When a friend proudly announces that he successfully made Haggis samosas, you realise how entwined Scottish culture is with Pakistan. Glasgow, a city of 600,000 people and home to the biggest South-Asian community in Scotland, is truly where these two cultures mix. For those not familiar with the culinary delights of Scotland, Haggis is essentially a ‘savoury pudding’ encased in a sheep’s stomach. And if you think that’s gross, do realise that Pakistanis are also fond of paye and katakat.

As the big question of independence approaches in the year ahead, many Scottish Pakistanis are adding up the pros and cons of the Yes Campaign or, the counter argument, if we’re Better Together in the UK before the referendum takes place next September.

Scottish Asians make up 2.1 per cent of the population. With Pakistanis being the largest ethnic minority in the country, the big vote is the oft discussed topic within the community. Small businesses — many of them owned by Pakistanis — are likely to be affected with regards to tax and trade, while others are concerned about the economy and if the Yes vote will secure a good future for their families.

Famous for having all four seasons in one day, Scottish weather truly lives up to its bad reputation when I meet members of the Scots Asians For Yes campaign (SAFY) in Govanhill — a place where you will see people wearing flip-flops all year round. With determination to beat the weather, the team perseveres with distributing pro-independence leaflets under the pouring rain before settling in a local coffee shop for the interview.

While student and avid campaigner Ghazala Ahmad dries her two children, their Qari Sahab (Quran teacher) calls to reschedule Skype classes for the kids — the latest way of linking Pakistani culture to modern technology.

Ghazala was born and educated in Pakistan before moving to London and finally settling in Glasgow after six years.

“I think the media is quite negative about the independence issue,” she says. “When my relatives in England and Pakistan see such coverage, they obviously think there is no way it can happen.

“When I tell them what we have in Scotland such as free education and free medical prescriptions, they are surprised. We should be able to make decisions locally,” she continues. “When David Cameron wants to go to war, at least Scottish people can say no, so I see a better future for my family if we have independence.”

Britain’s foreign policy and very recent ‘go home’ campaign against illegal immigrants, was deeply unpopular within the Asian communities in Scotland and England alike. Many British-Pakistanis felt unfairly targeted.

The rise of anti-immigration political parties such as the UK Independence Party has once again pushed the question of identity into the limelight with an underlying expectation to boost your Britishness over your apna culture. Ghazala believes that the Scottish National Party (SNP) is more accepting of different ethnicities.

Cultural identity plays a big role in Britain as a whole. A recent study found that ethnic minorities in the UK — in particular Pakistanis, Indians and Arabs feel more British than white Britons. Mass immigration of South-Asians during the 1950s and 1960s brought diversity and skills to the region, which has now become a unique part of Britishness.

However, more Pakistanis north of the border are likely to identify as Scottish, over British. In recent years, English patriotism has been linked with thuggish behaviour from far-right extremist groups such as the English Defence League, therefore many Pakistanis in the south want to distance themselves from that label, yet embrace Britain as a whole.

Nighet Riaz is front-lining the grassroots campaign for independence. Born in Birmingham, the PhD researcher and lecturer has lived in Scotland for over 27 years and thinks that Scottish Pakistanis can appreciate independence by linking it to the days of partition in India.

She says: “Stories of decades of conflict between Kashmir, India and Pakistan, where Kashmiris were denied the right to vote for themselves and to have any say in how their own country was divided up have been told in the families. These narratives have been carried down each family keeping the passion alive.

“In both Pakistani and Indian families, when we sit and talk to our grandparents, we hear stories of how hard it was during and after Partition. We understand what they went through and so can relate to Scottish people and think, yes we know exactly where you are coming from and we’re with you.”

Kashmir is one of the most contentious issues affecting India and Pakistan and is deeply connected to the independence question, according to Tahir Mohammad, the ambassador for Yes Campaign.

Describing himself as a proud Scottish-Kashmiri, Tahir correlates his independence activism in Scotland with what he hopes will be a free Kashmir.

“It’s interesting that my family support independence here because that is what they believe in,” he says. “In Kashmir, they want to see a free, independent country and that is exactly what they want in Scotland as well.”

Tahir is adamant that the concerns people have about an independent Scotland are misinterpreted. “I get asked if there will be a border between Scotland and England. I get asked if I’m anti-English. I’m definitely not. I’ve got a lot of friends in England and when I talk to them, we do have a proper discussion. When I tell them about the benefits we have in Scotland they say ‘We should go to Scotland’,” he laughs.

Polls are up and down regarding the Yes campaign as the referendum nears. Statistics have shown that around one third of Scots are undecided about breaking away from the UK so it is clear many Asians still have a lot of thinking to do.

I have one final question for the group, which is probably the most diverse of them all: how would you describe your identity?

“That’s easy,” Nighet says. “One identity can emerge stronger depending on the situation, but for me it’ll always be Scottish-Muslim-Pakistani in that order.”