Total population | |
---|---|
524,529 0.85% of the total population (2021, excluding Scotland) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
West Midlands | 172,398 (2.90%) |
London | 144,543 (1.64%) |
South East | 74,348 (0.80%) |
East Midlands | 53,950 (1.11%) |
East | 24,284 (0.38%) |
Languages | |
British English • Punjabi Hindi • Urdu | |
Related ethnic groups | |
British Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.85% of the British population (excluding Scotland) as of 2021, forming the United Kingdom's fourth-largest religious group. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, British Sikhs (excluding Scottish Sikhs) numbered 524,529, with 520,092 in England, 4,048 in Wales, and 389 in Northern Ireland. [1] [2] [3] The largest Sikh populations in the United Kingdom are in the West Midlands and Greater London.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1947 | 1,500 | — |
1951 | 7,000 | +366.7% |
1961 | 16,000 | +128.6% |
1971 | 72,000 | +350.0% |
1981 | 144,000 | +100.0% |
1991 | 206,000 | +43.1% |
2001 | 336,149 | +63.2% |
2011 | 432,429 | +28.6% |
2021 | 524,529 | +21.3% |
Source: Office for National Statistics [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] |
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Sikhism |
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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 strong permanent influence 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. [16]
The first permanent Sikh in Britain was Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838-1893), the last Sikh Emperor of the Imperial Sukerchakia Dynasty, from 1844 to 1849. He arrived in England in the year 1854, having been exiled from his kingdom by the East India Company. His mother, Empress Jind Kaur (1817-1863), arrived in 1860 at Kensington in Victorian London and settled permanently, after being at war with Britain for an extended period of time until the fall of the Sikh Dynasty in 1849. She was given permission by 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. Britain's first south Asian immigrants after the war were Pakistani Muslims and Punjabi Sikhs from the Jullundur Doab. They tended to settle in midland towns such as Birmingham and Leeds, as well as in the London borough of Southall.
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. [17]
Despite the existence of advocacy organisations like the British Sikh Report, there is very little systematic research on British Sikhs. The only major academic work that is comprehensive, systematic and a through history of the community is by Gurharpal Singh and Darshan S. Tatla, Sikhs in Britain: The Making of a Community (Zed, 2006). This work needs updating in light of the impending Census 2021 to reflect changes in the community's profile.
According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, Sikhs in England & Wales enumerated 524,140, or 0.9% of the population. [18] According to the 2017 British Sikh Report which surveys the community in the UK, 71% were born in England, followed by 15% in India, 8% in East Africa, 2% in Scotland, and 1% in Afghanistan. [19]
There are seven Sikh Lords and two Sikh MPs; Sikhs make up 0.89% of the House of Lords and 0.31% of the House of Commons, while making up 0.85% of the British population. Incumbent Sikh Lords include five Conservatives (Baron Rana of Malone in Antrim, [20] [21] Baroness Verma of Leicester, Baron Suri of Ealing, Baron Ranger of Mayfair, and Baron Ranger of Northwood), one crossbencher (Baron Singh of Wimbledon) and one Labour member (Baron Sahota of Telford). Both incumbent Sikh MPs are from the Labour party (Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi of Slough and Preet Gill of Birmingham Edgbaston). The first Sikh MP was Piara Singh Khabra of Ealing Southall and the first Sikh Lord was Baron King of West Bromwich.
65% percent of British 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 postgraduate qualifications of Master's degrees (22%) is in the 35 - 49 age group. Eight percent 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). [22]
The most popular employment sectors for British Sikhs include: Healthcare (10%), IT and Technology (8%), Teaching and Education (9%), Accountancy and Financial Management (7%), indicating that Sikhs tend to favour professional and technical employment sectors over others. Healthcare is a popular sector for all age groups. Teaching and Education is more common in the 35 - 49 and the 50 - 64 age groups than others, 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%). [23]
British Sikhs have been praised as an example of positive cultural integration in the United Kingdom, many having achieved success due to a strong cultural work ethic combined with an emphasis on the importance of the family. [24]
Home ownership is very high amongst British Sikhs with 87% of households owning at least a portion of their home. Thirty percent of British Sikh households own their homes outright and only 9% rent their properties. Only 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, apparently indicating that property ownership is used as a top means of building assets for the future. 6% of British Sikhs own property elsewhere in Europe. [25]
Relative to the national average income at approximately £40,000 before tax (according to the British Sikh Report), it 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 (34%) have an income in excess of £80,000, giving a value for the Sikh Pound of 7.63 billion. [26]
However this data appears to be contradicted by research carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation , which actually states Sikhs have the second highest poverty rate in the UK, with 27% of British Sikhs living below the poverty line; this is in comparison to 18% of the population as a whole. [27]
About one in three British Sikh families (34%) own a business in the UK. [28]
Performing Seva (selfless service) is a basic tenet of Sikhism, and Sikhs are also expected to share at least 10 per cent of their earnings with those less fortunate and for good causes (Dasvandh).
