=Ward|first=Robin |title=Ethnic Communities in Business: Strategies for Economic Survival|date=2010|page=35|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-12969-5|chapter=Small entrepreneurs in contemporary Europe|quote=For example, Chinese in the Midlands and North-West in Britain have taken over much of the traditional British fish and chips business. The Chinese work longer hours and offer a wider variety of food than their British competitors.}}</ref> and energising the British economy to a degree which changed Britain's antiquated retail laws forever.<ref>{{cite news|last=Unnithan|first=Chitra |title=Family is key to success of Gujarati businessmen in Britain|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Family-is-key-to-success-of-Gujarati-businessmen-in-Britain/articleshow/13401987.cms|agency=Times News Network|website=The Times of India|access-date=4 February 2015|date=23 May 2012|quote=British Gujaratis were also more successful than other minority communities in Britain because they had already tasted success in Africa. The book also says that Gujarati Hindus have become notably successful public citizens of contemporary, capitalistic Britain; on the other hand, they maintain close family links with India. "British Gujaratis have been successful in a great variety of fields. Many younger Gujaratis took to professions rather than stay behind the counter of their parents' corner shops, or they entered public life, while those who went into business have not remained in some narrow commercial niche," says the book.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sen|first=Sudeshna |title=How Gujaratis changed corner shop biz in UK|url=http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/LettersfromLondon/how-gujaratis-changed-corner-shop-biz-in-uk/|website=The Economic Times|access-date=4 February 2015|date=8 January 2013|quote="What most people don't get is that those who took the Arab dhows in the 17th and 18th century to leave their villages and set up life in an alien land were already an entrepreneurial and driven minority, in search of a better life. They communicated that hunger to their children," says Raxa Mehta, director at Nomura, based in Tokyo and first generation child of Kenyan Indian parents. So it doesn't surprise the Gujaratis that they did well in Britain – it only surprises the Brits and Indians. The Gujaratis are a trader community. As Manubhai says, they always left the fighting to the others. If there's one diaspora community that East African Asians model themselves on, it's the Jews. Except of course, the Jews get more publicity than they do.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rodger|first1=Richard |last2=Herbert|first2=Joanna |title=Narratives of South Asian women in Leicester 1964 - 2004|journal=Oral History|date=2008|volume=36|issue=2|pages=554–563|url=http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/files/15509392/RODGER_Narratives_of_South_Asian_Muslim_Women_in_Leicester_1964_2004.pdf}}</ref> 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%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Housing: Sikhs most likely to own their own homes |work=Religion |publisher=UK National Statistics |date=11 October 2004 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=962&Pos=2&ColRank=2&Rank=800 |access-date=4 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226140123/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=962&Pos=2&ColRank=2&Rank=800 |archive-date=26 February 2008 }}</ref>
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 family, Lakshmi Mittal is one of Britain's richest men. In 2017, ''Forbes'' ranked him as the 56th-richest person in the world with a net worth of US$20.4 billion. He is also the "57th-most powerful person" of the 72 individuals named in ''Forbes''' "Most Powerful People" list for 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/#tab:overall_page:6_ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103062220/http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/#tab:overall_page:6_ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2011 |work=Forbes |title=The World's Most Powerful People |access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref> The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' has included Mittal in its listings since the mid-2000s.
