The third-generation man from York who feels unable to describe himself as 'British'

Bang in the middle of the four-day Platinum Jubilee weekend, came one of the sadder comments I’ve heard in and about 21 stcentury Britain. It was delivered by a British Asian man from York.

His Punjabi father, son of an immigrant from India, was born and bred in Britain. That made my interlocutor a third-generation immigrant.

I’m a citizen of the world

He owns three takeaways and is on the verge of starting a PhD. He is blessed with a charming wife, appeared to be in his mid-30s, is prosperous and intellectually curious and altogether, seemed a thoughtful and well-adjusted person.

But when I asked how he saw himself, this articulate and well-spoken man seemed lost for an answer.

“I’m a citizen of the world,” he said finally.

“You’re not British?” I asked.

“Well, I could never be English, could I?”

“Obviously not, because English has become a racially distinct identity. But what about British? Aren’t you British?”

“No,” he said.

“Why?” I persisted.

So he told me about the few occasions that he in…