East Indians, more properly called South Asians, experienced discriminatory Canadian immigration policy for many years. Before the introduction of the points system in 1967, many members of the Canadian public, including government officials, believed that South Asians, and Chinese, were too culturally and racially distinctive to be assimilated into the dominant culture. While South Asians share some similarities, they also include a large number of distinct ethnic groups, and come from different countries of origin, practise a broad range of religions, speak diverse languages and dialects, and have distinctive social and cultural practices. Very few South Asians immigrated to Canada prior to the 1960s, and those who arrived prior to the Second World War commonly resided in British Columbia. Sikhs in British Columbia constitute one of the most distinguishable groups, and were one of the first of India's many ethnic groups to arrive in British Columbia. As of 1971 only 67,295 South Asians resided in Canada, composing only 0.312 percent of the Canadian population.