For several years, the publication has had an ''Asian Rich List'' section, featuring the wealthiest Asian Britons and UK-residents of Asian descent. In 2019, eight of the top ten, including Mittal, were of a South Asian ethnic background, including Indian-born Briton S. P. Hinduja, of Sindhi heritage, who topped the rankings via the Hinduja Group, with an estimated fortune of £22 billion.<ref name="timesrichlist2019">{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/sunday-times-rich-list-uk-richest-asians-z3z6pnxct|title=Rich List 2019: the UK's richest Asians|date=12 May 2019|work=The Sunday Times|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref> Exceptions included British nationals David and Simon Reuben, who were both born in India, and were listed in joint-second place. The Reuben brothers, of West Asian Baghdadi Jewish heritage, are worth over £18 billion. Part of the top ten since 2018, property magnate, and London-resident, Samuel Tak Lee is of East Asian descent and born in British Hong Kong.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/asians-most-heavily-represented-ethnic-minority-in-uk-rich-list-050000939.html|title=Asians most heavily represented ethnic minority in UK rich list|last=Brinded|first=Lianna |quote=David and Simon Reuben also rank second in the overall richest people in Britain list as well as richest Asians in Britain list with a net worth of £18.664bn.|date=13 May 2019|work=Yahoo! News}}</ref> Other 2019 ''Asian Rich List'' UK billionaires included British-Iraqi Nadhmi Auchi and British-Iranian Farhad Moshiri.<ref name="timesrichlist2019" />
===Food=== The biggest influence of South Asians on popular British culture has probably been the spread of Indian cuisine, though of the 9,000 Indian restaurants in the UK, most are run by Sylhetis; their ancestral home was part of British India until partition in 1947.
An early record of a Sylheti migrant, by the name of Saeed Ullah, can be found in colonial officer Robert Lindsay's autobiography. Saeed Ullah was said to have migrated not only for work but also to attack Lindsay and avenge his Sylheti elders for the Muharram Rebellion of 1782.<ref name=autobio>{{cite book|volume=4|title=Lives of the Lindsays, or, A memoir of the House of Crawford and Balcarres|chapter=Anecdotes of an Indian life: Chapter VII|author-link=Robert Lindsay (Sylhet)|last=Lindsay|first=Robert |url=https://digital.nls.uk/95568541|via=National Library of Scotland}}</ref> 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.<ref name="star">{{cite news|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2008/12/02/history.htm|title=Down the Surma - Origins of the Diaspora|last=Al-Mahmood|first=Syed Zain|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=19 December 2008|volume=7|issue=49|access-date=1 May 2019|archive-date=24 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824132358/http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2008/12/02/history.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Ayahs, Lascars and Princes|first=Rozina|last=Visram|publisher=Pluto Press|year=1986}}{{page needed|date=June 2020}}</ref>
Shah Abdul Majid Qureshi claimed to be the first Sylheti to own a restaurant in the country. It was called ''Dilkush'' and was located in Soho.<ref name=adams>{{cite book|last=Adams|first=Caroline|title=Across Seven Seas and Thirteen Rivers|year=1987|publisher=THAP Books|pages=154–155|isbn=0-906698-15-4}}</ref> Another one of his restaurants, known as ''India Centre'', alongside early Sylheti migrant Ayub Ali Master's Shah Jalal cafe, became hub for the British Asian community and was sites where the India League would hold meetings attracting influential figures such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Krishna Menon and Mulk Raj Anand. Ali was an influential figure who supported working-class lascars, providing them food and shelter. In 1943, Qureshi and Ali founded the ''Indian Seamen's Welfare League'' which ensured social welfare for British Asians. Ayub Ali was also the president of the United Kingdom Muslim League having links with Liaquat Ali Khan and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hossain|first=Ashfaque |date=November 2014|title=The world of the Sylheti seamen in the Age of Empire, from the late eighteenth century to 1947|journal=Journal of Global History|volume=9|issue=3 |pages=425–446 |doi=10.1017/S1740022814000199}}</ref>
The Indian International Chef of the Year Competition founded in 1991 by celebrity chef and restaurateur Mohammad Ajman "Tommy" Miah MBE.<ref name="indianchefoftheyear">{{cite news |url=http://www.indianchefoftheyear.com/|title=Welcome|publisher=Indian International Chef of the Year|access-date=24 May 2009}}</ref> The British Curry Awards was founded by restaurateur Enam Ali MBE in 2005.<ref name="manchestereveningnewsenam">{{cite news |url= http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/curry-industry-supremo-is-awarded-mbe-906182|title=Curry industry supremo is awarded MBE|work=Manchester Evening News|date=18 April 2010|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref>
===Performing arts=== Like India, Bhangra music has become popular among many in Britain<ref>{{cite news|last=Dixon |first=Martha|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3117432.stm |title=Bhangra fusion gathers support |publisher=BBC|date=18 September 2003|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref> not only from the works of British South Asian musicians such as Panjabi MC, Swami and Rishi Rich but also incorporated into the works of a number of non-South Asian musicians not only British but including North American artists such as Canadian Shania Twain, who created a whole alternate version of her multi-platinum album ''Up!'' with full Indian instrumentation, produced by South Asian producers Simon & Diamond. Diamond, better known as DJ Swami has also collaborated with rapper Pras, of the Fugees, and his band Swami have become one of the most renowned acts in South Asian music history, having had songs in major Hollywood movies and best-selling video games.
