EVER since the end of World War-II, people from all over the globe found the United Kingdom (UK) as the most attractive destination either for jobs or for permanent settlement. The main reasons for this global inclination for migration to UK included: (a) multicultural society where people found it easy to settle and absorb in that society. British society has been welcoming for the immigrants and its masses were more civilized and accommodative, (b) Availability of basic facilities like education, health care and social security for everyone Irrespective of caste, creed or belief system, (c) There have been more job opportunities in UK than anywhere in the world, (d) UK’s geographical location was yet another factor for being attractive for the people from all around the globe and (e) Nevertheless, the most prominent cause for immigration to UK has been its strong laws and justice system.
The salient of the British judicial system is all inclusive consisting of Common Law, civil rights, independence and neutrality, the rule of law and the jury system. “The best judicial system in the world is known to be of the United Kingdom”. UK’s legal architecture laid a strong foundation for centuries and is being maintained uniquely even today. Today, the United Kingdom is more diverse in culture, population and religion and value system. Nevertheless, it is a predominantly White British population which constitutes over 75% of the total population of UK. Nevertheless, millions of migrants are now part of UK’s population which constitutes 25% of its total population. This is besides the people/working classes temporarily residing in that country. As a former colonial power, it has the accommodation for all its former colonies and countries of the Commonwealth nations.
Today, UK’s second and third largest non-white racial groups are Asian British with a population percentage ranging from 9-10%. Besides, there are Black British people constituting 4% of the total population having their African origin. Among the Asian population, Indian and Pakistani origin population is found almost in every part of UK. As per the 2021 Census, 1,864,318 people in England and Wales were recorded as having Indian ethnicity that constitutes 3.1% of the total population of UK. The number has grown in the last four years and it is estimated that there will be 3.7% Indian living in UK by the end of 2024. The Pakistani population Diaspora (British Pakistani population) constitutes 1.6 million (1.3%) of the total population of UK mainly settled in England, Scotland and smaller numbers in Wales and Northern Ireland. The resilient classes of the Asian population including the Indian and Pakistani diasporas have been living with harmony for decades in UK society. Nevertheless, the Indian Diaspora and migrants were more organized and futuristic as compared to Pakistani Diaspora. Except a few Pakistani origin people, mostly of the Pakistani Diaspora were just earning their bread with average living standards in British society. Nevertheless, they respected UK laws and were known as the law abiding people in British society. On the other hand, the Indian Diaspora got government positions and other influential jobs with a clear lead in media, finances, education, information technology and other government jobs. Unfortunately, over the years the Indian origin Diaspora in UK got influence from the ideology of RSS and BJP, particularly after 2014.
In the last ten years, the Indian Diaspora has been constantly waging a war against Pakistan and Pakistani Diaspora in the United Kingdom. In the recent unethical issues where some of the gangs were found involved in moral issues include rapes, Indian media provoked UK media and global media against Pakistan. Nevertheless, the issues of the so, “grooming gangs” has yet to be enquired by the British Government. These gangs have operated separately in multiple towns and cities for a number of years before their activities came to full public attention in the early 2010s. These gangs are still operative in many parts of UK.
It is very unfortunate that they are being labelled with Islam and Pakistan which is a clear discrimination and part of Islamophobia. The worst part of this is that, Indian writers and Indian origin Diaspora is propagating this entire campaign. Recently, people like Elon Musk are found involved in this unholy propaganda against Pakistan and Islam. He endorsed an anti-Pakistan narrative promoted by Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Rajya Sabha MP who is an active member of Shiv Sena (UBT) party. She is RSS linked and strong advocate of Hindutva and staunch anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan. “Chaturvedi sparked controversy when she claimed that the blame for grooming gangs in UK should not be placed on Asia as a whole, but rather on ‘one rogue nation’—Pakistan.”
Unfortunately, Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, publicly supported this statement, calling it “true” on social media, aligning himself with Chaturvedi’s position. This makes Musk and his activities totally biased and discriminatory. In January 2025, Elon Musk brushed aside the furore over a one-armed gesture he gave during a speech celebrating the inauguration of Donald Trump. People on X, the social media platform he owns, likened the gesture to a Nazi salute. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University, said: “Historian of fascism here. It was a Nazi salute and a very belligerent one too.”
Indeed, there is a deep Indian link in the grooming gang’s scandal of UK. It is aimed to construct anti Pakistan narratives. The western world is well aware of the Indian role in EU Disinfo Labs and killings of Sikhs in Canada and the United States. Like RSS, Musk has been accused of intervention in politics of many European states. Unfortunately, Elon Musk’s X is now more of a battleground for narrative war against Islam, Muslims and Pakistan.
— The writer is Professor of Politics and IR at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