Sixty-four percent of British Sikhs engage in some volunteering work, and 40% give between one and five hours per week on voluntary activities, including Seva at their Gurdwara, whilst more than 2% spend over 25 hours on such activities, spending about on average 200 hours per year on voluntary activities. Ninety-three percent claim to donate some money to charity every month, with 50% donating between £1 and £20 every month, and 7% donating 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. [29]
Sikhs prefer to live in extended family households 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 (31% females and 24% males). [30]
Local authority | Population |
---|---|
Sandwell | 39,252 |
Birmingham | 33,126 |
Wolverhampton | 31,769 |
Ealing | 28,491 |
Hillingdon | 26,339 |
Hounslow | 24,677 |
Slough | 17,985 |
Redbridge | 17,622 |
Coventry | 17,297 |
Walsall | 17,148 |
Local authority | Percentage |
---|---|
Wolverhampton | 12.0% |
Sandwell | 11.5% |
Slough | 11.3% |
Hillingdon | 8.6% |
Hounslow | 8.6% |
Gravesham | 8.0% |
Ealing | 7.8% |
Oadby and Wigston | 7.5% |
Walsall | 6.0% |
Redbridge | 5.7% |
Region | 2021 [33] | 2011 [34] | 2001 [35] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
West Midlands | 172,398 | 2.9% | 133,681 | 2.39% | 103,870 | 1.97% |
London | 144,543 | 1.64% | 126,134 | 1.54% | 104,230 | 1.45% |
South East | 74,348 | 0.8% | 54,941 | 0.64% | 37,735 | 0.47% |
East Midlands | 53,950 | 1.11% | 44,335 | 0.98% | 33,551 | 0.8% |
East | 24,284 | 0.38% | 18,213 | 0.31% | 13,365 | 0.25% |
Yorkshire and the Humber | 24,034 | 0.44% | 22,179 | 0.42% | 18,711 | 0.38% |
North West | 11,862 | 0.16% | 8,857 | 0.13% | 6,487 | 0.1% |
South West | 7,465 | 0.13% | 5,892 | 0.11% | 4,614 | 0.09% |
North East | 7,206 | 0.27% | 5,964 | 0.23% | 4,780 | 0.19% |
England | 520,092 | 0.92% | 420,196 | 0.79% | 327,343 | 0.63% |
Country | 2021 [36] [37] [38] | 2011 [39] [40] [41] [11] | 2001 [42] [43] [44] [45] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
England | 520,092 | 0.92% | 420,196 | 0.79% | 327,343 | 0.63% |
Wales | 4,048 | 0.13% | 2,962 | 0.1% | 2,015 | 0.07% |
Scotland | 9,055 | 0.17% | 6,572 | 0.13% | ||
Northern Ireland | 389 | 0.02% | 216 | 0.01% | 219 | 0.01% |
United Kingdom | 432,429 | 0.68% | 336,149 | 0.57% |
British Sikhs have been praised as an example of positive cultural integration in the United Kingdom, many having achieved success due to a strong cultural work ethic combined with an emphasis on the importance of the family. [46]
According to the 2017 British Sikh Report which surveys the community in the UK, 71% were born in England, followed by 15% in India, 8% in East Africa, 2% in Scotland, and 1% in Afghanistan. [47]
According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, Sikhs in England & Wales enumerated 524,140, or 0.9% of the population [48]
West Midlands has the highest Sikh population and Sikh proportion of any English region, with 172,398 Sikhs making up 2.9% of the region's population at the 2021 census. The five West Midlands local authorities with the highest Sikh population are Sandwell (39,252), Birmingham (33,126), Wolverhampton (31,769), Coventry (17,297), and Walsall (17,148). The five West Midlands local authorities with the highest Sikh proportion are Wolverhampton (12.0%), Sandwell (11.5%), Walsall (6.0%), Coventry (5.0%), and Warwick (4.2%). The Black Country is home to 93,485 Sikhs and is 7.7% Sikh. [49]
Sandwell has a large Sikh community numbering 39,252 at the 2021 census (the largest of any local authority in England) and making up 11.5% of the area's population (the second-largest proportion of any local authority in England). [50] The majority live in West Bromwich and Smethwick. Sandwell's first gurdwara was built in Smethwick, and is the largest outside of London.
