Over 100 British MPs endorse demand for separate Sikh ethnicity recognition for upcoming Census

JALANDHAR: Over 100 MPs of UK have signed an open letter to UK National Statistician, demanding a separate Sikh ethnic tick box in the 2021 Census. The Census 2011 saw around 84,000 Sikhs in UK objecting to the existing ethnic group categories by using the write-in option and specifying 'Sikh' for the ethnicity question.
UK-based Sikh Federation on Tuesday said that the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs and a representative from the Sikh Federation (UK) were set to meet Iain Bell, the Deputy National Statistician responsible for the Census 2021, to consider their emerging thinking for the census.Sikh Federation press secretary Gurjeet Singh said that by Monday night, 113 MPs had signed the letter.
"15 years ago the opposition Conservatives working with the leadership of the Sikh Federation (UK) tabled Early Day Motion 1464 on the same subject that had the signature of an amazing 174 MPs and these included the current Prime Minister Theresa May and David Cameron the former PM," he said.
"Sikhs are a legally recognised ethnic group and Sikhs have been protected under UK law following a House of Lords ruling in 1983. A number of issues faced by Sikhs ranging from the reporting of hate crimes through to accessing healthcare provision in the UK are not receiving appropriate attention by public bodies as they often only monitor ethnic group categories specified in the Census. The minority Sikh community has therefore been campaigning in the last two census for inclusion of a separate Sikh ethnic tick box for the compulsory ethnicity question," the open letter reads.
Mentioning that the demand in the Sikh community in UK was both high and continuing to grow while citing the Census 2011 in which around 84,000 Sikhs objected to the existing ethnic group categories by using the write in option and specifying 'Sikh' for the ethnicity question, the letter pointed out that this was nearly an eight-fold increase compared to the Census 2001 and several times higher than any other group.
"The Census 2021 is likely to be the last Census and therefore the only opportunity to ensure Sikhs have a separate ethnic tick box which is what public bodies use at the national and local level for public service planning and decision making. We are convinced a separate Sikh ethnic tick box with appropriate publicity in 2021 on its use will also provide a better estimate of the number of Sikhs in England and Wales (and Scotland) at a local and national level when looked alongside the optional religious question," the letter further adds.
The letter also expresses hope that Sikh community is not forced to take legal action or we are not compelled to make this change when Parliament is asked to approve the Census 2021 questionnaire.