The rise of the Bengali nation in the mainstream of the United Kingdom

by Shahadate Hossain

The United Kingdom is renowned for its multiculturalism. The story of colonisation in the British Isles was started by Celtic and Pict tribes. Then the Romans came in 55BC – succeeding in conquering most of the land by 250AD. After the Romans left, Germanic tribes – the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes – colonised the modern day area known as southern England. After this, the Vikings arrived and brought a distinctive influence to Britain’s culture. The most dramatic immigration was caused by the Norman conquest in 1066. The first Norman king, William the Conqueror, invited Jews to settle in England in order to develop its commerce, finance and trade (source, BBC).

​During the two World Wars, across the British Empire hundreds of thousands of men fought for Britain. In the First World War, 138,000 men served on the western front who were brought from Indian sub continent. During the Second World War, almost 60,000 British merchant seamen came from Indian subcontinent as well. Some of them settled in Britain and formed small communities. Bengali seamen, known as Lascars, used to work in Scottish collieries and some were brought from northern part of Bangladesh (Sylhet) by the East India Company to work as cooks in 1873.

​The history of modern multiculturalism started from late 20 century. In 1945, while Britain had the largest empire in world its people’s lifestyles and expectations profoundly changed and people’s pattern of consumption and their expectations of life became higher. To meet these expectations, Britain needed more workers for its industries, so they had to bring over workers from its former colonies such as India, Pakistan and East Pakistan (Bangladesh).

​Bangladeshis are one of the largest immigrant communities in the UK. According to Wikipedia, the UK census recorded nearly half a million residents of Bangladeshi ethnicity living in the UK.

Bangladeshis are mainly employed in the hotel and restaurant industries, but the new generation of Bangladeshis are concerned more about having professional careers. They are now becoming doctors, IT professionals and management specialists. According to Ofsted reports form secondary schools, the overall achievement rate of Bangladeshi pupils was 48% compared, with 53% for all UK pupils, in 2004. It was reported in 2014 that the total number of graduates of Bangladeshi descent was 60,699. The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) report said that British-born Bengali children have 49% higher chance of going on to university education than white British people.

The ​UK has also been enriched by fellow Bengalis’ contributions. Arif Khan funded Quality Capital Management (QCM) in 1995, which has assets of £150 million according to the Sunday Times rich list. Businessman Atique Choudhury owns a restaurant, Yum Yum, which is Europe’s largest Thai restaurant. Moorad Choudhry is the Managing Director, Head of Business Treasury and Global Banking & Markets at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

We also need to mention some of the famous Bengali politicians: Labour Party MP Rushanara Ali, Labour Party life peer Bbaroness Pola Uddin and Labour Party MP Tulip Siddique.

​The new generation of British Bengalis are working together to boost their activity and trying hard to establish themselves in the heart of Britain. They are establishing their own professional network to co-operate with each other in pursuit of this goal. The United Kingdom is enriched by the contribution of the Bengali community. Bengali people can feel proud of their contribution and heritage.

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