Introduction / History Many South Asians have come to the United Kingdom due to their colonial past and although they speak in their own languages such as Hindi and Urdu, they are generally able to speak English.
Officials, soldiers and merchants will have taken the first Indians to the U.K. during the days of the British Empire. Sons of upper class families went to study here.
At the end of the 1800s, Indian seamen began to be hired on British ships and began living in the ports. This paved the way for more Indians to come to the U.K. Indian soldiers fought for the British in the two world wars. It was after the Second World War that many South Asians began to come to Britain, increasing more and more as time went on.
In the early 1970s many South Asian professional people came to the U.K. Many came from Uganda. There are tougher immigration rules now and it can be difficult for family members to be with their relatives in the U.K.
At first they came mainly to the big cities but then came to the larger towns also. Many South Asians live in London, Leicester and Bradford. A lot of them have now been born in the U.K. and have never been to their countries of origin. They generally tend to keep to their own communities and keep their own religions and cultures. (So there is a need for them to be given the gospel message by South Asian Christians).
There are South Asians in the U.K. from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but mainly from India and Pakistan. The Pakistanis and particularly the Indians love the sport of cricket and when the national cricket teams of these countries tour to play England at cricket in England, very large numbers can be found at the cricket grounds. They also have their own national radio station called BBC Asian Network. Many South Asians have small businesses here such as shops and market stalls and Indian restaurants. Also now many work at telephone call centers answering phone calls and queries.
The Indians tend to mainly be Hindu in religion and those from Pakistan and Bangladesh are usually Muslims and there are mosques too. Sri Lankans have a mixture of religions, mainly Buddhism. There are also many South Asian doctors in hospitals and also with their own medical practices.
Prayer Points Pray that South Asian Christians will give the gospel message to their own people.
Pray that the South Asians will have dreams and visions leading them to Jesus Christ.
JP Unreached of Day
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