02/10/2026
*** Warning*** its another long boring read - our history!
People who ask are we going to be an Indian restaurant??
THE SIGN SAID “INDIAN RESTAURANT” — BUT THE STORY BEHIND IT WAS OFTEN BENGALI
If you grew up in Britain, you probably remember those familiar words:
INDIAN RESTAURANT
They were everywhere.
But here is something many people may not realise.
A huge number of the people who owned, cooked in and worked in those restaurants were actually Bengali, with many coming from Sylhet, a region in the north-east of the Indian subcontinent which is now part of Bangladesh.
To understand how that happened, you have to go back much further than the first curry house.
🕰️ BEFORE 1947 — A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD
Before Bangladesh existed as a country, Sylhet was part of British India.
During the World Wars, people from across British India served and supported the British war effort. Among them were men from Bengal and Sylhet who volunteered to serve, with many risking and losing their lives.
Behind those who went to war were families who faced their own sacrifices — husbands, fathers, sons and brothers who never came home.
These sacrifices are an important part of the history between Britain and South Asia.
🇮🇳 1947 — PARTITION
In 1947, British India was divided into India and Pakistan.
Sylhet became part of East Pakistan.
The people of Sylhet had not necessarily moved, but the country they lived in had changed around them.
🇧🇩 1971 — BANGLADESH
Then, in 1971, East Pakistan became the independent country of Bangladesh.
This is why the history can sometimes be confusing.
Our grandparents and parents could have been born in what was then British India, grown up in Pakistan, and later become citizens of Bangladesh — without ever leaving their home region.
🇬🇧 AFTER THE WAR — A GENERATION LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFE
After the World Wars, and particularly during the decades that followed, life remained difficult for many families across the Indian subcontinent.
There had been enormous loss, hardship and upheaval.
For many families, including those from Sylhet, the hope of a better future eventually led towards Britain.
People came looking for work, opportunity and a better life for their families.
Some came with relatives.
Some followed friends.
And some came completely on their own.
They arrived in a country very different from the one they had known, often with little money and no guarantee of what the future would hold.
But they came with determination.
❤️ THIS IS WHERE OUR STORY BEGINS
And this is where our story begins too.
Our dad came to Britain on his own as a young boy.
Imagine that for a moment.
Leaving the place you know, travelling to a completely different country and starting again without your parents or siblings beside you.
It was a different Britain then.
A different time.
He had to find his way.
He had to adapt.
He had to work.
And eventually, he became part of the generation of Bengali men who helped shape Britain’s restaurant industry.
But our story also connects with another family.
❤️WAHID’S FAMILY — FIVE PEOPLE, ONE NEW COUNTRY
Wahid Zaman came to Britain aged just 10 years old with his parents and siblings — a family of five starting a completely new life.
But arriving together didn’t make it easy.
Imagine being a family of five arriving in a country you barely knew, trying to understand a completely different way of life.
They were, in many ways, clueless about what awaited them in Britain.
New surroundings.
A new culture.
A different language and way of communicating.
Different customs.
And the challenge of finding work, finding your feet and simply understanding how life worked in this new country.
There was no Google to answer your questions.
No smartphones.
No social media.
No easy way of finding information.
They had to learn by experience.
They had to rely on each other.
And, like so many immigrant families of that generation, they slowly found their way.
Two families.
Two very different journeys.
Our dad arriving alone.
Wahid arriving with his parents and siblings.
But both journeys would eventually lead into the same world — the British restaurant industry.
And years later, those two stories would become connected in a way neither family could have imagined at the time.
FROM PEELING ONIONS TO BUILDING RESTAURANTS
For many of this generation, the journey started at the bottom.
Washing dishes.
Peeling onions.
Cleaning kitchens.
Serving customers.
Learning to cook.
Working incredibly long hours.
Saving money.
And eventually, opening restaurants of their own.
This wasn’t simply about food.
It was about building a future.
SO WHY DID THE SIGN SAY “INDIAN”?
There was a very simple commercial reason.
British customers already understood “Indian restaurant”.
They knew the word curry.
They recognised Indian food.
They knew what to expect.
“Bangladeshi restaurant” simply didn’t have the same recognition with the British public.
And remember — during much of the early migration, Bangladesh didn’t even exist as an independent country yet.
These men were adapting to a new country and a new customer.
They understood their market.
So they adapted.
THE FOOD CHANGED TOO
The food served in the restaurant wasn’t necessarily the same food eaten at home.
At home, a Bengali family might eat:
Fish curry
Beef curry
Rice
Dal
Bhorta
But the restaurant menu became something British customers could easily understand and order:
Korma.
Madras.
Vindaloo.
Chicken.
Lamb.
Prawn.
Mild. Medium. Hot.
The food evolved for a new audience.
And it worked.
🇬🇧 1970s → 1980s → 1990s
Indian restaurants became part of everyday British life.
The Friday-night curry.
The takeaway after the pub.
The family meal.
The birthday dinner.
The night out with friends.
And behind so many of those “Indian Restaurants” were Bengali families.
You could walk through the front door and see an Indian restaurant.
But walk into the kitchen and, very often, you’d hear Sylheti being spoken — the language traditionally spoken by many people from Sylhet.
There were no social media campaigns.
No branding agencies.
No influencers.
No marketing departments.
Just hard work, long hours and a determination to build something better for the next generation.
🇧🇩🇬🇧 TWO JOURNEYS. ONE LEGACY.
Our dad’s story.
Wahid Zaman’s story.
And the stories of thousands of other fathers, grandfathers, uncles and families who made the journey before us.
Some came alone.
Some came with their families.
Some had nothing but a suitcase and hope.
But they built.
They worked.
They adapted.
They opened restaurants.
They created jobs.
They served communities.
And they helped make curry a part of British life.
Today, curry is as familiar on the British high street as fish and chips.
It’s part of Friday nights.
Part of celebrations.
Part of family life.
Part of Britain.
So the next time you see a sign that says:
“INDIAN RESTAURANT”
remember that the story behind those words may be much bigger than the sign itself.
The history started in British India.
The borders changed.
Pakistan came.
Bangladesh was born.
People migrated.
Families sacrificed.
Restaurants were built.
And generations grew up between two worlds.
The sign said Indian.
The menu was adapted for Britain.
But the heartbeat was often Bengali. 🇧🇩
And this isn’t just history.
This is our story.
And now, generations later ........ Razzah is going to be ran by Jay a born bred Yorkshire man!
