We are in the process of liaising with MPs, local councillors and gurdwaras to provide any assistance necessary to those who need help in completing the survey: Amrik Singh
Sikhs in the UK who are already recognised as a separate religion in the optional religious question introduced in the Census 2001, are planning to secure an ethnic tick box in the 2021 Census, reported the Times of India (TOI).
“The Sikh organisations and gurdwaras came together at the time of the Census 2011 to demonstrate the strength of feeling in the Sikh community by urging the Sikhs to reject existing categories such as Indian, and use the write-in option by ticking ‘other’ and writing Sikh,” Gurjeet Singh, National Press Secretary of Sikh Federation (UK), told TOI.
Singh added that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had confirmed nearly 84,000 Sikhs in the Census 2011, which is higher than any other group using the write-in option. Reportedly, the Sikh Federation, Sikh Network and the All Party Parliamentary Group for UK Sikhs have been working closely with the ONS for the last two years and leading the campaign.
“ONS has carried out several consultations in last two years. In 2017, they are carrying out a number of tests and research before reaching a final decision later this year and presenting proposals to Parliament in the Census White Paper in 2018, before approval in 2019,” said Gurjeet.
The Chairperson of Sikh Federation (UK), Amrik Singh while speaking to ToI said that they have started the awareness campaign to ensure that the Sikh households, each in Hounslow and Wolverhampton take part in the survey. “We are in the process of liaising with MPs, local councillors and gurdwaras to provide any assistance necessary to those who require help in completing the online survey as we would during the Census,” Amrik Singh said.
He added that they had been in contact with both MPs for Hounslow — Ruth Cadbury and Seema Malhotra — and three MPs for Wolverhampton — Rob Marris, Pat McFadden, and Emma Reynolds — who were supportive of the demand for a Sikh ethnicity option.
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