Birmingham has a large Sikh community numbering 33,126 at the 2021 census (the second-largest of any local authority in England) and making up 2.9% of the city's population. [51] In 2021, Sikhs were the second-largest religious group in Handsworth, where they numbered 5,064 and made up 24.8% of the population. [52]
Wolverhampton has a large Sikh community numbering 31,769 at the 2021 census (the third-largest of any local authority in England) and making up 12.0% of the city's population (the largest proportion of any local authority in England). [53] Blakenhall, in Wolverhampton, was home to 5,131 Sikhs in 2021 and had a 40.7% Sikh plurality. [54]
With 144,543 Sikhs living in London at the 2021 census (1.6% of London's population), the area is home to the second-largest Sikh community in the UK. The five London boroughs with the highest Sikh population are Ealing (28,491), Hillingdon (26,339), Hounslow (24,677), Redbridge (17,622), and Newham (5,638). The five London boroughs with the highest Sikh proportion are Hillingdon (8.6%), Hounslow (8.6%), Ealing (7.8%), Redbridge (5.7%), and Bexley (2.1%). [55]
The area of Southall in Ealing, also known as "Little Punjab", was home to 20,843 Sikhs at the 2021 census and had a 28.2% Sikh plurality. [56] [57]
Heston, in Hounslow, was home to 10,692 Sikhs in 2021 and had a 25.8% Sikh plurality. [58] [59] [60]
With 74,348 Sikhs living in the South East at the 2021 census (0.8% of the region's population), the area is home to the third-largest Sikh community in the UK. The five South East local authorities with the highest Sikh population are Slough (17,985), Gravesham (8,560), Medway (4,363), Southampton (4,192), and Wokingham (2,992). The five South East local authorities with the highest Sikh proportion are Slough (11.3%), Gravesham (8.0%), Windsor and Maidenhead (2.9%), Spelthorne (2.5%), and Southampton (1.7%). [61]
With 53,950 Sikhs living in the East Midlands at the 2021 census (1.1% of the region's population), the area is home to the fourth-largest Sikh community in the UK. The five East Midlands local authorities with the highest Sikh population are Leicester (16,451), Derby (9,762), Oadby and Wigston (4,342), Nottingham (4,110), and Blaby (2,927). The five East Midlands local authorities with the highest Sikh proportion are Oadby and Wigston (7.5%), Leicester (4.5%), Derby (3.7%), Blaby (2.8%), and South Derbyshire (2.1%). [62]
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. [63] Since 2009, both Vaisakhi and Diwali have been celebrated every year at 10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister. [64] [65]
Sikhs are exempt from a few British laws on account of religious reasons. For example, men wearing a Dastar (turban) may ride a motorcycle without a helmet, and are permitted to wear their Kirpan as religious dress rather than offensive weapon in certain situations. In February 2010, Sir Mota Singh, Britain's first Asian judge, criticised the banning of the Kirpan in public places such as schools. [66] The tenth and final guru, Guru Gobind Singh formally included the Kirpan as a mandatory article of faith for all baptised Sikhs, [67] making it a duty for Sikhs to be able to defend the needy, suppressed ones, to defend righteousness and the freedom of expression.
