Sikhism in the United Kingdom

Sikhism is a religion originating in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, former imperial possessions of the British Empire. The religion was recorded as the religion of 420,196 people resident in England at the 2011 Census, along with 2,962 people in Wales,[1] 9,055 in Scotland[2] and 216 in Northern Ireland,[3] making for a total Sikh population of 432,429.[4] However it is estimated there are around 700,000 - 900,000 Sikhs living in the uk

Historical Population
YearPop.±%
1961 16,000—    
1971 72,000+350.0%
1981 144,000+100.0%
1991 206,000+43.1%
2001 340,810+65.4%
2011 432,429+26.9%
Religious Affiliation was not recorded prior to 2001.
Part of a series on
Sikhism

History
Sikhs in London protesting against Indian government in 2012
Sikhs celebrating Vaisakhi in Trafalgar Square

Sikhs and Britain have a long and storied history. Decades before the last Sikh King, Duleep Singh, stepped onto British soil in the middle of the 19th century, there had been Anglo-Sikh contact as far back as the 1800s in the Punjab with his father Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Since then, even though this relationship has changed in nature many times, both communities have left a permanent mark on each other. For instance, in such varied parts of British society as food, language, political systems, soldiering and of course cricket, the British-Sikh relationship has given rise to many new facets of modern British and Indian society.[5]

The first Sikh settler in Britain was Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838-1893), the last Sikh Emperor of the Imperial Sukerchakia Dynasty, from 1844-1849. He arrived in England in the year 1854, having been exiled from his Kingdom by the British. His mother, Empress Jind Kaur (1817-1863), arrived in 1860 at Kensington in Victorian London and settled permanently, after fighting the British for a long time until the fall of the Sikh Dynasty in 1849. She was given permission by the British Parliament to settle on English soil.

The First Sikh Settlers started migrating from the Punjab in 1911, when the first Sikh Gurdwara was opened in London. During the start of the First and Second World Wars respectively, there was already an established Sikh presence in many parts of England. In London itself the community was small but this grew very rapidly during the 1950s and 60s and faced much racism and discrimination, mainly owed to the appearance and skin colour.

In 2019, Seema Malhotra MP set up the first debate in Parliament to discuss the positive contribution of the Sikh community over the last 70 years.[6] Research including the British Sikh Report have been used to provide an insight into the British Sikh community.

Demographics

British Sikhs are considered one of the best example of cultural integration in the United Kingdom. A strong work ethic combined with an emphasis on the importance of the family has been the reason why Sikhs have been so successful.[7]

London

London is home to the largest Sikh community in the U.K. The places where the majority of the Sikhs live are in southall,Hayes, Hounslow, Ilford, Seven kings, goodmayes,Mayfield, East Ham, Erith,belvedere. There are also significant numbers of Sikhs living in Hackney, isleworth, Wembley,Barking, Feltham, Bexleyheath,Abbeywood, Plumstead,Harrow. With around 200,000 to 300,000 living in London

Slough

Slough is the largest Sikh community outside of London which about 11 percent of the population are Sikhs.

Sandwell

Sandwell has a very large Sikh community with the majority of the Sikhs living in West Bromwich and Smethwick around 9 percent of sandwells population are Sikhs. Sandwell is home to the first ever gurdwara in Smethwick and it is the largest outside London.

Wolverhampton

10 percent of Sikhs live in Wolverhampton which is the second largest Sikh community outside of London. With 23,000 inhabitants in Wolverhampton

Education
British Sikh Professionals speaking in Parliament

65% of Sikhs have a graduate level qualification or above. Sikhs in the 20 - 34 age group have the highest level of graduates (55%) within the Sikh community. The highest level of post graduate Qualifications of master's degrees (22%) is in the 35 - 49 age group. 8% of Sikhs aged 65 and over have a PhD. The split of formal education between women and men is roughly equal, with slightly more women holding a university degree or equivalent (48% of women, 42% of men).[8]

Employment
Hundreds of Sikh professionals come together regularly in London to be inspired and to share their life journeys.

