British Mirpuris

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British Mirpuris
Total population
Approximately 60–70 per cent of the British Pakistani population (estimate for England only)
Regions with significant populations
Birmingham, Bradford, Oldham, Luton, Slough and surrounding towns
Languages
Urdu, Pahari-Pothwari, English (British)
Religion
Islam

The British Mirpuri (Urdu: برطانوی میرپوری ) community comprises people in the United Kingdom who originate from the Mirpur District in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir, thus being a part of the Mirpuri diaspora. While no accurate statistics are available, an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of British Pakistanis in England in 2009 had origins in the Mirpur District.[1] The first generation Mirpuris were not highly educated, and they had little or no experience of urban living in Pakistan.[2]

Mirpuris started settling in Britain in the 1940s, transferring their workmanship on British merchant navy ships to the industrial needs of the growing British economy. The migration accelerated after the construction of the Mangla Dam in 1966, which submerged vast areas of farmland in the Mirpur district.[3]

Population

A report produced for the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2009 on the Pakistani Muslim community in England stated "There are no accurate figures available but it is estimated that 60 per cent of the Pakistani population is from the Mirpur District". However, it also noted that the Mirpuri Development Project has estimated that approximately 70% of British Pakistanis are Mirpuris. Large Mirpuri communities can be found in Birmingham, Bradford, Oldham and the surrounding towns.[4] Luton and Slough have the largest Mirpuri communities in Southern England.[5]

Cultural dislocation

The large number of Mirpuris in the United Kingdom has many causes. Mirpur was considered to be a conservative district in 1960s, and life in its rural villages was dominated by rigid hierarchies. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Government of Pakistan planned the Mangla Dam, which was to be built in the Mirpur area. The structure was built to give farmers in Pakistan more water during crucial growing seasons. Before the dam's construction the country's irrigation system was dependent on the unregulated flows of the river Indus and its tributaries.[6]

More than 280 villages were submerged by water when the Mangla Dam was built. The towns of Mirpur and Dadyal were also flooded. Around 110,000 people were displaced.[6] Coincidentally, Britain at that time needed cheap workers, mainly for textile factories as British workers had begun to become expensive due to rising wages. Up to 5,000 people from Mirpur (5% of the displaced)[7] left for Britain, and the displaced Mirpuris were given legal and financial assistance by the British contractor that built the dam.[8]

Many started working in factories, mostly in the so-called "Black Country" near Birmingham, and in Bradford and Leeds. In some villages of Mirpur, more than half of the people moved to the United Kingdom to settle in the industrial towns. The rural, impoverished district provided cheap, unskilled labour for Britain in the 1960s and the 1970s.

Families tend to be close-knit and the guiding influence behind everything from marriage to business.[9]

Remittances

In 1960s, Mirpur was considered to be a rural and conservative area. Due to the Mirpuri diaspora, the region witnessed significant economic progress and has become one of the most prosperous areas of Azad Kashmir.[10]

The current literacy rate of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is 78%, compared with 45% in Pakistan. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, primary school enrolment is 80% for boys and 74% for girls.[11]

Health and social issues

Endogamy and kinship

Cousin marriages or marriages within the same tribe and caste system are common in some parts of South Asia, including rural areas of Pakistan.[12] A major motivation is to preserve patrilineal tribal identity.[13] As a result, there are some common genealogical origins within these tribes.[14] Some British Pakistanis view cousin marriages as a way of preserving this ancient tribal tradition and maintaining a sense of brotherhood.[15]

A small scale study of 100 randomly selected British Pakistani mothers was published in 1988 in the Journal of Medical Genetics, which looked specifically at two hospitals in West Yorkshire, found that the rate of consanguineous marriage was 55 per cent and rising,[16] compared to a worldwide rate of 29 per cent.[17] However, this rate is significantly lower than in Pakistan, where consanguineous marriages are estimated to be at 73 per cent.[18]

Representatives of constituencies where there are high Pakistani populations say that consanguineous marriages amongst British Pakistanis are now decreasing in number, partly because of public health initiatives.[19]

