British Punjabis

British Punjabis
Total population
700,000 (2006)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Mainly England · Smaller communities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Languages
Punjabi · British English · Urdu and Hindi
Religion
Islam · Sikhism · Hinduism · Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Punjabi diaspora · British Pakistanis · British Indians · British Mirpuris

British Punjabis are British citizens or residents who are of Punjabi origin.[lower-greek 1] They originate from the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. Punjabis are a major sub-group of the British Pakistani and British Indian communities, representing the largest ethnicity among British Asians.[2]

History

The UK is home to the largest Punjabi diaspora.[2] Immigration from the Punjab region to the UK began during the colonial era, when Punjab was a province of British India. The earliest Punjabi migrants included domestic labourers, students, officials, or recruits in the British Army.[2] A notable early figure is the Maharaja Duleep Singh who was exiled to Britain in 1853.[2]

Immigrants from the Pakistani province of Punjab are mainly Punjabi Muslims, with the majority originating in the northern and central parts of Punjab, such as: Jhelum, Jhang, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Attock, Chakwal, Chiniot, Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh and Lahore.[3][4] There are also some Christians among them.[5] Punjabis are estimated to comprise one-third of the British Pakistani population, making up the second largest sub-group after Mirpuri Kashmiris.[6] The tribes to which British Pakistani Punjabis belong include Jats, Gujjars, Awans, Arains, Rajputs and several others.[7]

The population of Indian Punjabis is over 450,000, constituting 45% of the British Indian community. Of these, two-thirds are Sikhs while the rest are mainly Punjabi Hindus.[2][3] The majority of British Sikhs belong to the Jat clan.[2] The UK has the largest Sikh diaspora outside India.[2]

Some Punjabis arrived in the UK during the 1940s and 1950s, escaping the partition of India.[8] During the 1970s, a large number of East African Punjabis, most of whom already held British passports because they were brought to Africa by British colonialists, entered the UK from Kenya and Uganda. Idi Amin chose to expel all Ugandan Asians in 1972 because of the perception that they were responsible for the country's economic stagnation.[9]

Demographics

In the 2011 UK Census, 273,000 people identified Punjabi as their first language. Of these, 271,000 were in England, 23,000 in Scotland, 1,600 in Wales and a smaller number in Northern Ireland.[10][11] Thus, Punjabi is the third most commonly spoken language in the UK.[12] The Southall area of Greater London is home to a significant Punjabi population.[2] The total population of Punjabis in the UK is estimated to exceed 700,000.[1]

Culture

Punjabi culture strongly defines the identity of British Punjabis. The bhangra form of music was popularised by Punjabi immigrants in the UK during the 1970s.[13] England has long been associated with the Asian Underground scene which gave rise to Punjabi pop music, especially among the younger generations.[14] Punjabi cuisine is also highly popular in the country.[15] Chicken tikka masala has been called a "national dish" of Britain.[16]

Punjabis are known for their entrepreneurial activities.[17] Research by Teesside University shows that the British Punjabi community is one of the most highly educated and successful in the UK.[18] Notable businesspeople include Sir Anwar Pervez and Surinder Arora who rank amongst the wealthiest Britons.[19][20] Other Punjabis have achieved notability in the theatres of British politics, sports and entertainment.[21]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Punjabi: برطانوی پنجابی (Shahmukhi); ਬ੍ਰਿਟਿਸ਼ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Gurmukhī)

References

  1. 1 2 McDonnell, John (5 December 2006). "Punjabi Community". House of Commons. Retrieved 3 August 2016. We now estimate the Punjabi community at about 700,000, with Punjabi established as the second language certainly in London and possibly within the United Kingdom.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Chanda, Rupa; Ghosh, Sriparna (2013). "The Punjabi Diaspora in the UK: An Overview of Characteristics and Contributions to India" (PDF). CARIM INDIA – Developing a knowledge base for policymaking on India-EU migration. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 Heath, Anthony F.; Fisher, Stephen D.; Rosenblatt, Gemma; Sanders, David; Sobolewska, Maria (2013). The Political Integration of Ethnic Minorities in Britain. OUP Oxford. p. 23. ISBN 9780199656639.
  4. ↑ Gilliat-Ray, Sophie (2010). Muslims in Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780521536882.
  5. ↑ "2011 census data – religion". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Roger Ballard; Marcus Banks (1994). Desh Pardesh: the South Asian presence in Britain. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. 18, 20, 21.
  7. ↑ Monika Böck; Aparna Rao (2000). Culture, Creation, and Procreation: Concepts of Kinship in South Asian Practice. Berghahn Books. pp. 81–157. ISBN 1-57181-912-6. ... Kalesh kinship is indeed orchestrated through a rigorous system of patrilineal descent defined by lineage endogamy
  8. ↑ Thaker, Aruna; Barton, Arlene (2012). Multicultural Handbook of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics. John Wiley & Sons. p. 30. ISBN 9781405173582.
  9. ↑ Bizeck J.Phiri. "Asians: East Africa". Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  10. ↑ Rogers, Simon (31 January 2013). "Census 2011: the language data visualised". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Scotland's Census 2011 - National Records of Scotland: Language used at home other than English (detailed) - All people aged 3 and over" (PDF). Scotland Census. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "2011 Census: Quick Statistics". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  13. ↑ Fisher, Michael Herbert (2007). A South-Asian History of Britain: Four Centuries of Peoples from the Indian Sub-continent. Greenwood World Publishing. ISBN 9781846450082.
  14. ↑ "History of Desi Music". BBC Asian Network. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  15. ↑ Panjabi, Camellia (1995). The Great Curries of India. Simon and Schuster. p. 10. ISBN 9780684803838.
  16. ↑ "Robin Cook's chicken tikka masala speech: Extracts from a speech by the foreign secretary to the Social Market Foundation in London". Guardian. 19 April 2001.
  17. ↑ Jones, Marian; Dimitratos, Pavlos (2014). Emerging Paradigms in International Entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 9781845420635.
  18. ↑ Steve Taylor. "Punjabi Communities in the North East". Teesside University. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  19. ↑ Midgley, Dominic (21 July 2014). "Anwar Pervez: The Billionaire cash and carry King". Express. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Teather, David (18 August 2007). "The Mr Nice Guy of the hotels world". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  21. ↑ Hazelwood, Rajbir Purewal (15 May 2013). "A Diasporic Politics of Belonging: Punjabis in Postwar Britain". Washington University. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
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