South Asian migration and settlement in Great Britain, 1951–2001

This paper provides the statistical and background material for an understanding of the South Asian Diasporic communities in contemporary Britain. The article draws on the results of the British Census 2001, which gives precise data for the first time on the religious as well as ethnic composition of South Asian communities. The paper discusses the rather narrow set of source areas in the subcontinent and East Africa, and the similarly narrow set of destination areas of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in Britain. The socio-economic profiles of the ethno-religious communities are examined, and the divergent economic fortunes of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims are discussed. The economic consequences of the desire in Muslim communities to protect women from the outside world also are noted.