page_title: British Bangladeshis
section_title: Notables
hierarchical_section_title: British Bangladeshis / Society / Notables
caption_attribution_description: English: An image of Baroness, Manzila Pola Uddin
context_page_description: British Bangladeshis are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term can also refer to their descendants. Bengalis or Sylhetis have prominently been migrating to the UK since the 1940s. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with most originating from the Sylhet region. The largest concentration live in east London boroughs, such as Tower Hamlets. This large diaspora in London leads people in Sylhet to refer to British Bangladeshis as Londoni.
  Bangladeshis form one of the UK's largest group of people of overseas descent and are also one of the country's youngest and fastest growing communities. The 2011 UK Census recorded nearly half-a-million residents of Bangladeshi ethnicity. British Bangladeshis had the highest overall relative poverty rate of any ethnic group in the UK with 65% of Bangladeshis living in low income households, as for 2005.
context_section_description: Rushanara Ali is the first person of Bangladeshi origin to have been elected as a member of parliament during the 2010 general election for the Labour Party from the constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow, winning by a large majority of more than 10,000. Tulip Siddiq became a member of parliament in the 2015 elections, getting elected from Camden Town. Tulip is the niece of the sitting Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the founder father of Bangladesh. Baroness Uddin was the first Bangladeshi and Muslim woman to enter the House of Lords; she swore the oath of office in her own faith. Anwar Choudhury became the British High Commissioner for Bangladesh in 2004, the first non-white British person to be appointed in a senior diplomatic post. Lutfur Rahman is the first directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets, who was later removed from office for breaching electoral rules. Enam Ali became the first Muslim and the first representative of the British curry industry to be granted Freedom of the City of London in recognition of his contribution to the Indian hospitality industry. Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari is the chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain – the largest Muslim organisation in Britain. Murad Qureshi, a Labour politician, is a member of the Greater London Assembly.
  Others have contributed in the British media and business worlds. Konnie Huq is the longest-serving female presenter in Blue Peter, a BBC television programme for children. Other notable national TV presenters have included Lisa Aziz of Sky News, Nina Hossain (ITV and BBC London), Tasmin Lucia Khan (BBC News) and Shawkat Hashmi is Community Editor at BBC Sheffield, (BBC News). In drama, Shefali Chowdhury and Afshan Azad both starred in the Harry Potter movies as Parvati and Padma Patil. Mumzy is an R&B and hip-hop music artist, the first Bangladeshi to release a music single. Syed Ahmed is a businessman and also a television star, well known for being a candidate on The Apprentice. There are many other entrepreneurs, including the late Abdul Latif, known for his dish "Curry Hell"; Iqbal Ahmed, placed at number 511 on the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, and celebrity chef Tommy Miah. Rizwan Hussain is also very well known for presenting Islamic and charity shows on Channel S and Islam Channel, mainly known within the community.
  Artists include dancer and choreographer Akram Khan, pianist Zoe Rahman, vocalist Suzana Ansar and Sohini Alam (born 1978), and the visual artist on film and photography Runa Islam. In Sport, the only Bangladeshi professional footballer in England is Anwar Uddin.
  Notable authors who have received praise for their books include Zia Haider Rahman whose debut novel In the Light of What We Know was published in 2014., Ed Husain, who wrote the book The Islamist on account of his experience for five years with the Hizb ut-Tahrir, Monica Ali for her book Brick Lane a story based on a Bangladeshi woman, and Kia Abdullah for her book, Life, Love and Assimilation.
  In 2012, British kickboxing champion Ruqsana Begum was among the nine people of Bangladeshi descent who carried the Olympic torch along with some 8,000 Britons across the UK. Architectural and graphic designer Saiman Miah was the designer for the two commemorative £5 coins released by British Royal Mint to mark the 2012 London Olympic Games. Akram Khan was a choreographer of the Olympic opening ceremony. Khan was in direction when 12,000 dance artistes performed in the Olympic opening ceremony. Enam Ali's Le Raj restaurant was selected as one of the official food suppliers of the London Olympics. The restaurant also prepared and provided Iftar to the Muslim guests at the Olympics.
  Large numbers of people from the Bangladeshi community have also been involved with local government, increasingly in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Camden. The majority of the councillors in Tower Hamlets are of Bangladeshi descent and part of the Labour Party. As of 2009, 32 of the total 51 councillors were Bangladeshi (63%), 18 were White
caption: Baroness Pola Uddin, the first Asian and Muslim life peer
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