LONDON: A fifth of the 850,000-strong Indian community in Britain is at the lowest rung of the population in terms of wealth, according to a report.
The Joseph Rowntree inquiry into income and wealth, launched independently in Britain, divides people into five levels of wealth and by this account the Indians make up a fifth of the bottom of the population.
Most Indians, however, are concentrated at the third and fourth levels of wealth. That still makes the Indians far better off than the Bangladeshis and the Pakistanis, the inquiry shows.
More than half of black people, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are among the bottom fifth of the population.
Even with the better off Indians included, non-white people in Britain are a third of the lowest fifth rung. The bottom fifth is the level with incomes less than 125 pounds a week. For a single person, most likely on income support this could average 77 pounds a week and for a couple with two children 181 pounds a week.
Only 10% of non-white people are among the top one-fifth of the population.
A non-white person aged between 16 and 65 is almost twice as likely to be in the bottom fifth than a white person of the same age group, according to greater London action for racial equality (glare) commenting on the inquiry report. The inquiry shows that more than 60% of non-white people live in wards that have unemployment nationally. The Bangladeshis live in wards that are in the most deprived 10% of wards in terms of unemployment, economic inactivity or lack of car ownership, ac- cording to the inquiry.
Commenting on the figures, Glare Director Patrick Edwards said:”These figures add to the feel bad factor which has been the reality of black and Asian population in Britain for some time.” He said “amid all this talk of economic growth and prosperity around the corner, there is one section of the Britain. That has never received the benefits of past economic good fortune and seems certain to be carved out of enjoying future benefits unless drastic revisions are made to government policy.”
A campaign to place equality at that top of the political agenda in Britain is “now well overdue,” Edwards said.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 3, 1995
