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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Hideously Diverse Britain: What's the secret to happiness? | Hideously Diverse Britain: What's the secret to happiness? |
| (30 days later) | |
| The Americans have this sorted. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Are they happy? That's not the point. The pursuit's the thing. | The Americans have this sorted. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Are they happy? That's not the point. The pursuit's the thing. |
| David Cameron rates the idea of measuring happiness, and from the Office for National Statistics we learn that, when asked the question, Indians and those of Indian descent in the UK emerge the happiest. They number about 1.4 million – our largest visible minority – and on average, they rate life satisfaction as 7.5 out of 10. White Britons and those identifying as Chinese are next with 7.4 out of 10. Black communities are least happy: just 6.7 out of 10. | David Cameron rates the idea of measuring happiness, and from the Office for National Statistics we learn that, when asked the question, Indians and those of Indian descent in the UK emerge the happiest. They number about 1.4 million – our largest visible minority – and on average, they rate life satisfaction as 7.5 out of 10. White Britons and those identifying as Chinese are next with 7.4 out of 10. Black communities are least happy: just 6.7 out of 10. |
| Dr Rami Ranger, much celebrated Indian captain of industry, takes me into his glass-walled office in west London to talk community contentedness. Three reasons, he says: family, family and family. "The Indian family is the basis of everything. It's about close family units: family values. There is stability. We learn from our parents. We live our dreams through our children." | Dr Rami Ranger, much celebrated Indian captain of industry, takes me into his glass-walled office in west London to talk community contentedness. Three reasons, he says: family, family and family. "The Indian family is the basis of everything. It's about close family units: family values. There is stability. We learn from our parents. We live our dreams through our children." |
| It can't be that simple. At root, he says, it is. "Marriage is very important. We have assisted marriages – not forced. Some take issue with it, but it works. People are matched in terms of background and education and class and outlook. Fewer marriages break down. When you have your health and your family and work you enjoy, then you can be happy." | It can't be that simple. At root, he says, it is. "Marriage is very important. We have assisted marriages – not forced. Some take issue with it, but it works. People are matched in terms of background and education and class and outlook. Fewer marriages break down. When you have your health and your family and work you enjoy, then you can be happy." |
| Helps if you're affluent, I tell him. Indians are everywhere on the social scale, but together they have the lowest poverty rate of any ethnic group. And he has wealth and status. His company Sun Mark won four Queen's Awards for Excellence on the trot. "But I started with nothing," he says. "I owe this country everything." His companies have a joint turnover of more than £152m. He started with £2 in a shed. "The turning point for us was the expulsion of the Ugandan Asians in 1972," he says. "We were struggling. But they were educated and they had experience of running business. They were role models. We thought: if they can do it, we can too." | Helps if you're affluent, I tell him. Indians are everywhere on the social scale, but together they have the lowest poverty rate of any ethnic group. And he has wealth and status. His company Sun Mark won four Queen's Awards for Excellence on the trot. "But I started with nothing," he says. "I owe this country everything." His companies have a joint turnover of more than £152m. He started with £2 in a shed. "The turning point for us was the expulsion of the Ugandan Asians in 1972," he says. "We were struggling. But they were educated and they had experience of running business. They were role models. We thought: if they can do it, we can too." |
| Perhaps we should learn from you, I suggest. That's it, he exclaims. "Look and copy. Don't blame others. Look to yourselves." And who do you copy? "I look to the Jewish communities," he says. "They have been here longer than us." Always something new to learn. | Perhaps we should learn from you, I suggest. That's it, he exclaims. "Look and copy. Don't blame others. Look to yourselves." And who do you copy? "I look to the Jewish communities," he says. "They have been here longer than us." Always something new to learn. |
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