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Written by the Remaking Britain team. First published December 2025.

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Since at least the 17th century, South Asian communities have made a living and built homes in Britain. Over years of settlement, communities have engaged in diverse economic activities, showing remarkable resourcefulness and adaptability. With a focus on the 19th century onwards, this article explores how many formed relationships, established households, and found various ways to earn a living. However, making a home in Britain was not without its challenges.

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Making home, entrepreneurship and work

In the 19th century, Indian sailors (or lascars), who were employed on British merchant ships, ended up settling in British ports. Where possible they continued to work as sailors. In other instances, because of appalling work conditions, lascars jumped ship. Because of these conditions or in the absence of maritime work, some lascars sought out other income, by setting up cafés, lodging and curry houses. They advertised for jobs in newspapers as servants, but these positions were not easy to find, and many were met with prejudice. Those unable to find employment lived on their wits, working as hawkers, street musicians, crossing sweepers and even as beggars. These men were the earliest South Asian working-class settlers in Britain.

In response to the destitution these lascars faced, Christian missionaries set up organisations such as the Glasgow Seamen's Friend Society (1822), which offered temporary accommodation as well as religious instruction. The Strangers' Home for Asiatics, Africans and South Sea Islanders was also set up in 1857.

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Held by British Library. Shelfmark: P.P.7611. Public Domain

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'Distributing soup at the Strangers’ Home, Limehouse', Illustrated London News, 7 March 1868

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'Distributing soup at the Strangers’ Home, Limehouse', Illustrated London News, 7 March 1868

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Women also came from India during this early period. Ayahs (or nannies) would accompany British families on the long journey from India to Britain to take care of their employers' children. They too were sometimes left destitute after families abandoned them, and institutions, like the Ayahs’ Home (1820s), were established to support them.

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Held by British Library. Shelfmark:  PP.1041.c. Public Domain

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Photograph of the exterior of the Ayahs' Home in Hackney, 1921

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Photograph of the exterior of the Ayahs' Home in Hackney, 1921

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PP.1041.c Photograph of the exterior of the Ayahs' Home in Hackney

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People from middle-class backgrounds made their home in Britain during the same period. One enterprising individual who became a great success in his day was Sake Dean Mahomed (1759–1851). A soldier in the East India Company’s Bengal Regiment, he first settled in Ireland in 1784. In 1810, he established the Hindoostanee Coffee House at 34 George Street, London, Britain’s first Indian restaurant run by a South Asian. Though this venture failed within years, Mahomed moved to Brighton in 1814 to set up Mahomed’s Baths. Here he would treat patients with muscular ailments with a massage or champi (the origin of the word shampoo) after a steaming bath of Indian aromatic herbs and oils. Mohamed’s cure worked; he became famous, and fashionable people around the country flocked to his baths. Even doctors sent their patients to Mahomed. In 1822, King George IV appointed him his personal shampooing surgeon, an appointment continued by William IV, and Mahomed also published his medical work.

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Held by British Library. Shelfmark: T 12646. Public Domain

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The Benefits of Shampooing by Sake Dean Mahomed, 1826

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The Benefits of Shampooing by Sake Dean Mahomed, 1826

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The spirit of entrepreneurship exemplified by Mahomed was later mirrored by working-class South Asian pedlars across Britain. Many made a living selling goods door-to-door from suitcases, offering everything from textiles to household items. They served communities across all four nations – England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland – often reaching remote towns and villages. Some of these pedlars were formerly lascars, finding new livelihoods on land. Goods were frequently sold on credit, forging bonds of trust and friendship between pedlars and the families they served. Lata Sharma speaks of her father’s experiences as a pedlar in Northern Ireland, traversing rural villages in the mid-20th century, and Shahida Ali of her father’s work in Scotland.

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Amarjit Singh Nijjar's father's pedlar certificate, book and bag, c. late 1950s-early 1960s

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Amarjit Singh Nijjar's father's pedlar certificate, book and bag, c. late 1950s-early 1960s

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The entrepreneurship of earlier South Asian settlers is reflected in how communities continued to build lives and livelihoods well into the 20th century. In more recent decades, South Asians have become known for their hard work and tenacity in the corner shop trade, once again providing essential services – this time through longer opening hours and greater accessibility. Businesses such as Londis N16 have also expanded, becoming valued community hubs through homemade food and events.

Culture and belonging

While building their livelihoods, South Asians have long contributed to community life by founding clubs and societies, and establishing places of worship such as gurdwaras, mosques and temples. Cafés and restaurants also served as important social hubs and spaces of cultural expression. One early example is Shafi’s Restaurant, opened in the 1920s by two brothers, Yassim and Rahim Mohammed, who had come to Britain to study. For many lonely Indian students, the restaurant offered a comforting sense of home away from home.

This, along with Veeraswamy's, was one of the first Indian restaurants established in Britain.

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Held by British Library. Shelfmark: Photo 761/1(5). Public Domain.

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Photograph of Punjabi students at Veeraswamy's restaurant, 1928

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Photograph of Punjabi students at Veeraswamy's restaurant, 1928

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Edward Palmer, a descendant of William Palmer and Begum Fyze Baksh, founded Veeraswamy's Restaurant in Regent Street in 1926. Catering to the higher end of the market, it soon established itself on London’s social scene and attracted members of London high society, politicians and royalty, including Edward VIII and maharajas visiting from India. Today, South Asian foods including curries, breads and snacks are part of Britain’s national cuisine, and Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants can be found in almost every town.

