Sunday, March 31, 2002		Books

Trials & triumphs of immigrants
Cookie Maini

From Textile Mills to Taxi Ranks: Experiences of Migration, Labour and Social Change
by Virinder S Kalra. Ashgate, UK. Pages 229. Price not mentioned

ASIANS have formed the largest chunk of migrants to the United Kingdom in the postcolonial period, over the years, their number and status has soared to the extent that, they are the major constituents and catalysts for Britain’s transformation to a multicultural society.

What distinguishes these ethnic groups? While others from Africa or the Caribbean have merged in British society, the Asians have progressed as confederate units, though, they were labelled as ‘Asian’ or ‘Pakis’ in derogatory terminology by the British. What is commendable for these groups is that they have, by the dint of hard work, perseverance and entrepreneurship, risen up the British echelons of society through enhancing their coffers and investing in the education of their children. Their progression is also visible, as their progeny strive to reconnoitre the trail of their precursors.

Interestingly, the author is a second generation migrant, an academic who explores the way in which the issues of employment, work, income generation and economic status affect and are affected by a section of the Mirpuri/ Pakistani community based in Oldham in the North of England. The emergence of this new generation of diaspora academics, who have received English education and thus are contemporary constituents of the English-speaking world, has given a fillip to studies on ethnicity. Moreover, there have found support from academics in the Western world, who similarly are fascinated by the phenomenon of migration allied with self identify and acculturation as well.

In the introduction of the book, the author says: "the occupational and economic status of racialised and ethnicised groups has attracted a great deal of research since the arrival of post-war migrants. Academic studies have, historically, focussed on British-Asians as beggars and not millionaires, where deprivation and disadvantage have been the key terms in their description. Recently, however, there has been a shift in perspective with an increasing emphasis on minority success rather than failure. This issue has divided academic opinion in much the same way, as Ahmed concludes for the media, with some hailing ‘Asians as the new Jews’ and other emphasising continuing deprivation and discrimination. By offering a historically grounded analysis, which detail patterns of migration and settlement through the lens of income generation and employment, this book illustrates that it is not possible to simply ‘stereotype’ minorities in terms of success and failure".

Most South Asians went to Britain to work in her declining manufacturing industries. However, over a period of time they graduated to the services sector, with far-reaching consequences and multiple social transformation. Virinder has focussed on this significant paradigm shift, in the post-war industrial heartland in North England amidst the South Asian Migrants, specifically the so-called Azad Kashmiris/Pakistanis.

The author has worked on three themes, which are central to the study: migration, labour, work and the effects of economic change. The migrants who essentially worked in the textile mills, during the 1980s were struck by recession. To avoid unemployment, they diversified to the service sector.

For those of us who live in this part of the country where every family has exported some members who constitute the migrant community in the United Kingdom, this is an interesting insight into the lives of one particular community with variant issues discussed threadbare. The strata could be different to correlate with the diverse cultural mores and rituals, however, the migrant psyche would be universal. At any rate, a thought-provoking study, worth perusal for social scientists, as well to assess these various themes and issues discussed, which should resonate with the experiences of other ethnic working class migrant groups in the United Kingdom. Lastly, as the author mentions, it is well worth paying a tribute to the men, who spent the best part of their lives working in harsh conditions, yet displaying an amazing resilience for that matter, it is a tribute to working class migrants anywhere — their trials, tribulations and successes are similar.