South Asians in the UK are not a single group but, rather, originate from a range of nations and cultures.
Most now identify as British Asian. They were born here; their families live locally.
However, acknowledging their historical heritage and religion remains important to many.
Every country has its challenges and I think the opportunities here for all cultures, individual people from wherever they come, are far more than anywhere else that I have been to, and I have travelled a lot.
We went to Edgbaston to watch a cricket match and you see this Mooen Ali with a beard, an Asian guy walks down the pitch and then everybody cheers and then they call him Super Mo, Super Mo. It just fills you with pride that only a couple of people who look like us play for England and to see them have that level of reception, they’re not even seeing the colour of his skin or his religion.
If anybody says, ‘Where are you from?’. I do understand what they’re trying to ask me. When people look at you say, where are you from? They want you to say some part of India. But I say Bradford.
The Britishness didn’t come from me moving here. It’s like, we were talking about the whole colonial past. I mean, you think of it. I was born in the 70s, and that’s just about 30 years after partition. So, we were still pretty new, you know, post-colonial. My school, for instance, was an old British school. Our headmaster was always a white British man brought over from England. The building was built by the British. So, we were exposed to Britain throughout.
I think it’s very important for them to lead a sane lifestyle, I think it’s very important to know about your history, where we came from, and that also moulds you as a person to tackle different challenges in life.
I am an Indian. You know, I am a Hindu, and I am a Hindu Mauritian British subject.
I love my South Asian culture and history, and, yes, the place that I live in, I want to share that with the communities, because as much as we have integrated into British society, I love the fact that British society has also accepted our cultures and our foods.