One of the first artists of South Asian Indian origin to achieve mainstream success was Apache Indian who infused reggae and hip hop with Indian popular music to create a sound that transcended genre and found a multicultural audience. He is the only Indian artist to have achieved 7 top forty hits in the National UK charts. A subsequent wave of "Asian Underground" artists went on to blend elements of western underground dance music and the traditional music of their home countries, such as Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Asian Dub Foundation, Panjabi MC, Raghav, and the Rishi Rich Project (featuring Rishi Rich, Jay Sean and Juggy D).
thumb|British Asian musicians combining Eastern and Western musical traditions 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.<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ymnXgAa1jsAC&q=asian+influence+in+uk+music&pg=PA147 | title = Brimful of Asia: Negotiating Ethnicity on the UK Music Scene | isbn = 978-0-7546-0677-2 | last1 = Hyder | first1 = Rehan | year = 2004| publisher = Ashgate }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Sanjay |chapter=Noisy Asians or 'Asian Noise'?|title=In Dis-Orienting Rhythms: The Politics of the New Asian Dance Music|editor-last1=Sharma|editor-first1=Sanjay |editor-last2=Hutnyk|editor-first2=John |editor-last3=Sharma|editor-first3=Ashwani |pages=32–57 |place=London |publisher=Zed Books |year=1996}}</ref>
===Media=== The films ''East Is East'', ''Chicken Tikka Masala'' and ''Bend It Like Beckham'' and the TV shows ''Goodness Gracious Me'' and ''The Kumars at No. 42'' have managed to attract large, multi-ethnic audiences. The success and popularity of British Pakistani boxer Amir Khan influenced the revival of boxing on ITV Sport.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
In 1995, Channel 4 youth culture show The Word hired British mainstream TV's first female South Asian TV Presenter Jasmine Dotiwala as the show's global showbiz reporter.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
In 2020, BBC Four released an episode of ''A Very British History'' focusing on the history of British Bangladeshis and emigration from Bangladesh from the 1960s onwards, hosted by Dr Aminul Hoque.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/feb/26/tv-tonight-very-british-history-kevin-mccloud|title=TV tonight: an intimate look at life for Britain's Bengali families|last1=Kalia|first1=Ammar|last2=Seale|first2=Jack |last3=Catterall|first3=Ali |last4=Jones|first4=Ellen E |last5=Howlett|first5=Paul |date=26 February 2020|website=The Guardian|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref>
===Awards and achievements=== [[File:Organisers and Hosts of the Asian Professional Awards.jpg|thumb|The Asian Professional Awards from left to right: Onkardeep Singh MBE; Jasvir Singh CBE; Sunny & Shay Grewal; Harry Virdee; Param Singh MBE|alt=]] 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 <ref>{{Cite news|last=Baddhan|first=Raj |url=https://www.bizasialive.com/women-dominate-asian-achievers-awards-2017/|title=Women dominate Asian Achievers Awards 2017|date=4 September 2017|work=BizAsia |access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> * Asian Women of Achievement Awards organised by Pinky Lilani CBE DL since 1999 <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/gallery/2015/may/20/asian-women-of-achievement-awards-2015-meet-the-winners|title=Asian women of achievement awards 2015: meet the winners|last1=Minter|first1=Harriet|last2=O'Conor|first2=Lottie|date=20 May 2015|work=The Guardian|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> * Asian Legal Awards organised by the Society for Asian Lawyers since 1994 making it one of the oldest Asian awards ceremonies <ref>{{Cite news|last=Rayner|first=Jonathan |url=https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/asian-lawyers-recognised-in-awards/55473.article|title=Asian lawyers recognised in awards |work=The Law Society Gazette|date=14 May 2010|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> * Asian Curry Awards celebrating the best of Asian restaurants since 2010 * The Asian Awards organised by the Lemon Group since 2010 and usually attended by a host of leading celebrities <ref>{{Cite news|last=Sethi|first=Sonika |url=https://www.desiblitz.com/content/asian-awards-2018-recognition-glamour|title=Asian Awards 2018: Recognition with Lots of Glitz and Glamour |date=29 April 2018|work=DESIblitz|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> *The Asian Professional Awards organised by Jasvir Singh CBE and Param Singh since 2014 aimed at celebrating success within the City professions <ref>{{Cite news|last=Dubb|first=Amarjit |url=https://www.desiblitz.com/content/asian-professional-awards-2014-nominee-shortlist|title=Asian Professional Awards 2014 Nominee Shortlist |date=12 November 2014|work=DESIblitz|access-date=8 September 2018}}</ref> * The British Curry Awards founded by restaurateur Enam Ali MBE in 2005.