Forced marriage

According to the British Home Office, as of 2000, more than half the cases of forced marriage investigated involve families of Pakistani origin, followed by Bangladeshis and Indians.[20] The Home Office estimates that 85 per cent of the victims of forced marriages are women aged 15–24, 90 per cent are Muslim, and 90 per cent are of Pakistani or Bangladeshi heritage.[21] 60 per cent of forced marriages by Pakistani families were linked to the small towns of Bhimber and Kotli and the city of Mirpur.[22]

Identity

The majority of British Mirpuris belong to the Pothwari ethnolinguistic group with most of them speaking Pothwari as their first language.[23]

In 2009, a consultation was undertaken into the effects of providing an individual tick-box for "Kashmiri" people in the UK census. The majority of those who took part in the consultation chose to self-identify as Pakistani and a decision was taken not to introduce a Kashmiri tick-box for the ethnic group question in the 2011 census.[24]

The following ethnic codes are used in UK school ethnicity profiles:[25]

  • AMPK: Mirpuri Pakistani
  • AKPA: Kashmiri Pakistani
  • AKAO: Kashmiri Other

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mirpuris in Manchester". racearchive.org.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  2. ^ Werbner, Pnina (2005). "Pakistani migration and diaspora religious politics in a global age". In Ember, Melvin; Ember, Carol R.; Skoggard, Ian (eds.). Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures around the World. New York: Springer. pp. 475–484. ISBN 0-306-48321-1.
  3. ^ Ballard, Roger (2002), "The South Asian presence in Britain and its transnational connections" (PDF), in H. Singh; S. Vertovec (eds.), Culture and economy in the Indian diaspora, London: Routledge, pp. 197–222
  4. ^ Department for Communities and Local Government. "The Pakistani Muslim Community in England" (PDF). Department for Communities and Local Government. pp. 5–11 (6), 36–41. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  5. ^ Instead. "The raise project". Yorkshire Forward. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Mangla Dam". ice.org.uk. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Muslims In Britain: Past And Present". Islamfortoday.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  8. ^ Kinship and continuity: Pakistani families in Britain. Routledge. 2000. pp. 26–32. ISBN 978-90-5823-076-8. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  9. ^ "The limits to integration", BBC News, 30 November 2006
  10. ^ Shiv Malik (25 July 2005). "A community in denial". New Statesman. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  11. ^ Abdul Rehman (November 2015). "The province-wise literacy rate in Pakistan and its impact on the economy". Science Direct. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Birth defects warning sparks row". BBC News. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  13. ^ DeVotta, Neil (2003). Understanding Contemporary India. London: Lynne Rienner. pp. 232–237. ISBN 1-55587-958-6.
  14. ^ Monika Böck and Aparna Rao (2000). Culture, Creation, and Procreation: Concepts of Kinship in South Asian Practice. Berghahn Books. pp. 81–157. ISBN 1-57181-912-6. ... Kalesh kinship is indeed orchestrated through a rigorous system of patrilineal descent defined by lineage endogamy
  15. ^ Zafar Khan. "Diasporic Communities and Identity Formation". University of Luton. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  16. ^ The frequency of consanguineous marriage among British Pakistanis, Journal of Medical Genetics 1988;25:186–190
  17. ^ "Pakistan Faces Genetic Disasters – OhmyNews International". English.ohmynews.com. 6 October 2006. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  18. ^ Our Correspondent. "Cousin marriage playing havoc with health in Pakistan". thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  19. ^ Asian News. "Calls for reviews of cousin marriages". Asian News. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  20. ^ Groups try to break bonds of forced marriage, USA Today, 19 April 2006
  21. ^ Woman saved from forced marriage in Pakistan by new UK law, The Daily Telegraph, 11 February 2009
  22. ^ Bloom, Adi (9 April 2010). "Cry freedom". Times Educational Supplement. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  23. ^ Lothers, Michael; Lothers, Laura (2010). Pahari and Pothwari: A Sociolinguistic Survey (Report). SIL Electronic Survey Reports. Vol. 2010–012.
  24. ^ "Kashmiri Research Project" (PDF). Office for National Statistics. October 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  25. ^ DEd website
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