Draft:South Asians in the Netherlands

South Asians in the Netherlands (Zuid-Aziatische Nederlanders), also referred to as Dutch South Asians (Nederlandse Zuid-Aziaten), are citizens or residents of the Netherlands whose ancestry traces back to South Asia. The majority of South Asians mainly migrated from Suriname, a former Dutch colony in South America.

History
The initial South Asian settlers in the Netherlands were Indian traders, small-scale entrepreneurs, and textile industry workers from Punjab who arrived in the 1940s and 1950s.

However most people of South Asian descent in the Netherlands today are primarily of Indo-Surinamese descent, a socially-defined community locally known as Hindustanis. After the independence of Suriname in 1975, a lot of Indo-Surinamese people migrated to the Netherlands many of whom became Dutch residents and owned Dutch passports. A significant number of them settled in The Hague and other large Dutch cities.

In 1980, there was a military coup in Suriname, which caused another wave of Indo-Surinamese migrants.

In comparison to the Indo-Surinamese population the number of people who directly came from 'South Asia' is pretty small. The largest group of these are the Pakistanis, a third of whom have been born in the Netherlands. Followed by smaller groups of Indians, and even smaller groups of Sri Lankans.

After arrival most of the Pakistani migrants primarily stay within the Pakistani community, having few social contacts outside the community and marrying at the most Surinamese Muslims.

After the Pakistani community became more established, from the 50s to the 70s. More Indians started to migrate to the Netherlands. Some came to the Netherlands from Uganda after the asian expulsion, while others came looking for work like the Pakistanis.