<ref name="manchestereveningnewsenam"/> * Indian International Chef of the Year Competition founded in 1991 by celebrity chef and restaurateur Mohammad Ajman "Tommy" Miah MBE.<ref name="indianchefoftheyear"/>
==Social and political issues== [[File:Prime Minister Sunak has a bilat with Prime Minister Modi of India at 2023 G20 New Delhi Summit.jpg|thumb|British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2023]] [[File:JPS 1344a-sm (53329993939).jpg|thumb|British Asians at a pro-Palestinian, anti-war protest in London, 11 November 2023]]
===Discrimination and racism=== [[File:Shaheed Minar, Altab Ali Park.jpg|thumb|A ''Shaheed Minar'' in Altab Ali Park, Whitechapel renamed in honour of the Bangladeshi racial victim Altab Ali]]
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's Rivers of Blood speech, and the establishment of the National Front in the late 1960s, the South Asian community in particular faced racial discrimination. This included overt racism in the form of Paki bashing, predominantly from white power skinheads, the National Front, and the National Party, throughout the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kabir|first=Nahid Afrose |year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GRPsAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT53 |title=Young British Muslims: Identity, Culture, Politics and the Media |publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-4653-1}}</ref> British Asians have been historically subjected to forms of discrimination and racism since significant immigration into the UK during the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/politics/article/britain-racism-paki-word |title=Britain, racism and the 'P-word': a GQ special report |last=Thapar|first=Ciaran |quote=Among many British Asians, the "P-word" is thought of as the pinnacle of language which restricted the lives of our parents and grandparents in the latter half of the 20th century.|date=27 January 2020|work=GQ|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref> Drawing inspiration from the civil rights movement, the Black Power movement, and the South African anti-Apartheid Movement, young British Asian activists began a number of anti-racist Asian youth movements in the 1970s and 1980s, including the Bradford Youth Movement in 1977, the Battle of Brick Lane following the murder of Altab Ali in 1978, and the Newham Youth Movement following the murder of Akhtar Ali Baig in 1980.<ref>{{cite book|last=Peace|first=Timothy |year=2015 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9JFMCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT55 |title=European Social Movements and Muslim Activism: Another World but with Whom?|page=55 |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media|isbn=9781137464002 }}</ref>
According to the UK's hate crime statistics, during the coronavirus pandemic hate crimes directed at both South and East Asian communities increased between two and three-fold.<ref name="grierson2020">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/anti-asian-hate-crimes-up-21-in-uk-during-coronavirus-crisis|title=Anti-Asian hate crimes up 21% in UK during coronavirus crisis|author=Jamie Grierson|quote=Hate crime directed at south and east Asian communities has increased by 21% during the coronavirus crisis, ministers have told MPs.|date=13 May 2020|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/hackney-volunteer-launches-anti-racism-campaign-1-6736435|title=Increase in hate crime against Asian communities leads volunteer to launch anti-racism campaign|author=Holly Chant|quote=Newham resident Alvin Carpio set up the campaign after official figures revealed a three-fold increase in hate crime directed at south and east Asian communities during the coronavirus crisis.