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. 

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.   

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. 

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.  

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