Such a term has gradually eroded and faded from the minds of the people that used it commonly. It seems that nowadays a new type of culture has emerged and that British Asians a have now integrated into British Society and are now more or less ‘at home’ and come to terms with who they are and what they believe. But to what extent is this true? Are Asians still the reserved people they once were or are they breaking free from the confines that they themselves had created and developed keeping morale’s preserved just as they have been on the other side of the world?
But how far can one go in actually accepting the fact that the majority of Asians have adopted and amalgamated into the western society to a certain degree, be it little or large and have adopted western ways and traditions, not necessarily prompted by the ‘white man’ but by that of the emerging multicultural western world?
The Asian community in Britain has had a reputation for being well reserved, and ‘out of the way’ people keeping strong ties with their home lands and religious foundations which they have been maintained for a long period of time and guarded from one generation to the next. However it now seems that the term ‘British Asian’ is becoming a more and more accepted term to use as third and fourth generation Asians begin to take over from their earlier and reserved British ancestry. There is no doubt that integration is now well underway and the shadows cast by such integration all the more bolder and clearer. This can be viewed in the sudden emergence of Asian cultural artefacts and events in entertainment.
Asian cinema, music, youth culture and designer labels and food have managed to sneak their way into the British market, restaurants, television and the catwalk. We find it almost impossible to escape the fact that we are being exposed more to the Asian market today than we have ever been. Magazines and newspapers have been launched satisfying the growing thirst for this newly emerging Asian culture, examples include the Asian Eye, Asian Woman, Asian Bride and The Asian, amongst a whole multitude of others. It seems almost impossible to escape. It is apparent that a wealth of Asian artefacts have infiltrated successfully into mainstream society and its entertainment field. This may be the best place to break into, as it is exposure at its best. It represents Asians and highlights how Britain is a multicultural society.
The Home Office released a report on Ethnic Minorities in London in 1997 and had estimated that if Asian culture and population was to continue to increase at the rate that it was going at now, then by the year 2010 there would be a majority Asian and Black population and the so called native ‘whites’ would form only a minority. Judging by the rate of increase, one could argue that this statement that was produced may hold a real firm basis and foothold when considering the facts. But who is responsible for such a change?
Well it seems that the British Government has had a firm hand in the promotion and the change that has been allowed to come about in the British Asian community and it seems that the British Asian community owes a lot to the Government that has funded many projects and schemes that allow the community in concern to broaden and get more comfortable in their surroundings. The Labour Party in Particular has been recognised to fund various events throughout the UK and have ‘shown the ropes’ and have hence helped the British Asian community to more easily climb up towards ethnic diversity in Britain.
However not all credit is due to the government. It seems the Asian youth and it’s dynamics and it’s radicalised and positive outlook has also played an important part in determining the extent to which it has grown today. Asian youth culture is entering new dimensions and projecting the view that now it is ‘hip’ to be Asian and British. With many Asian pop groups and culture icons taking off in the mainstream arena many other Asians have began to follow suit. The term ‘Banghra Muffin’ was beginning to overlook ‘coconut’ and referred to the youths that followed the Bhangra dance scene closely and with interest. Artist such as Bally, Sagoo, took the initiative to merge both traditional Indian music with today’s British RnB, Garage and pop music numbers and is best known for his work for remixing and mixing indian music with western musical influence. Joe Bloggs’ Shammi Ahmad; The Guy That’s Made A Million From Worn Out Jeans’ (Guardian Newspapers) is a name that has penetrated the minds of the young hopeful British Asian entrepreneurs that want to do what he has done and attain the success that he was able to achieve in business
British Asian Models, Films stars and Soaps have also taken off and have become a more significant part of British television. The BBC’s ‘Network East’ program devoted to the increase of Asian youth culture has transformed itself from an 80’s early morning family programme to that which focuses on and caters for the newly emerging British Asian youth culture that broadcasts in late evenings.
Nowadays stereotypes have also been accepted by the majority of the Asian community in Britain that reflects their typical behaviour which a majority of them (and a number of them still do) when they first came to the UK. The BBC launched the ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ television comedy series that explored the stereotypes surrounding the Asian community in Britain and in many cases how certain Asians would go out of their way to become like their ‘White British’ counterparts. The extracts from the series may have been somewhat magnified and offensive to many, but served as a great means of entertainment to Asians and others alike.
As well as the emerging youth culture that seems to be heavily involved in the British Asian scene there is a an emerging side of British Asian culture that is beginning to find it’s way to many youths. This is that of religious order within the British Asian community. Many have sacrificed their ‘Bhangra Muffin’ and ‘hip’ British Asian culture and society and have diverged into a stream of religious beliefs, fundamentally those that are connected with the Islamic faith. This new and emerging group of ‘British Muslims’ that have strong ties with the Indian sub-continent would rather be referred to as British Muslim than to be referred to as British Asian. However this sort of behaviour is not only apparent in Islam, British Hindu’s and Sikhs have also managed to promote and go further into their faiths, but some would argue that Muslims have taken the ‘extra mine’ and have established themselves more than the other Sub-Indian continent faiths have (a matter which is open to all sorts of argument). Many Islamic groups have hit the streets as well as the homes and mosques. They have created a trend that tells other young British Asian Muslims that it is ‘the thing to do’ and that it provides more for the individual than what is being portrayed in the evening on BBC 2’s Asian Programs. It has now become custom for many Muslim Youths to go to the mosques with friends and attend a multitude of religious seminars and lectures that give them an insight and educate them further into their faith.
It seems that the British Asian community has increased and that to a great extent in many areas. To see the impact on individuals and how they have generally changed would just be skimming the surface. With the emergence and continual growth of Asian community and it’s fertile culture it seems that nothing is impossible and many seeds are set to grow and germinate into other areas of interest that will be concerned with the Asian community in Britain. A trend has started and the continuation of such trends seems inevitable, to analyse the situation and see the extent of what it has done, one can only argue that the sky’s the limit.