The most popular employment sectors for British Sikhs include: Healthcare (10%), IT and Technology (8%), Teaching and Education (9%), Accountancy and Financial Management (7%). This demonstrates that Sikhs tend to favour professional and technical employment sectors compared with others. Healthcare is a popular sector for all age groups. Teaching and Education is more popular with the 35 - 49 and the 50 - 64 age groups than other groups, whereas accountancy and financial management is more popular with the 20 - 34 age group (9%) compared with 6% respectively for both the 35 - 49 and the 50 - 64 age groups. The top career choices for Sikh women are Healthcare (14%) and Teaching and Education (15%). Healthcare is also a joint second most popular choice for Sikh men along with Accountancy and Financial Management, the most popular sector being IT and Technology (13%).[9]

Wealth

Home ownership

Home ownership is very high amongst British Sikhs with 87% of households owning at least a portion of their home. 30% of British Sikh households own their homes outright and only 9% rent their properties. A mere 1% of British Sikhs claim Housing Benefit. This represents the highest level of private home ownership rate over any other community in the UK. In addition half of all British Sikh families (49%) own more than one property in the UK, with a similar number (50%) owning at least one property in India. British Sikh families appear to use property as a means of building assets for the future. 6% of British Sikhs own property elsewhere in Europe.[10]

Income

According to the ONS, the national average income for British households is approximately £40,000 before tax. With these values in mind the British Sikh Report 2014 found that Sikh households tend to be affluent. Two in every three British Sikh households (66%) have pre-tax incomes in excess of £40,000, and over a third of British Sikh households (34%) have an income in excess of £80,000 giving a value for the Sikh Pound of 7.63 billion.[11]

Poverty

Sikhs have the second lowest poverty rate in the UK, with 2% of British Sikhs living in poverty. This is in comparison to 18% of the population as a whole.[12]

Business

British Sikhs are clear net contributors to the British economy and have a strong entrepreneurial drive, with about one in three British Sikh families (34%) owning a business in the UK.[13]

Charitable giving and volunteering
Sikhs distributing langar (free food) in London

Performing Seva (selfless service) is a basic tenet of Sikhism, and Sikhs are also expected to share at least 10 per cent their earnings with those less fortunate and for good causes (Dasvandh).

64 per cent of the British Sikhs engage in some volunteering work. 40 per cent give between one and five hours of their time per week on voluntary activities, including Seva at their Gurdwara, whilst more than two per cent spend over 25 hours on such activities. Sikhs spend about 200 hours per year on voluntary activities on average. 93 per cent of Sikhs also donate some money to charity every month, with only seven per cent not donating any. Over 50 percent of Sikhs donate between £1 and £20 every month, and 7 per cent donate more than £100 per month. It is estimated that Sikhs in Britain donate around £380 per year to charity on average. Taken as a whole, Sikhs in the UK are estimated to donate about £125 million to charity per annum and spend over 65 million hours each year on voluntary activities.[14]

Care of the elderly

There is a tradition that Asian families tend to live together in extended households, and the majority of Sikhs prefer to live with extended family as they grow older - 61% of males and 52% of females. The second highest preference is in their own home (44% males and 41% females) and the third preference is in a retirement village with 31% females and 24% males wanting to live in a retirement village.[15]

Festivals and community events
Members of the Sikh armed forces celebrating Vaisakhi at Number 10 with the Prime Minister

Some of the bigger festival celebrations within the British Sikh community include Vaisakhi which usually involves colourful street processions throughout the country and Diwali. Southall hosts one of the largest Vaisakhi street processions in Europe.[16] Since 2009, both Vaisakhi and Diwali have been celebrated every year at 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister.[17][18]

Exemptions in British law for Sikhs

Sikhs are exempt from a couple of British laws; for example they are permitted to ride motorcycles without a helmet (so long as they are wearing a turban) and are permitted to carry around their Kirpan in situations where it would otherwise be seen as an offensive weapon. In February 2010 Sir Mota Singh, Britain's first Asian judge, criticised the banning of the Kirpan in public places such as schools.[19]

A Kirpan is approximately the same as the kryst knife from Indonesia. Both being sacrificial ceremonial knives. In history, this type of knife was used to detroath prisoners of war and other executable prisoners.

