UK MPs campaign for separate Sikh ethnicity

London, December 18

A group of British MPs have launched a year-long campaign to lobby for Sikhism to be added as a separate ethnicity tick box in the next UK Census in 2021 after the country’s statistical authority concluded it was not required.

The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Sikhs accused the Office of National Statistics (ONS) of ignoring “overwhelming” Sikh community support for such an additional category in order to ensure fair treatment of British Sikhs and address racial discrimination.

“The ONS with its latest proposals in the White Paper has now opened itself up to legal action and a claim of institutionalising discrimination against Sikhs,” said Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill, Chair of the APPG for British Sikhs.

“The MPs with the support of gurdwaras, Sikh organisations and the community are starting a year-long nationwide campaign to put this right and a Sikh ethnic tick box to be added when the Census Order 2019 is presented in the House of Commons,” she said.

In a recently released White Paper, titled “Help Shape Our Future: The 2021 Census of Population and Housing in England and Wales”, the ONS said the estimates of the Sikh population could be met through data from the specific response option in the Sikh religion question. — PTI