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| Racist View of Sikhs in UK |
Racism in the United Kingdom has a long history and includes structural discrimination and hostile attitudes against various ethnic minorities. The extent and the targets have varied over time. It has resulted in cases of discrimination, racial slurs, racially motivated attacks, riots, and segregation.
Racism towards Sikhs
Among the populations targeted historically and today have been the Sikhs, who as a visible minority with their turbans have experienced racism for over 100 years in UK. Sikhs often face Islamophobic attacks due to misidentification, underscoring ignorance of cultural and religious differences. These cultural and religious illiteracy, coupled with the visible Sikh identity, has led to bias, bigotry, discrimination, and violence against Sikhs for generations. Both Sikh men and women are at an increased risk of suffering from racism.
The APPG for British Sikhs in its 2020 report defines anti-Sikh hate as "Any incident or crime which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be religiously or racially motivated by hostility, hatred or prejudice against Sikhs or those perceived to be Sikh people, Gurdwaras, organisations or property"
Racism against Sikhs, or "Sikhophobia," involves prejudice and violence driven by religious hatred or mistaken identity, particularly affecting those with visible articles of faith like turbans and beards. In the US and UK, Sikhs are often targeted due to misidentification with radical Muslims. Hate crimes against Sikhs have surged, with reported incidents in the US rising from 6 in 2015 to 228 in 2025, marking a severe upward trend.
How did it Start?
Sikhs started immigrating to the UK in notable numbers in the 1950s onwards via direct migration from India as British company seeking labor from colonial Britian to backfill the vaccum left by British working class migrating to Austraia. Later by twice-migration (such as by via East Africa after Edi Amin exiled Indians from Uganda), with them experiencing racism from the onset of arrival.
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| Sikh Immigrants Arrival in 1960s |
Racism against South Asians, including Sikhs, peaked during the 1970s and early '80's in the United Kingdom, with all South Asians being referred to as "Pakis" by racists.
The anti-immigration movement in the UK later specialized into being hostile towards Sikhs with Conservative party leader Enoch Powell invoking fear among the Britsh people with comments like "rivers of blood" on Punjabi migration. Enoch Powell’s "Rivers of Blood" speech, delivered on April 20, 1968, in Birmingham, UK, was a controversial address attacking mass immigration and proposed race relations legislation. Powell warned of future "race war" and social destruction, quoting Virgil to say he saw "the River Tiber foaming with much blood". Even BBC decided to air Powell's river of blood speech on air.
The speech was widely condemned by political leaders as "racialist" and inflammatory. Conservative leader Edward Heath sacked Powell from the Shadow Cabinet the following day. But the damage was already done to the psyche of British people.
Paki-bashing (1960s–1990s)
"Paki" is a derogatory slur in the UK, originating from the 1960s-70s, used historically by racists to target anyone with brown skin from South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka). It stems from anti-immigration, racist hatred and is used to demean people of South Asians, regardless of their actual nationality
The racist midset "Paki-bashing" was unleashed after Enoch Powell's inflammatory Rivers of Blood speech. Starting in the late 1960s and peaking in the 1970s and 1980s, violent gangs opposed to immigration took part in frequent attacks known as "Paki-bashing", which targeted and assaulted South Asians. Powell refused to accept responsibility for any violence, or to disassociate himself from the views when questioned by David Frost in 1969.
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| Hate Crime against Asians |
These attacks peaked during the 1970s–1980s, with the attacks mainly linked to far-right fascist, racist and anti-immigrant movements, including the white power skinheads, the National Front, and the British National Party (BNP).
Racist Attacks in Southall
On Saturday in June 1976, teenager Suresh Grover was in Southall chatting with a friend outside the Dominion Cinema when he noticed a police officer standing next to a pool of blood. The blood had flowed from the body of Gurdip Singh Chaggar. The 18-year-old student was killed the night before in a racist attack in the west London district, home to a large Indian population, particularly from Punjab.
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| Teenager Gurdip Singh Chaggar killed in Racist Attack |
“I asked him, ‘Did somebody die there?'” Grover told. “And he turned to me and said ‘It’s just Indian blood’. He was very rude and left the scene soon after. I was shocked – this was an officer saying it was just Indian blood and not of equal worth.”
The Response
Grover, now 62, said: “The next day we went to the police station, surrounded it, made speeches and Southall came to a standstill. By the end of the afternoon around 5,000 people – men, women, Asians, Afro-Caribbeans – had gathered in a show of unity, solidarity and defiance. It was the first time this sort of protest had happened and it had a profound impact on Southall. That day, the Southall Youth Movement was born.”
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| Southall Youth Movement |
The Southall Youth Movement was a group of mostly young Indian men from the area who decided to campaign for equal rights and an end to racial hate crimes and police brutality.
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| National Front March in Southall |
In response, the far-right National Front announced a meeting in Southall on April 23, 1979. Police ignored pleas to cancel the gathering, which the community considered provocative, and a large anti-fascist march was planned for the day.They were joined by several British citizens who opposed racism.
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| Anti-racism Protest in Southall |
Hundreds of anti-racism protesters were arrested, others were hospitalized with serious injuries.
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| Blair Peach killed by British Police |
New Zealand-born teacher Blair Peach lost his life after sustaining head wounds. No one has ever been charged with his murder. The Sikhs from Southall participated in Blair's funeral with full honor.
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| Funeral of Blair Peach |
Three years after Peach’s death, in 1981, there were race riots in around 30 cities across the UK and Southall was once again in the news. British Police allowed the 'Skinheads" from National Front to march through the Southall Broadway despite protests by the locals. Skinheads began the march shouting racist slogans and stoning Indian shops. Southall youths were playing field hockey nearby and responded to confront the marchers. Skinheads were beaten and pushed out of the Broadway despite attempt by police. to protect them.