British converts to Sikhism
American Sikhs from the Sikhnet Team based in New Mexico visiting the UK and speaking at an event in Parliament with British Sikhs.
  • Alexandra Aitken - actress and daughter of former British cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken
  • Vic Briggs - former blues musician, now Vikram Singh Khalsa; became the first non-subcontinental to perform kirtan at Harimandir Sahib
  • Max Arthur Macauliffe (1841–1913) - senior administrator of the British Raj who was posted in the Punjab; prolific scholar and author; converted to Sikhism in the 1860s

Discrimination

In an online survey of 650 Sikhs in the UK, three-quarters of them said they had experienced racism. In spite of this, 95% said they are proud of being born or living in Britain. 43% of the women surveyed said they had experienced discrimination on the basis of gender, and 71% of those had also experienced it within their extended family.[20]

Influential British Sikh organisations

The Gurdwara remains the focal point of the Sikh community. There are also now a variety of notable organisations which have been setup by Sikhs to support the community:

Controversies

Census data

In 2018, some Sikh organisations requested the ONS to include an ethnic tick box for Sikhs. This has created a long-standing dispute between various Sikh organisations with regards to whether this is the right thing to do.[21] The ONS rejected the demand in their published paper.[22]

Inter-faith marriages

Holding an Anand Karaj wedding ceremony between a Sikh and a non-Sikh has become a contentious issue. In 2016, armed police arrested scores of protesters at Gurdwara Sahib in Leamington Spa, which The Telegraph claims "has a history of tensions over mixed marriages".[23] Sikh Youth UK, who were behind the protest, blamed "a rogue Gurdwara committee creating discord".[24] One Sikh journalist called the issue a "deepening schism"[25] while another deplored the protesters' use of masks, and the way their actions allowed the kirpan (ceremonial dagger) to be seen as a bladed weapon, thus giving "the racists and the bigots justifications for their ignorant hatred".[26] An investigation on BBC Asian Network found that these disruptions over interfaith marriage had been going on for years.[27]

Extremism
  • In 2018 there were various violent incident at Gurdwaras involving Sikhs being attacked for supporting different views.[28][29]
  • In 2018, 5 Sikh homes were raided by Anti terror police.[30] The reason for the arrests has been questioned by MP Preet Gill.[31]
  • In 2017, a Scottish Sikh named Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in India for terrorism offences whilst wedding shopping.[32] As of yet he has been held without charge.[33]
  • In 2016, there was an incident of an interfacial couple being terrorised for having a Sikh wedding by gangs of men.[34]
  • In 2015, Bobby Friction was made to apologise for using the term 'Sikh Taliban' by the Sikh Federation.[35][36]
  • In 2015, a Sikh Lives Matter demonstration turned violent with at least one police officer injured.[37]
  • In 2014, a religious leader of a Sikh sect was attacked by an axe in the early hours of the morning.[38] The attacker Harjit Singh Toor was jailed for 17 years.[39]
  • In 2012, the Indian general who led the raid on Sikhism's holiest shrine was attacked while walking with his wife in London by a gang of 4 Sikhs.[40] The gang was jailed in 2013.[41]
  • In 2011, a young 21 year old Sikh businessman and millionaire was murdered in revenge for seducing a woman.[42] The student who lured the businessman to her apartment and who was jailed for GBH has since built her life.[43]
  • In 2004 a play by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, sparked controversy and its performances were cancelled after violent protests. A scene set in a gurdwara included scenes of rape, physical abuse and murder. Sikhs protested its opening night at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.[44]

