<b><i>Homogenising Jammūvīs as Pakistani: Cultural Racism, Identity Erasure, and Mental Health in the Rochdale Diaspora</i></b>

<p dir="ltr">This paper interrogates the homogenisation of <i>Jammūvī</i> (Jammu Province, Occupied by Pakistan) communities as “Pakistani” within British sociopolitical and healthcare frameworks. Through an ethnographic and narrative exploration of the Rochdale diaspora, the study reveals how cultural racism and bureaucratic simplification erase a distinct regional identity that pre-dates Pakistan’s formation. Drawing from interviews, diaspora narratives, and NHS mental health records, the article exposes how misclassification perpetuates systemic invisibility and psychological harm.</p><p dir="ltr">The analysis employs postcolonial and trauma theories to trace how <i>Jammūyat</i>—the collective identity of Jammu’s people—has been linguistically and institutionally effaced. It argues that such homogenisation is not merely administrative but a form of cultural violence with tangible mental health outcomes, particularly among women and second-generation British-born <i>Jammūvīs</i>. By centring Rochdale, one of the largest <i>Jammūvī</i> communities in the UK, this work foregrounds lived experience as both data and resistance, reclaiming the right to self-definition in health and identity discourse.</p>