In 1841, David Dyce Sombre (1808–1851) – a Liberal MP of European and Indian heritage from the princely state of Sardhana – likely became the first MP of South Asian descent to be elected to Parliament. Other South Asians subsequently entered Parliament, including Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917), a Parsee businessman and lecturer who was elected as a Liberal MP for Central Finsbury in 1892. His standing for election received mixed reactions. Lord Salisbury, for example, stated that the British people would not ‘elect a black man’ as an MP. Public figures including Labour politician Keir Hardie and Florence Nightingale endorsed him.

Naoroji was committed to free education, public housing and Home Rule for Ireland. He was also a champion for women’s suffrage and campaigned for ‘justice for India’, informing public opinion of the nature of British rule. In his book Poverty of India (1876) he argued that British policy ‘drained’ India of £30–40 million every year, causing widespread poverty in India. With this argument, Naoroji questioned the claim that British rule was beneficial to India. Naoroji and other early nationalists campaigned to reform the system of British governance in India, and drew attention to the country’s 250 million people who they believed had no representation in the British parliament. 

The history of political representation in 19th and early 20th century Britain is inextricably linked to the campaign for women’s right to vote. South Asian women were involved in the British suffrage movement, including the Indian princess Sophia Duleep Singh (1876–1948), lawyer Mithan Lam (1898–1981) and social activist Lolita Roy (1865–?). For example, on 18 November 1910, known as ‘Black Friday’, Sophia led a 400-strong demonstration to Parliament, together with Emmeline Pankhurst. As protesters tried to enter the House of Commons, clashes broke out and the police responded violently. An estimated 150 to 200 women were assaulted, including acts of physical and sexual assault.

Independence campaigns, the India League and Indian Workers’ Association

In the First World War some 1.5 million South Asian men fought for Britain and its empire, raising one of the largest armies. There were hopes among some colonised subjects that their contribution would lead to greater autonomy for India, but this was disappointed when Britain failed to respond. The end of the First World War thus began a new phase in the anti-colonial struggle. The 1919 Amritsar massacre (also known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre) and the repression that followed irreparably damaged British-Indian relations. The Indian campaign for freedom was, in turn, transformed into a mass movement. Indians abandoned cooperation, and large-scale civil disobedience campaigns took place. Examples include non-violent protests such as the 240-mile-long Salt March led by lawyer and leading anti-colonial activist Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) in 1930, which resisted Britain’s monopoly over Indian salt.

This led to Britain calling a series of Round Table Conferences between 1930 and 1932, on the future status of India. Attendees included leading figures of India’s anti-colonial movement including Gandhi, Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876–1948) and B R Ambedkar (1891–1956), as well as British politicians including Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937). The meetings failed to generate a consensus on how India would be governed in the future. 

Many working-class Indians in Britain organised to promote the cause for Indian independence and equal rights as British citizens. The Indian Workers’ Association (IWA) was founded in Coventry in 1937. A social welfare organisation fighting for better working and living standards, it also lobbied for Indian independence. 

Race and anti-racism: the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination and Asian Youth Movement

During the late 1950s, Indian Workers’ Associations (IWAs) re-emerged across the UK, and largely consisted of South Asians labourers who migrated to rebuild Britain after the Second World War. Members resisted economic exploitation, racism and discrimination. The recruitment of working-class South Asians into British industries had long been a point of contention. In 1919, for example, port towns such as Cardiff became the sites of racist riots which were instigated by a highly competitive job market in which South Asian, Black, Chinese and Yemeni labourers, particularly seamen, were accused of ‘stealing’ white workers’ jobs and housing. This was despite racialised minority seamen contending with less pay and poorer working conditions compared to their white counterparts.

This included the Asian Youth Movement (AYM), a radical anti-racist organisation that drew from the Black Power movement, which advocated for self-determination and self-defence. AYM branches emerged across the UK during the 1970s, and were founded by second-generation South Asians. In Sheffield, for example, the Sheffield Youth Movement (initially named the Asian Youth Council) was established in 1981 when a South Asian restaurant was attacked by racists and the police failed to act. AYMs often coordinated with each other and shared tactics for mobilising grassroots, radical collective action. 

Parliamentary representation in the late 20th and 21st century

Across the late 20th and 21st centuries, South Asians have been elected to political positions in local and national contexts. In 1982 for example, Zerbanoo Gifford – who was born in India in 1950 and migrated to London aged three – was elected as a Liberal councillor in Harrow. She was the first racialised minority woman to be elected councillor for the Liberal Party. By 1983, she became the first South Asian woman to contest a general election in the United Kingdom, alongside Pramila le Hunte who stood as a Conservative candidate in the seat of Birmingham Ladywood in the same year. Gifford was unsuccessful in the three elections for which she stood. In recent years, South Asians have occupied some of the most powerful positions in British politics. By 2022, for example, Rishi Sunak – the first South Asian to lead the Conservative Party – became Britain’s first South Asian Prime Minister. Similarly, Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party became London’s first South Asian and Muslim mayor when he took office in May 2016.  

Conclusion 

South Asians have shaped British politics and society through their engagement with politics and activism. South Asians played a leading role in some of the most significant activist campaigns in modern British history, such as the campaign for Indian independence, women’s suffrage and anti-racism in the 1970s and 1980s. Moreover, since the 19th century, growing numbers of South Asians have been elected to Parliament and have occupied positions of authority in local and national politics. This has historically been met with mixed reactions. Nonetheless, some South Asian political figures used their positions to agitate for change related to a wide range of concerns, including housing, education and health. 

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