one problem with the paki name is that it has been used against those of indian and pakistani descent alike..
and to use it might suggest or pander to those that would lump them together, when they are worlds apart, like lumping israelis with arabs!
The common folk use the word 'Paki' to describe them. That is the way the cookie crumbles...
However, the posher PC people and the media use the word 'Asian'. Which is problematic:
There is a growing understanding that muslims are the problem. British Asians are unhappy with being lumped together, especially the non-muslims, because it is mainly the muslims who are the problem. They resent themselves being given a bad name by association.
The general consensus is that the Sikhs are the clean patriotic respectable ones, the Hindus are the nice co-operative friendly ones and that muslims are... *coughs slightly*.
'Paki' and 'Asian' as generic terms are inadequate, but there is a growing understanding. Many British-born Hindu men and women present themselves in modest Western fashions and they integrate where necessary. It is a shame if they and we lose our culture and we all sink to the lowest common denominator, but this is what materialism and socialism has created in Britain.