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. [68]
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:
In November 2021, according to a report by Sikh Women’s Aid (SWA) organisation, about 70% of the women in UK sikh community has suffered domestic abuse. Over a third of the respondents suffered child sexual abuse. Most of the victims knew their abusers and about half of the incidents took place in home. [69] [70]
In 2018, some Sikh organisations requested the ONS to include an ethnic tick box for Sikhs, creating an ongoing dispute between various Sikh organisations. The ONS rejected the request. [71] The ONS rejected the demand in their published paper. [72]
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". [73] Sikh Youth UK, who were behind the protest, blamed "a rogue Gurdwara committee creating discord". [74]
One Sikh journalist called the issue a "deepening schism" [75] while another expressed dismay at the protesters' use of masks, and the way their actions allowed the kirpan (ceremonial dagger) to be seen as a bladed weapon rather than traditional dress, thus giving "the racists and the bigots justifications for their ignorant hatred". [76] An investigation on BBC Asian Network found that these disruptions over interfaith marriage had been going on for years. [77]
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 alleged cases where Sikh girls were allegedly being groomed by older Muslim men, [95] of which one ended with a successful conviction. [96] [97] 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, [98] the investigation having been opened due to evidence Bhai Mohan Singh had presented to the police. [97]
However, a report published the previous year by Faith Matters (which runs the TELL MAMA anti-Muslim violence helpline and works closely with the Jewish Community Security Trust [99] ) claimed that the Sikh Awareness Society included radical anti-Muslim elements among its members; [100] [101] Faith Matters furthermore alleged 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. [100] [101] The SAS denied allegations and distanced themselves from the organization, [100] [101] 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". [102] The Nihal Show on the BBC Asian Network discussed the issue and debated the merits of the grooming claims in September 2013. [103]
In 2018, a report by a Sikh activist organisation, Sikh Youth UK, entitled “The Religiously Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of Young Sikh Women Across the UK" made allegations of similarities between the case of Sikh Women and the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal. [104] However in 2019 this report was criticised by researchers and an official UK government report led by two Sikh academics for false and misleading information. [105] [106] It noted: "The RASE report lacks solid data, methodological transparency and rigour. It is filled instead with sweeping generalisations and poorly substantiated claims around the nature and scale of abuse of Sikh girls and causal factors driving it. It appealed heavily to historical tensions between Sikhs and Muslims and narratives of honour in a way that seemed designed to whip up fear and hate". [106]
In 2007, a Sikh girl's family claimed that she had been forcibly converted to Islam, and after being attacked by an armed gang, they received a police guard. [107] 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". [108] 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. [109]
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. [110] 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 antisemitism that mirror the Islamophobia betrayed by the modern narrative. Sian expanded on these views in 2013's Mistaken Identities, Forced Conversions, and Postcolonial Formations. [111]
Sikhism, also known as Sikhi, is an Indian religion and philosophy in particular for the Sikh ethnoreligious group that originated in the Punjab region of India around the end of the 15th century CE. The Sikh scriptures are written in the Gurumukhi script particular to Sikhs. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups and among the largest in the world, with about 25–30 million adherents.
Sikhs are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the Sanskrit word śiṣya, meaning 'seeker', 'disciple' or 'student'. According to Article I of Chapter 1 of the Sikh Rehat Maryada, the definition of Sikh is: Any human being who faithfully believes in
Nankana Sahib is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is among the most important religious sites for the Sikh religion. It is located about 91 km (57 mi) west of Lahore and about 75 km (47 mi) east of Faisalabad. According to the census of 2017 the city has a population of 110,135 inhabitants. Until 2005, it was a part of the Sheikhupura District.
Southall is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns.
A gurdwara or gurudwara is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs but its normal meaning is place of guru or "Home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurdwaras. Each gurdwara has a Darbar Sahib where the Guru Granth Sahib is placed on a takht in a prominent central position. Any congregant may recite, sing, and explain the verses from the Guru Granth Sahib, in the presence of the rest of the congregation.
Sikhism in Pakistan has an extensive heritage and history, although Sikhs form a small community in Pakistan today. Most Sikhs live in the province of Punjab, a part of the larger Punjab region where the religion originated in the Middle Ages, with some also residing in Peshawar in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is located in Pakistan's Punjab province. Moreover, the place where Guru Nanak died, the Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib is also located in the same province.
London has centres of worship for many faiths. According to the 2021 Census, the largest religious groupings are Christians (40.66%), followed by those of no religion (27.05%), Muslims (14.99%), no response (7%), Hindus (5.15%), Jews (1.65%), Sikhs (1.64%), Buddhists (1.0%), and others (0.9%).
Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas. It was considered a sect within Sikhism until 2009. However, some Ravidassias continue to maintain Sikh religious practices, including the reverence of the Guru Granth Sahib as their focal religious text, wearing Sikh articles of faith (5Ks), and appending Singh or Kaur to their names.
