- published: 19 Dec 2011
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A British Bangladeshi (Bengali: ব্রিটিশ বাংলাদেশি) is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having immigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose ancestors did so. They are also known as British Bengalis, in reference to the main ethnic group from that region. Large numbers of Bangladeshis immigrated to the UK, primarily from Sylhet, located in the north-east of the country, mainly during the 1970s. The largest concentration is in London, primarily in the east London boroughs, of which Tower Hamlets has the highest proportion. This large diaspora in London leads people in Bangladesh to refer to British Bangladeshis as "Londonis". There are also significant numbers of British Bangladeshis in Birmingham, Oldham, Luton, Burnley and Bradford, with smaller clusters in Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Rochdale and Cardiff. There exists some confusion over the term 'British Bengali' as there are British people of Indian descent who might have some ancestors from the Bengal region of India. Following the partition of Bengal this is now split between West Bengal in India (from the partition of India and Pakistan) and the nation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan