On 16 Dec, the UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) released 2021 census data on Sikhs in England and Wales. As many as 526,210 people opted for Sikh as their chosen ethnicity. Of this figure, 18.6% (94,718) identified themselves as Sikh through ethnic and religious questions, 0.3% (1,725) exclusively through the ethnic question, and 81.1% (426,230) through the voluntary religion question. Of the people who identified as Sikh by ethnic group only, 55.4% did not report their religion, 13.6% reported their religion as Muslim, 12.5% reported no religion, and 8.7% reported their religion as Christian. The ONS concluded there is a 22% increase in the number of Sikhs from the 2011 Census. The accuracy of the data is questionable. How can a person define themselves ethnically as Sikh but not report their religion or report it as Muslim or Christian or no religion? The issue is with how the questionnaire is structured for the ethnic group question: Indian, Pakistani, with an additional write-in box. Lack of a distinct box likely resulted in around a 400K undercount of Sikhs. The suggestion for the 2031 Census is an inclusive, non-territorial approach based on self-identification, birth, political, and religious reasons. In other news, on 23 Jan, an annual survey of British Sikhs revealed that only 21% are very proud to have Rishi Sunak as PM, despite his Panjabi heritage. The survey highlighted a larger understanding that the Hindu community would benefit from Sunak's premiership, while Sikhs would not. The 10th British Sikh Report provides statistical information about the needs of British Sikhs, including their voting intentions and financial struggles.
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