|date=8 July 2020|work=Hackney Gazette|access-date=6 August 2020|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027232001/https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/hackney-volunteer-launches-anti-racism-campaign-1-6736435|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-06-11/victim-of-racial-abuse-was-told-you-guys-are-the-virus-as-hate-crimes-against-east-asian-community-soar|title=Victim of racial abuse was told 'you guys are the virus' as hate crimes against east Asian community soar|quote=The government says it “strongly condemns those who have directed hate crime towards members of the East and South East Asian communities.|date=11 June 2020|work=ITV News}}</ref>
A 2020 YouGov survey found that 61 percent of Asians (under the label "Other Asian") had experienced being called a racial slur, with British Chinese in particular, self-reporting being racially abused at 76 percent.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/coronavirus-racism-south-east-asians-230141014.html |title='It's vicious': What it's like living through the UK's coronavirus racism |author=James Morris|quote=This was happening before the pandemic, of course. YouGov polling last month found 76% of Chinese people (and 61% of other Asians) in the UK have experienced someone saying a racial slur to them. Some 50% of the Chinese respondents said it's happened multiple times.|date=28 July 2020|work=Yahoo News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/6pg6w1fadp/YouGov%20Racism%20BAME%20June%202020%202.pdf |title=YouGov Racism BAME June 2020|date=June 2020|publisher=YouGov}}</ref>
===LGBT communities=== There have been reports and examples of cultural difficulties with tolerance for LGBT 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".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2020-03-09/from-the-north-the-challenges-facing-asians-in-the-lgbt-community|title=From the North: The challenges facing Asians in the LGBT+ community|date=30 June 2020|publisher=ITV News}}</ref>
In 1987, pioneers, Shivanandan Khan and Poulomi Desai co-founded Shakti, 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 was created, as a charity to challenge homophobia caused by religious and cultural beliefs.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-49150753|title=LGBT people are 'being made homeless due to religion'|author1=Nomia Iqbal|author2=Josh Parry|date=30 July 2019|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
In 2017, it was reported how gay Asian Britons were "forced into heterosexual marriages" by cultural and religious pressure.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40654213|title=Gay British Asians being 'forced into heterosexual marriages'|author=Sima Kotecha|date=19 July 2017|publisher=BBC|quote=Twenty-two gay and lesbian people of South Asian heritage have told the BBC that at some point they were pressurised to marry somebody of the opposite sex.}}</ref> As a result, some were actively finding other gay members of the opposite sex for, what the BBC described as, "marriages of convenience".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-41899363|title=LGBT Asians turning to marriages of convenience|date=8 November 2017|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
In 2018, the BBC reported how British comedy-drama series ''Ackley Bridge'' had challenged "the taboo and divisive subject of homosexuality" in British Asian society.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-45163349/is-homosexuality-still-taboo-in-british-asian-families|title=Is homosexuality still taboo in British Asian families?|quote=Is what we see on TV the real story of being gay in British Asian society? Three generations of families give their own take on the taboo and divisive subject of homosexuality - which was recently addressed in the drama series Ackley Bridge.|date=12 August 2018|publisher=BBC}}</ref> The broadcaster also reported how a ComRes survey showed that Asian British people, of all ages, appeared to hold "more socially conservative views on gay relationships".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45133717|title=British Asians more socially conservative than rest of UK, survey suggests|quote=When they ended up staying so did those values which many passed to their British-born children. This is perhaps why the survey suggests that the British Asian community has more socially conservative views on gay relationships and sex before marriage, even amongst the younger generation. |date=13 August 2018|publisher=BBC}}</ref> According to a survey by the charity Stonewall, more than 50 percent of Asian Britons who identified as LGBT had faced discrimination.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-44901701|title=Hungama: The club celebrating London's LGBT South Asians|author=Krishna Khakhria|date=28 July 2018|publisher=BBC|quote=Last month, a report by Stonewall revealed that more than half of black, Asian and minority ethnic people have faced discrimination in the LGBT community.}}</ref>
In 2019, the BBC documented the struggle for gay men to find acceptance in the UK's Punjabi Sikh community.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-hampshire-50811106/a-gay-man-s-struggle-for-acceptance-in-the-sikh-community|title=A gay man's struggle for acceptance in the Sikh community|author=Minreet Kaur|date=19 December 2019|publisher=BBC}}</ref> ITV News has reported on similar difficulties for gay Sikhs living in Rochdale.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2020-02-28/a-powerful-account-of-being-gay-in-the-asian-community|title=A powerful account of being gay in the Asian community|author=Minreet Kaur|date=28 February 2020|publisher=ITV News}}</ref> In 2020, British actress Jameela Jamil, describing herself as "queer", stated that "it's not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51399416|title=Jameela Jamil announces she is 'queer' after backlash over TV role|author-link=Ben Hunte|author=Ben Hunte|quote=That prompted her to issue a statement addressing her sexuality. Opening with "Twitter is brutal", she explained that she identified "as queer" and had previously struggled to discuss the topic because "it's not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted".|date=6 February 2020|publisher=BBC}}</ref>
In February 2023, Jasvir Singh CBE, who is described as being "one of the most prominent Sikh voices in British public life", spoke openly about his life as a married gay Sikh man.<ref name=Married>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-05 |title=Jasvir Singh: 'I'm a devout Sikh - and married to a man' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64496456 |access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref> It was reported that he had received death threats to his life from some elements of the British Sikh community, and that he was also called an infidel on a television station.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-02-05 |title=Meet Jasvir Singh, a leading Sikh voice in UK who is ready to take on the world over his homosexuality|language=en-GB |website=Eastern Eye |url=https://www.easterneye.biz/meet-jasvir-singh-a-leading-sikh-voice-in-uk-who-is-ready-to-take-on-the-world-over-his-homosexuality/ |access-date=2023-04-05}}</ref>
== See also == {{div col|colwidth=28em}} * British Bangladeshi * British Indians * British Pakistanis * List of British Sikhs * British Sri Lankans * British Tamils * British Turks * British Chinese * List of British Asian people * Scottish Asian * Anglo-Indian * BBC Asian Network * British Asians in politics of the United Kingdom * British Cypriots * British Indo-Caribbean people * British Iraqis * Iranians in the United Kingdom * Foreign-born population of the United Kingdom * Mauritian diaspora in the United Kingdom * Nepalese in the United Kingdom * Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin * Non-resident Chinese and Person of Chinese Origin * East Asian Canadians * South Asian Canadians * Syrians in the United Kingdom * Sunrise Radio * Ugandan migration to the United Kingdom, primarily of Ugandan Asian origin {{div col end}}
==Notes== {{Notelist}} {{reflist|group=lower-greek}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
== Further reading== * Ali, Nasreen, et al. ''A Postcolonial People: South Asians in Britain'' (Hurst, 2006) [https://archive.org/details/postcolonialpeop0000unse/page/n6/mode/1up online] * Almeida, Rochelle. ''Britain's Anglo-Indians: the invisibility of assimilation'' (Bloomsbury, 2017) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=UMUpDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Indians+in+Britain:+Anglo-Indian+Encounters,+&ots=aD-c5nmqMw&sig=IGrTcwj7I2zpAdl60zFhpvtX6_k online]. * Anitha, Sundari, and Sukhwant Dhaliwal. "South Asian feminisms in Britain: traversing gender, race, class and religion." ''Economic and Political Weekly'' 54.17 (2019). [https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/208882/1/Anitha%20and%20Dhaliwal_South%20Asian%20feminisms%20in%20Britain_preprint.pdf online] * Bakrania, Falu. ''Bhangra and Asian underground: South Asian music and the politics of belonging in Britain'' (Duke University Press, 2013) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=4Ty2AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Asians+UK+England+Britain&ots=NS9KZJwjIh&sig=XkcBTT3r_pPeCHzaShb-JDaNeHA online]. * Bebber, Brett. "South Asians in Britain: Migration, Settlement, and Conflict." ''Routledge Handbook of South Asian Migrations'' (Routledge, 2023) pp. 32–42. * Burdsey, Daniel. ''British Asians and football: Culture, identity, exclusion'' (Routledge, 2006) [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tom-Gibbons-2/publication/249830564_Book_Review_Daniel_BurdseyBritish_Asians_and_Football_Culture_Identity_Exclusion_Routledge_London_2007_x_192_pp_ISBN_0_415_39500_3/links/59e7488b4585152d5f04d857/Book-Review-Daniel-BurdseyBritish-Asians-and-Football-Culture-Identity-Exclusion-Routledge-London-2007-x-192-pp-ISBN 0-415-39500-3 online]. * Gupta, Monika. "Changing identity patterns among women in South Asian diaspora in the UK: construction, negotiation and assimilation of identities." ''South Asian Diaspora'' (2025): 1–16. * Kabir, Nahid Afrose. ''Young British Muslims: Identity, Culture, Politics and the Media'' (Edinburgh University Press, 2012). [https://books.google.com/books?id=XCGrBgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Young+intitle:British+intitle:Muslims+intitle:Identity+intitle:Culture+intitle:Politics&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjPosTL1ciQAxWfnCYFHXZtJGAQ6AF6BAgHEAM online] * Khamkar, Gloria. ''The Evolution of British Asian Radio in England'' (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023). [https://books.google.com/books?id=jdy0EAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:The+intitle:Evolution+intitle:of+intitle:British+intitle:Asian+intitle:Radio+intitle:in+intitle:England&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN1Yza1ciQAxVKm2oFHbvsPCIQ6AF6BAgIEAM online] * Khan, Sabah. ''Muslim Diaspora in Britain: Identity and Transnationalism among South Asian Muslim Communities'' (Routledge India, 2024). * Lahiri, Shompa. ''Indians in Britain: Anglo-Indian encounters, race and identity, 1880-1930'' (Routledge, 2013) . * Nasta, Susheila. ''India in Britain: South Asian networks and connections, 1858–1950'' (Springer, 2012) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dgYGlJI9vrUC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Asians+UK+England+Britain&ots=nUoT5yHt-v&sig=DSU3V_utJJ0zgQbDGtECdJQwKIo online]. * Saini, Rima. ''Politics, identity and belonging across the British South Asian middle classes'' (Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024) [https://books.google.com/books?id=29b9EAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Politics+intitle:identity+intitle:and+intitle:belonging+intitle:across+intitle:the+intitle:British+intitle:South+intitle:Asian+intitle:middle+intitle:classes&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjArc2y1siQAxUBnCYFHVBdKgEQ6AF6BAgHEAM online]. * Tiagi, Raaj. "Occupational distribution and mobility of migrants born in South Asia: evidence from England/Wales Census, 1901–1911." ''South Asian Diaspora'' 16.1 (2024): 35–48. * Visram, Rozina, ''Asians in Britain: 400 years of history'' (Pluto Press, 2002) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CkdnEQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP7&dq=Visram,+Rozina,+%27%27Asians+in+Britain+&ots=WAO_ilmjWA&sig=8yIt0k-9HCvl60UQg9csKTnboNs online] * Vlasta, Sandra, and Dave Gunning. "From Commonwealth Literature to Black and Asian British Writers: The Long History of Migration and Literature in the United Kingdom." ''Immigrant and Ethnic-Minority Writers since 1945'' (Brill Rodopi, 2018) pp. 429–462. [https://www.academia.edu/download/97199516/978900436324320230112-1-f8fugx.pdf#page=441 online]
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