ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relation to the assertion and negotiation of identity by Pakistani immigrants and their descendants in Scotland; the historical continuity of multiculturalism; and the importance of multiculturalism as an integrative process. Respondents were comfortable selecting multiple identities, including reference to national allegiance, but none of those born in India identified themselves as Indian. This suggests that the foundation of Pakistan had a significant impact on those who lived through partition, and it has been shown that this has continued to shape the identity of Pakistanis in Scotland. Pakistani ancestry was readily acknowledged in the list of multiple identities but this was usually omitted when respondents were asked to select only one. The term Asian tends to be used in Britain to refer to immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, partly in recognition of their South Asian origins, but also in acknowledgement of the fact that few regard themselves as Black.
