Census 2011 - Misinterpretations Re Ethnic Group

[Pyara]

I have noticed a problem that many Sikhs are openly claiming they will still classify themselves as Indian. I have received a barrage of text messages from ill-informed Sikhs who seem to want to interpret the whole Sikh ethnic classification campaign as an attack on their "Indian-ness" by hardcore Khalistani fundamentalists.

Anyone got a template text regarding the benefits to the UK Sikh community of the Sikh Ethnic classification. I thought something along the lines:

"Without recording "Sikh" in the census we will not receive the recognition and resources our community deserves. The simple example is Healthcare and Support for elderly Sikhs can be targeted specifically for our needs and our elders won't get incorrectly catered for under the "Asian" category."

Anyone else able to help with a good narrative regarding benefits to text out ? This needs to be actioned fast before misinterpretations lead to people making the wrong decisions on the Cenus form.

[Pyara]

There's more info on this website.

http://sikhcensus.org/

Why is the Census important for Sikhs and how will it make a difference?

Completing the Census form is very important for Sikhs as it is an opportunity for every Sikh to be counted. The amount of money our council has to spend on services is based on population statistics from the Census. That is why it is so important that everyone takes part.

Here are some socio-political matters that can be influenced

• Culturally sensitive services e.g. Sikh doctors and nurses,

• Sikh child care services,

• Sikh home care/ day centre services for elderly,

• Transport for the disabled.

• Appropriate values based education e.g. schools & nurseries, free courses, library services etc.

• Employment help.

• Funding for charities and other community projects.

• Our identity, values, ethics and cohesion for generations to come.

[Gurbar Akaal]

So can others also put their ethnicity as Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu?

Sikh"ism" is a Religion/Dharam and not a race or ethnicity. A simple question to ask yourself is if a British or American man becomes a Sikh, does his race or ethnicity change?

My census will be going in the bin.

[Pyara]

So can others also put their ethnicity as Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu?

Sikh"ism" is a Religion/Dharam and not a race or ethnicity. A simple question to ask yourself is if a British or American man becomes a Sikh, does his race or ethnicity change?

My census will be going in the bin.

It does depend on your interpretation of ethnic.

"An ethnic group is a group of human individuals who share a common, unique self-identity. An ethnic group is also called a "people" or a "people group." Some words used to refer to a group as a separate ethnic group are: tribe, clan, nation, lineage, family, society, community and heritage.

Religion is one primary ethnic characteristic that may be so strong that it causes a definite boundary within a group of persons that are otherwise identical. In this case, religion is a sufficient reason to list a group as a separate ethnic group. "

Certainly, in terms of community dynamics, I fail to see the disadvantages of being recognised as a distinct community for socio-political gain in the UK. It can only be an advantage.

We need to realise that mahapursh's like Sant Baba Puran Singh Kerichowalay advised the UK Sikh sangat on officially recognising our unique identity 30 years ago in the form of an ethnic group. This concept is not something new.

[singh211]

Gurbar Akaal,

Sikhs are recognised as an ethnic as well as a religious group in English law and have been since the case of Mandla -v-Dowell Lee http://www.hrcr.org/safrica/equality/Mandla_DowellLee.htm

[SinghWarrior]

The issue is that legally, we have used Sikhs being an ethnic minority (like the Jews) to assert our legal rights, for example, in relation to the Dastaar, Kirpaan, Kara, etc, and the highest English court accepted this argument back in 1983 in Mandla vs. Dowell Lee. There has been much commentary on this case, that this was a fudge by the Law Lords to accommodate the Dastaar under the Race Relations Act (i.e., on ethnicity grounds), since English law doesn't fully protect (in my opinion) religious rights.

Ideally, all religions should be treated with equal rights, but this is something that English law currently fails to do. Given that Sikhs are a recognised ethnic minority under law, we should use this to our advantage to fully claim the funding that other religions are claiming due to other political reasons (e.g., Muslims receiving funding to "de-radicalise" them).

[Pyara]

Gurbar Akaal,

Sikhs are recognised as an ethnic as well as a religious group in English law and have been since the case of Mandla -v-Dowell Lee http://www.hrcr.org/...a_DowellLee.htm

Even if we go back over 100 years we know the British created the categorisation of Martial Race which classified the empire into one of two categories: 'Martial' and 'Non-Martial'. Sikhs fell into this category, where a 'martial race' was typically considered brave and skilled for fighting.The 'non-martial races' were those whom the British believed to be unfit for battle because of their sedentary lifestyles. "Race" in 19th-century terminology corresponded to the contemporary term "ethnic group", and was therefore not used in the sense of the modern notions of race.

[Gurbar Akaal]

The British would encourage the Sikhs to believe they were a different ethnicity/race when they were intending to get them as allies. Politicians turn up at the Gurdwaras close to election time to get votes but when they require help no one wants to know.

A similar plea was made by the Singh Sabhias in 1930 for census status (SGPC Ilana Nama 22), and look how many rights that got them in India.

[Khalasthan86]

Please all have a look at:

http://sikhcensus.org/sikhs-and-ethnicity.php

A quick clear-up...

[singh211]

The law has recognised religious discrimination since 2003 under the anti-religious regulations which have now been consolidated under the new Equality Act. The ethnic monitoring issue is about the additional benefits and recognitions provided to ethnic groups as oppose to merely religious groups.