Love, relationships and everyday intimacies

As they built home and forged careers, South Asians from working-class and middle-class backgrounds, like Sake Dean Mahomed and the politician Shapurji Saklatvala (1874–1936), inter-married. Those from aristocratic classes and royalty also inter-married, and their families made home in Britain. Maharaja Randhir Singh of Kapurthala (1831–1870) and Anglo-Indian Henrietta Hodges had three children, including Princess Hellen Marion Rundheer (born 1864). Born into Indian nobility, Hellen was raised in Britain where she pursued an aristocratic lifestyle. Defying expectations for royal women of her time, Hellen embraced the arts, modelling for prominent Victorian painters like Edwin Long, moving in elite circles, and ultimately making a unique home for herself in British society before her untimely death at 23.

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Held by British Library. Shelfmark: Mss EUR D1173/6. Public Domain

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Photograph of Shapurji Saklatvala and his wife in their north London garden

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Photograph of Shapurji Saklatvala and his wife in their north London garden

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There are further examples of South Asian aristocrats settling and forming families in 19th century England – most notably Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838–1893), the deposed ruler of Punjab. Married to Bamba Müller, who was of German and Abyssinian (Ethiopian) heritage and born in Egypt, Duleep Singh raised a large mixed-heritage family at Elveden Hall in Suffolk, while nurturing ties with British high society.

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Held by National Portrait Gallery. Shelfmark: NPG x1506. Usage terms: © National Portrait Gallery, London.

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Maharaja Duleep Singh by Antoine Claudet, albumen carte-de-visite, c. 1864

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Maharaja Duleep Singh by Antoine Claudet, albumen carte-de-visite, c. 1864

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Published under a Creative Commons licence.

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Mixed-heritage families continue today. While these relationships were sometimes met with contention, Ganesh Subrahmanyam’s experiences of marrying a Welsh nurse in the late 1950s offers another perspective.

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Held by British Library. Shelfmark: C2047. © Remaking Britain.  Image credit: Photo by M. Parmar. 

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Subrahmanyam Ganesh talking about meeting and marrying his wife Myra (recorded 2024)

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Subrahmanyam Ganesh talking about meeting and marrying his wife Myra (recorded 2024)

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Lesser-known relationships and identities have long existed within South Asian communities, too. From the 1980s onwards, South Asians identifying as LGBTQIA+ have found support and advocacy through organisations such as the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre (1985), Shakti (1988), Club Kali (1995), Glitter Cymru (2016) and Bollyqueer (2021). Some members of the community, like DJ Ritu, have used their experiences as queer South Asians to support and empower other racially minoritised LGBTQIA+ people in building safe and welcoming lives in Britain. From this advocacy work, networks of care, solidarity and sometimes intimate relationships have grown, offering connection and belonging in the face of exclusion.

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Held by British Library. Shelfmark: C2047. © Remaking Britain. Image credit: With permission from Numair Masud.

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Numair Masud talking about finding love in Wales (recorded 2024)

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Numair Masud talking about finding love in Wales (recorded 2024)

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Multiple migrations

South Asians have not only come directly from South Asia, but also arrived in the UK through complex routes shaped by British colonisation and empire. Many first left the subcontinent under the Indian indentured labour system that followed the abolition of slavery in 1833, arriving in regions such as East and South Africa, the Caribbean, Fiji and Mauritius. Whether building railways in East Africa or working on sugar plantations in the Caribbean and Pacific, South Asians established communities abroad – many of which still exist today. In time, new waves of migration brought members of these diasporas to Britain, where they rebuilt their lives, forged new identities and continued to make their homes. This included those who were part of the Windrush generation.

Following the Second World War and the independence of colonised nations, political and economic shifts in the former colonies prompted further South Asian migration to Britain. In East African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi, newly implemented ‘Africanization’ policies sought to reverse South Asian economic dominance, which was established and maintained by colonial rule. This dominance was forged within a colonial hierarchical system in which the South Asian community formed a buffer between the Europeans and Africans. ‘Africanization’ policies aimed to return control of resources to African populations. The most extreme example came in 1972, when Ugandan dictator Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of his South Asian population within 90 days. Many of those forced to leave held British passports and relocated to the UK, leaving behind homes, businesses and communities. Though legally citizens, they often encountered racism, hostility and systemic barriers upon arrival.

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Held by Hadithi C.I.C. Courtesy of Hadithi C.I.C.

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Kishor Ladwa talking about how councillor Charles Swift helped 50 Ugandan South Asian families settle in Peterborough (recorded 2022)

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Kishor Ladwa talking about how councillor Charles Swift helped 50 Ugandan South Asian families settle in Peterborough (recorded 2022)

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These migration patterns also triggered changes to British immigration laws, including the 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act, which aimed to restrict the earlier arrival of Kenyan Asians despite their legal status as British subjects.

Conclusion

The history of South Asian Britain reveals a rich and complex tapestry of migration, resilience and belonging. From early working- and middle-class entrepreneurs and pedlars to aristocrats, South Asians have long made homes in Britain while navigating questions of work and culture, in conjunction with prejudice. Later, these migrations were often shaped by the legacies of empire. These stories expand beyond economic survival, to encompassing cultural expression, the formation of social and religious institutions, and the creation of spaces for love, intimacy and self-definition.

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The text in this article is available under a Creative Commons License.

Credit: Remaking Britain team (Rehana Ahmed, Aleena Din, Sumita Mukherjee, Susheila Nasta, Maya Parmar, Florian Stadtler, Rozina Visram).

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