In part, that's because many Punjabis displaced by the partition came to New Delhi and became restaurateurs.

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Even though he was always surrounded by great wealth, and has properties all over the world, many Punjabis see the family's industrial background as a welcome break from the landed aristocrats who have tended to dominate the country's politics.

BBC: Pakistan election: Why voters backed Nawaz Sharif

They are perceived as a homogenous and exclusive community, despite the fact that the differences between the different religious and cultural groups within the Asian community - between Hindus and Moslems, between Goans and Punjabis - can be as deeply divisive and mutually exclusive as those dividing Asians from their African neighbours.

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