Alleged grooming of Sikh girls by Muslim men

A BBC Inside Out (London) programme televised in September 2013 interviewed several young Sikh women who were allegedly groomed and sexually abused by Muslim men, with one alleged ex-groomer even admitting that they specifically targeted Sikh girls. Bhai Mohan Singh, working for the Sikh Awareness Society (SAS), told the BBC he was investigating 19 cases where Sikh girls were allegedly being groomed by older Muslim men,[45] of which one ended with a successful conviction.[46][47] In August 2013 four Muslims and two Hindus were convicted at Leicester Crown Court of paying a "vulnerable and damaged" 16-year-old Sikh girl for sex:[48] the investigation which had led to their being arrested and charged had been opened due to evidence Bhai Mohan Singh had presented to the police.[47] However, a report published in the previous year by Faith Matters (which runs the TELL MAMA anti-Muslim violence helpline and works closely with the Jewish Community Security Trust[49]) claimed that the Sikh Awareness Society included radical anti-Muslim elements among its members;[50][51] Faith Matters furthermore alleged that it was a matter of "common consensus" that the radical Sikhs said to have had secret meetings with the English Defence League were members of the SAS.[50][51] The SAS deny the allegations and have distanced themselves from the organization,[50][51] a spokesperson telling Hope not Hate: "We would have nothing to do with any racist or fascist group, certainly one that uses religion to divide people…I know nothing about this and no, we are not in any kind of talks and discussion with them".[52] The Nihal Show on the BBC Asian Network discussed the issue and debated the merits of the grooming claims in September 2013.[53]

Allegations of forced conversions of Sikh girls to Islam

In 2007 a Sikh girl's family claimed that she had been forcibly converted to Islam, and they received a police guard after being attacked by an armed gang.[54] In response to these news stories, an open letter to Sir Ian Blair, signed by ten academics, argued that claims that Hindu and Sikh girls were being forcefully converted were "part of an arsenal of myths propagated by right-wing Hindu supremacist organisations in India".[55] The Muslim Council of Britain issued a press release pointing out there was a lack of evidence of any forced conversions and suggested it was an underhand attempt to smear the British Muslim population.[56]

An academic paper by Katy Sian published in the journal South Asian Popular Culture in 2011 explored the question of how "forced conversion narratives" arose around the Sikh diaspora in the United Kingdom.[57] Sian, who reports that claims of conversion through courtship on campuses are widespread in the UK, says that rather than relying on actual evidence they primarily rest on the word of "a friend of a friend" or on personal anecdote. According to Sian, the narrative is similar to accusations of "white slavery" lodged against the Jewish community and foreigners to the UK and the US, with the former having ties to anti-semitism that mirror the Islamophobia betrayed by the modern narrative. Sian expanded on these views in 2013's Mistaken Identities, Forced Conversions, and Postcolonial Formations.[58]

See also

References
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    :Dear Ian Blair, :As academics teaching at British universities, we are disturbed by your recent announcement reported in the Daily Mail (22 February), Metro (23 February) and elsewhere, that the police and universities are working together to target extremist Muslims who force vulnerable teenage Hindu and Sikh girls to convert to Islam. Your statements appear to have been made on the basis of claims by the Hindu Forum of Britain who have not presented any evidence that such forced conversions are taking place. In fact the notion of forced conversions of young Hindu women to Islam is part of an arsenal of myths propagated by right-wing Hindu supremacist organisations in India and used to incite violence against minorities. For example, inflammatory leaflets referring to such conversions were in circulation before the massacres of the Muslim minority in Gujarat exactly five years ago which left approximately 2,000 dead and over 200,000 displaced :In our view, it is highly irresponsible to treat such allegations at face value or as representative of the views of Hindus in general. While we would condemn any type of pressure on young women to conform to religious beliefs or practices (whether of their own community or another) we can only see statements such as yours as contributing to the further stigmatising of the Muslim community as a whole and as a pretext for further assaults on civil liberties in Britain.
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  58. Katy P. Sian (4 April 2013). Unsettling Sikh and Muslim Conflict: Mistaken Identities, Forced Conversions, and Postcolonial Formations. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 55–71. ISBN 978-0-7391-7874-4. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2013.

Further reading
  • Sikhs in Britain: the making of a community (Zed, 2006) by Prof. Gurharpal Singh and Dr. Darshan Singh Tatla.
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