Ehinic origin on application forms etc.

[Guest Jahan]

Yasmin is absolutely right in saying that 'Sikh' is not an ethnicity and that being a Sikh does not necessarily mean that you are a Punjabi. Anyone of any ethnic background can become a Sikh. Take Banda Singh Bahadur for example who was a Sikh, but he was not a Punjabi. His ethnicity was Kashmiri.

Now, the term 'Asian' is a misnomer. 'Asian' is not a race, culture, language or anything but a term used for people of the Asian continent.

What really bugs me about the UK is that the term "Asian" only applies to people of South Asian origin, it excludes other Asian peoples like the Chinese, Turks, Iranians, Japanese, Filipinos, Arabs etc How stupid can 'Great' Britain get? Asia is from Turkey to Japan, therefore, all those above mentioned peoples are 'Asians'. Man....

What i would suggest to all Punjabi Sikhs is to mark yourself under the 'Asian - Other' category and if you are given the option then write "PUNJABI" down as your ethnic identity. Sindhi etc Sikhs should identify themselves as "SINDHI" or whatever their ethnic background is. Reject being labelled as an Indian. Indian is not an ethnic identity, it is a nationality of those born in India and those who have Indian passports.

Like i am born in Britain, so i have the following to identify with:

Ethnicity - Punjabi

Religion - Sikh

Nationality - British

Indian or Asian does not even come into the equation and none of those two terms apply to or mean anything to me.

BTW, Dont label yourself as a "Khalistani" unless you want people to laugh at you and think of Sikhs as some kind of joke. There is no Khalistan and if there was, Khalistani wo

uld be your nationality if you were a passport holder of that country. It would not your ethnicity.

Jiyo,

[randip singh]

HOUSE OF LORDS RULES SIKHS ARE AN ETHNIC GROUP AS WELL AS A RELIGION

I just cannot belive some people here........ @ ..........there is a landmark case for Sikhs called the Mandala case that classes Sikhs as an ethnic group as well as a religious group like jews..................check out the following...........

http://www.huntinginquiry.gov.uk/evidence/ldfc.htm

i. MANDALA & anr. v- DOWELL LEE & anr. (1983) 1All ER 1062 - HOUSE OF LORDS

For a group to constitute an ethnic group, it must regard itself and be regarded by others as a distinct community by virtue of certain characteristics some of which are:-

i. a long shared history of which the group is conscious.

ii. a cultural tradition of it's own including family

iii. and social customs - not necessarily associated with religious observance.

iv. a common geographical origin.

v. a common language not necessarily peculiar to the group.

vi. a minority suffering oppression..

vii. such groups can accept converts and as long as they are accepted by the group they are part of it..

viii. a group is identifiable in terms of its ethnic origins if it is a segment of the population distinguished from others by a sufficient combination of shared customs and beliefs, traditions and characteristics from a common or presumed common past, even if not drawn from what in biological terms is a common racial stock..

So next time you get any form which asks for ethnicity.............make su

re you put down Sikh in the UK...............we have the law on our sides to back this up.............

...........This case was fought by leading Sikh lights in the UK and you must use it to your advantage........... :lol:

[sikhlionz]

there are many major groups in the uk that represent the sikhs that have been campaigning for sikhs to be recognised as an ethnic group for some time such as the british sikh federation, and sikh lobbying groups. The main reason they have been campaigning for this is about Funding- basically in the uk money that is supposed to be making it's way to the punjabi sikh community is being spent on other communities leaving nowt for us. Thus this is being demanded because at least this way we know our funds allocated for punjabi sikhs are reaching the sikh groups, Gurughar, etc. and not being spent on derae and non sikh investment. Basically it is a necessary evil to correct an even bigger one of government funds being mis-spent. :e: