UK census may tick the box giving Sikhs distinct ethnicity

SIKHISM is being considered as a separate ethnicity in the UK census in 2021, following a long-standing demand by some British Sikh groups.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) opened a public consultation over whether to add a separate box for Sikhs under ethnicity, instead of just as a religion, and is set to present its findings to the government.

The ONS raised concerns over the issue of “public acceptability” and whether the move would have the support of Britain’s 430,000-strong Sikh community.

In the last census in 2011, an esti­mated 83,000 Sikhs reportedly did not tick any of the choices for ethnicity, rejecting options such as Indian and instead writing “Sikh” in the space for “any other ethnic group”.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs, chaired by Preet Kaur Gill – Britain’s first female Sikh MP – offered to write to gurd­waras about five months ago. “Over­whelmingly they have said yes. Not a single gurdwara opposed it,” said Gill.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 placed an obligatory and specific duty on the country’s public authorities to monitor and positively promote race equality in the provi­sion of public services. According to some British Sikh groups, public bodies tend to only reference the eth­nic groups used in the census. They demanded a separate Sikh ethnic op­tion to ensure Sikhs have fair access to all public services.

“If the Census 2021 ethnicity ques­tion does not include a Sikh tick box question, the impact will... result in Sikhs being invisible to those who develop policies and deliver public services,” Sikh Federation UK and Sikh Network said as part of their representations to the ONS.

Last year, more than 100 British MPs, among them Indian-origin MPs, signed a letter to the UK Statistics Authority, which oversees the work of ONS, to include Sikhs as a separate ethnic box in the 2021 census.

However, those who object to the campaign said being a Sikh was a choice, not something you belonged to at birth.

“Our gurus taught that all humans are of the same one race and that man-made divisions based on caste or race are divisive and false,” said Lord Indarjit Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations (UK).