Hi everyone,
I'm a 2nd generation British Pakistani of partly "Mirpuri"/AJK descent.
Recently, I have come across an abundance of anti-Mirpuri twaddle, especially here on Reddit, and I would be lying if I said it didn't make me feel very bad about myself sometimes. It is getting so dreadful that I actually get anxiety when coming across any Mirpuri related content on the Internet. I have to mentally prepare myself to deal with all kinds of bigotry because it's been so normalised by non-Mirpuri Pakistanis. I have British Bangladeshi and British Afghan friends who have told me that the hate towards Mirpuris from Pakistanis makes them uncomfortable. That's how lowly some Pakistanis behave towards Mirpuris/AJKs, non Pakistanis are noticing their hateful behaviour.
Common stereotypes include that we're backwards, uneducated, criminals, we marry our cousins. Some Pakistanis even erroneously say the British Pakistani "grooming gangs" are all Mirpuris. The saddest part is our "fellow" Pakistanis are throwing us under the bus and tarnishing our reputation in the mainstream.
We unfairly get the blame and are scapegoated whenever anything bad happens in the British Pakistani community even though a huge number of British Pakistanis are not of Mirpuri origin and live in similar socioeconomic environments to Mirpuris.
https://bit.ly/3FsPFnX
Some common misconceptions I want to clear:
1)The grooming gangs...
Most "grooming gangs" (not a legal term) in the UK are not comprised of men of Pakistani descent, and even amongst Pakistanis it is not only Mirpuris - the ancestry of the groomers has never been probed to the point we can determine their specific ancestral heritage.
The grooming gangs issue is a misconception that was spread by the far-right and it has been debunked numerous times by impartial sources. Please read this article by a respected academic who specialises in this field:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/dec/analysis-new-home-office-report-admits-grooming-gangs-are-not-muslim-problem
However, what we do know is that the ringleader of the Rochdale grooming gangs was a Pakistani Punjabi from Gujrat, NOT a Mirpuri as confirmed by this article. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/rochdale-grooming-gang-deportation-rights-10903124
- Cousin marriages...
The majority of Pakistanis engage in cousin marriages. Pakistan has more cousin marriages than any other country in the world. My parents aren't cousins. My gra
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She moved to Dubai recently and went on an anti-pakistani tirade claiming to superior since she lives Arab country.
Here's the news article: Kardashian doppelganger is embroiled in racism row after using racial slurs on Snapchat | Daily Mail Online
This is the audio tape of her rant and it's pretty explicit and demeaning: FYZA ALI (SONIAXFYZA) SENDS RACIST ABUSIVE MESSAGE TO A GIRL ON SNAPCHAT - YouTube
Such people have the power to vote in our country now.
As far I Understand, this Mubashir Sadique dude is just a regular guy who posts cooking videos on youtube.Currently, he is visiting UK and Pakistanis in UK are going crazy over this guy.Driving multiple hours just to see him.He then acts very rudely and the same people who are crazy for him,then make videos against him. I fail to understand, why do people think he is so special?!
I'm writing this because I'm tired of searching for this definition and finding nothing relative.
For anyone out there.
I am British. Born and proud.
My heritage and ethinicty is Pakistani for which I'm also proud of. I speak Urdu, Punjabi and English and enjoy all cultures..
I was born Muslim and despite popular belief, I am an atheist and have not been murdered. I am an atheist because I don't belive on religion, NOT because I hate it. So please don't bring hate to this. I just want like minded people to share personal experiences and find a place to not be alone.
Anyone else in this category, I'd love to hear from you.
I see plenty of articles and stories of the reverse, where British cuisine was influenced heavily by India, but culture flows both ways. The only explicit things I'm aware of is Vindaloo which is a dish that is Portuguese in origin, and the popularization of tea when the British introduced tea cuttings that were used to grow a domestic industry and led to it becoming popular.
Besides obvious things like New World ingredients, were there British dishes or methods of cooking that were adopted at large?
What would this alternative reality look like? Would We Progress in Society? Would we be a Powerful and Succesful Nation? How Would Our Culture Look Like? Our Cities? Our Fashion? I don't think I am smart enough to answer this question because i dont know alot about history That much. I Wanna Hear Your Thoughts About this Very Intresting Question i had in my mind!
Preferably set in the UK.
Already know of Four Lions, My Beautiful Laundrette, Anita & Me and Bend it Like Beckham.
I'm posting this, mainly because I have barely seen this topic written about. I think this is for a few reasons. First, a lot of open racial discourse that happens (and it definitely should happen) comes from the states and from what I understand the history of South Asian immigration to North America is significant but of a different flavour to that in the UK. Second, I honestly feel that contempt towards British Pakistanis is not overtly viewed as racist but in fact justifiable/accepted in many aspects of British culture (this has been confirmed by a number of English friends of mine), and the signature of that is both its covert nature and the denial of racism that is rampant in British society.
This is a bit of an essay, thank you very much to anyone who does read to the end though it is a fair chunk of test so not expecting it.
A few disclaimers, as life has so thoroughly taught me to outline prior to saying anything:
- I think all racial issues should be discussed and given their validity. That said, the experience of every POC is generally unique to their circumstance, the history both personally, socially and culturally of what they were exposed to. So whilst there are broad psychological themes that can be discussed together when it comes to racism, every POC still has a very unique experience and I wanted to open a discussion thread based on what I have experienced. It may or may be relevant/resonate with others.
- I am well aware that every person in British society is not the perpetrator of racism. In fact, I think the opposite is likely true and it can depend on where you are regionally. However, I do think that growing up a person will get a 'feel' for how the section of society they are in sees them, and ultimately whilst it may be mixed, if it is skewed in one direction that will be integrated into the developing person's self concept.
- I will probably think of more disclaimers in time
So where to begin? I am beginning to understand how the extent of the cumulative experience of racism, structural denial of it, and the experience of consistently having to show more understanding towards the perpetrators of it because of their 'innocent flawed humanity' than you could be expect to be extended towards yourself, has had a significant impact on my self concept and how relate/have learned to act in interpersonal relationships.
I'm not sure how many others can relate to this as I know a number of WOC in England who grew up in diff
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Somebody posted recently that 55% of British Pakistanis are cousin married.
The study cited was actually this 1988 study (33 years ago), where only 100 people (!) were asked and they were all from two hospitals in West Yorkshire. A survey of 100 people is hardly a good sample size: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3351906/
A more recent study (2007-2011) found 37% of 5127 Pakistani-origin babies in Bradford were from 1st cousin marriages: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61132-0/fulltext
Obviously 37% is still a lot (even if it's only Bradford), but the main thing is not just believing what you read in a mainstream newspaper.
Some might think this isn't super relevant to the subreddit, but I'm just posting it because it was already brought up.
For the record I have no hate for people who married their cousin (I myself have cousin-married relatives), but it does seem to increase the risk of certain disabilities.