American Sikhs form the country's sixth-largest religious group. While the U.S. Census does not ask about religion, 70,697 Americans declared Sikh as their ethnicity in the 2020 census. The U.S. Census Bureau cites the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey's estimate of the adult Sikh American population at 78,000. The Pew Research Center estimated the Sikh American adult population to be 140,000 and the total population at 200,000 in 2012 while the World Religion Database at Boston University estimated the American Sikh population to be at 280,000 in 2012. Sikh organizations like the Sikh Coalition and American Sikh Congressional Caucus estimate the Sikh American population to be as high as 1,000,000, but do not provide any sources for these figures; 500,000 nevertheless remains the most cited Sikh American population size. With 1% of Asian Americans being Sikh, and 90.7% of Sikh Americans being Asian American, the American Sikh population can be estimated at around 200,000–300,000 in 2021. The largest Sikh populations in the U.S. are found in California (52%), New York (11%), and Washington (6%).
Indian Sikhs number approximately 21 million people and account for 1.7% of India's population as of 2011, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. The majority of the nation's Sikhs live in the northern state of Punjab, which is the only Sikh-majority administrative division in the world.
Sikhismin Canada has nearly 800,000 adherents who account for 2.1% of Canada's population as of 2021, forming the country's fastest-growing and fourth-largest religious group. The largest Sikh populations in Canada are found in Ontario, followed by British Columbia and Alberta. As of the 2021 Census, more than half of Canada's Sikhs can be found in one of four cities: Brampton (163,260), Surrey (154,415), Calgary (49,465), and Edmonton (41,385).
The demography of Birmingham, England, is analysed by the Office for National Statistics and data produced for each of the wards that make up the city, and the overall city itself, which is the largest city proper in England as well as the core of the third most populous urban area, the West Midlands conurbation.
Most of the 25-30 million followers of Sikhism, the world's fifth-largest religion, live in the northern Indian state of Punjab, the only Sikh-majority administrative division on Earth, but Sikh communities exist on every inhabited continent. Sizeable Sikh populations in countries across the world exist in India (20,833,116), Canada (771,790), England (520,092), the United States (~280,000), Italy (~220,000), and Australia (210,400), while countries with the largest proportions of Sikhs include Canada (2.12%), India (1.56%), Cyprus (1.1%) England (0.92%), New Zealand (0.87%), and Australia (0.83%).
English Sikhs number over 520,000 people and account for 0.9% of England's population in 2021, forming the country's fourth-largest religious group. In 2006 there were 352 gurdwaras in England. The largest Sikh populations in the U.K. are in the West Midlands and Greater London.
British Indians form the largest ethno-national group in London with a population of around 656,272 or 7.5% of the population. The majority are concentrated in West London, though populations can be found throughout London.
Sikhism in Scotland includes all aspects of Sikh life and Sikhism in Scotland. Sikhs have been present in Scotland for over a century, with the first documented Sikh, Maharaja Daleep Singh, arriving in Perthshire in 1855. The next wave of migration was in early-to-mid 1920s when prominent Sikhs of the Bhat/Bhatra community established themselves in Glasgow and Edinburgh. However, the bulk of Sikhs in Scotland come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century. In Scotland Sikhs represent 0.2% of the population (9,055).
The arrival of Sikhism in Wales is relatively recent. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census there were 4,048 Sikhs in the country representing 0.1% of the population.
Sikhism inAfghanistan in the contemporary era is limited to small populations, primarily in major cities, with the largest numbers of Afghan Sikhs living in Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kabul, and to a lesser extent in Kandahar and Khost. Sikhs have been the most prevalent non-Muslim minority in Afghanistan, and despite the many political changes in recent Afghan history, governments and political groups have generally not indulged in openly discriminating against the Sikh minority; however, their status have been severely impacted amid the country's conflict since 1978.
The South Asian community in British Columbia was first established in 1897. The first immigrants originated from Punjab, British India, a northern region and state in modern-day India and Pakistan. Punjabis originally settled in rural British Columbia at the turn of the twentieth century, working in the forestry and agricultural industries.
The British Sikh Report, also known as the BSR, is an annual report launched in Parliament every year about Sikhs in the United Kingdom. The report looks at the views of Sikhs living in the UK and provides this information e.g. the government, non-governmental organisations, companies and other groups. It is one of the largest projects to regularly study the needs and wants of Sikhs anywhere in the world.
: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.