New Delhi, Sept. 11 -- A question often asked of people of colour in the United Kingdom even now in 2026 is, "Where you are really from?" meaning, what is your ethnicity and country of origin.

I changed my stock answer in the wake of '9/11' from saying I was from London and originally Pakistan, to a simple statement of the facts: that my father was born in Bangalore, my mother was from Lahore, and I was born in London.

Identity is often multifaceted yet the UK Government's Ethnic group classifications for its national Census always provide a personal challenge - I can declare I am 'Asian British: Pakistani,' 'Asian British: Indian' or 'Asian British: Other Asian.'

I would appreciate the choice to check 'South Asian'.

The context matte...