“A skinhead band wanted to play at a local pub called the Hambrough Tavern,” Grover said. “Again, we wrote to the police saying we need to deal with this before it gets violent but there was no response and the group still came. We mobilised, there were some scuffles and the pub ended up being burned down.”
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| Burnt down Hambrough Tavern in Southall |
The racist thugs of National Front never dared to enter Southall after that.
Racism of 90s
In the wake of the war on terror the British Sikh diaspora has made a conscious effort to distinguish and set themselves apart from the Muslim community. Although historically this distinction is not novel, within the UK such an effort to illustrate this difference has been enforced to a much greater extent and has become more prominent within a context in which Sikhs have often been mistaken for being Muslim.
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| Sikh - Mistaken Identity |
The racists cannot or do not bother to differentiate between Muslims and Sikhs in their hate, confusing religion with race. After 9/11, images of Ayatollah Khomeini, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban, all of whom don a turban and have long-beards just like Sikhs, began to be circulated. By the early 2000s, this reinforced the view that turbans and beards were associated with terrorism and being an enemy, with Sikh men in-particular being targeted as a result result due to the Sikh turban being the prime target of racism.
- The Sikh mayor of Luton who wore a turban, Lakhbir Singh, was kicked to the ground in a racist attack.
- In 1996, a Sikh pupil Vijay Singh from Manchester committed suicide due to bullying at his predominantly-white school over his turban, with teachers and administration being oblivious.
- After the 2005 London bombings, two gurdwaras in Kent and Leeds were firebombed. Sikh gurdwaras have been vandalized with Islamophobic and white-supremacist graffiti.
- A Sikh man in Northampton in 2005 had his turban removed in a racist attack on 16 August 2005.
- After the Charlie Hedbo incident, a British-Sikh dentist Sarandev Bhambra was attacked by a machete-wielding assailant in Wales, who wanted enact revenge for the killing of Lee Rigby.
- On 14 May 2016, a football match of Manchester United against Bournemouth was cancelled due to a bomb-scare, with an image of a Sikh attendant of the match being uploaded to Twitter by an Arsenal fan accusing the Sikh man of being the bomber.
- In 2020, taxi driver Vaneet Singh was attacked by four white-men and forced to remove his turban in Reading, with the attackers accusing him of being a Taliban member.
The "Model Immigrant"
Sikhs have in recent decades become a "model-minority" in the UK, being viewed as integrating into the pluralistic British identity and having been diligent workers since they began arriving in the country, contributing to Britain through their labor and charity.Also, Sikhs are viewed as successfully using legal means to achieve recognition and integrating without assimilation.
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| Portrait of Lord Indarjit Singh in British Parliament |
There are reports commissioned by the British government expounding on the Sikh community's success, such as the British Sikh Reports or the Contribution of Sikhs to the UK. Furthermore, Sikhs are represented in British popular culture, praised for their contributions to the British military causes during both World Wars.
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| King Charles with Sikh Veterans of WWII |
In an attempt to distance themselves from being represented as or amongst Muslims, Sikhs have adopted a higher public profile with the policy of inclusion. They feel that Sikhs do hold a different and better status in the UK, even among the far-right community. They see Sikh war memorials across England and that the general ability of Sikh communities to adapt, succeed, and give back in the West has been celebrated in the UK.
There is a new found 'Love' between the Sikhs and British Right Wing. Even the current king of the far-right Tommy Robinson, once led chants of “Sikh” among his followers. Tommy Robinson has sought to align his "Unite the Kingdom" movement with British Sikh and Hindu communities, praising them as integrated and supportive of his opposition to Islamic immigration in the UK. He has particularly lauded Sikh efforts to combat grooming gangs, citing their community-led initiatives and urging Hindus to emulate this "solidarity" against perceived threats. Robinson interviewed three Sikh figures in the UK between seven to nine years ago as a Rebel Media reporter covering the UK’s grooming gang epidemic.
During the August 2011 England riots, British Sikhs played a significant role in protecting communities by patrolling neighborhoods, defending Gurudwaras (temples), and assisting local police against looters. Sikhs, particularly in areas like Southall, West London, stood outside their temples to prevent violence from spreading, in some cases teaming up with their neighbors to protect local businesses.
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| Sikhs protect Southall against rioters in 2001 |
Sikh organizations and individuals have continued to engage in community service, such as providing humanitarian relief during disasters (e.g., floods) and supporting police during times of public need. Several prominent Sikh charities operate in the UK, focusing on humanitarian aid, community welfare, and supporting vulnerable individuals. Key organizations include Khalsa Aid (global disaster relief), Sikh Awareness Society (abuse support), Sikh Women's Aid (specialist abuse support), Sikh Helpline (confidential advice), and City Sikhs (community development).
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| Ravi Singh of Khalsa Aid |
So, All Good Then?
The problem has still not 'gone away'. The racist mindset sees Sikhs as 'Soft Targets' in their challenge of increasing Muslim domination in the politics and on the streets of UK. The British Immigration policy has to take blame for this. For years they have themselves targeted Sikhs as soft targets by attacking "arranged marriages" and putting road blocks for legal immigration by Sikhs. At the same times, they have turned blind eyes to the unstoppable illegal immigration, political asylum seekers, and even tried to deny and block investigations against grooming of young Sikh and British girls by Pakistani grooming gangs.
Early this year, British Police refused to rescue an underage Sikh girl being held captive by a Pakistani/Afghani man in Hounslow. Sikh volunteers rescued the girl amidst the British Police trying to protect the captor.
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