Recent riots showed why we need an honest conversation about integration - Jasvinder Sanghera

British-born of Sikh Indian descent, I encountered significant barriers to assimilation, imposed by my family and community's strong disdain for integration, which they dismissively considered improper.

From a young age, integration was instilled as being dishonourable. This perception led, in some cases, to horrifying outcomes, including murders, under the guise of preserving honour.

Deeply entrenched was a division of ‘us versus them’ which deprived me of the opportunity to fully embrace the values and cultures of Britain. Today, the impact of such divisions has never been clearer to me.

Driven by these personal experiences, I established the charity Karma Nirvana to combat forced marriage and honour-based abuse. I have encountered thousands of young women who, like me, faced dire consequences for trying to embrace the freedoms of the country we were born in.

The tragic case of 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed, who was murdered by her parents for appearing “too westernised”, epitomises the extreme manifestation of dishonourable killings.

During the 2012 sentencing, Judge Justice Roderick Evans pointedly remarked: “You chose to bring up your family in Warrington but, although you live in Warrington, your social and cultural attitudes were those of rural Pakistan, which you imposed on your children.

“Shafilea was a determined, able and ambitious girl who wished to live a life normal in the country and town in which you had chosen to live and bring up your children. However, you could not tolerate the life that Shafilea wanted to live—you wanted your family to live in Pakistan in Warrington.”

This lack of desire to integrate, on both sides, is impacting us all, not only today but also future generations. We cannot continue to swerve these questions, often for fear of being labelled racist, or it will transcend generations, perpetuating first-generation attitudes.

The Dame Louise Casey Review (2016) rightly raises significant questions and how fifty percent of all ethnic minority groups reside in just three cities: London, Birmingham, and Manchester, with an equal percentage of minority school children attending predominantly minority schools perpetuating this division.

Dame Casey rightly criticised the government's integration efforts as insufficient, offering mere superficial cultural acknowledgments rather than promoting true cohesion.

It called for a robust new strategy and intensified encouragement of the English language, enhanced youth social interactions, and support for women breaking free from regressive cultural confines, alongside the promotion of British values in schools.

Who is monitoring the implementation of these recommendations?

This report cannot be just another document left on the shelf. If recent events haven’t already acted as a catalyst for action, I wonder what will.

Casey decried ministerial efforts at enhancing minority integration as barely exceeding token gestures like "saris, samosas, and steel drums" for those already supportive.

She criticised the ad hoc approach of leadership which fails to genuinely tackle integration, clearly falling short of the required mark.

The present issues stem not from a lack of awareness but from a collective lack of resolve or perhaps fear of being labelled racist, affecting both national and local levels in addressing these critical issues.

I am proud to be British, proud to be Asian and believe in a diverse Britain. I do not accept violence in any form and will never justify what we have witnessed on the streets of Britain.

However, I believe it is now time for all leaders, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, atheist, or any other belief system, along with those who fear having this conversation, to come together. It is time to sit with those we fear or disagree with. The law is not a panacea.

As I write this, some may label me dishonourable for advocating integration.

However, those who truly value democracy and human rights will, I hope, recognise the urgent, immediate need for a challenging yet essential dialogue on these issues.

Dame Jasvinder Sanghera is a British author and campaigner.