Indian migrants in Britain

摘要

This article discusses the social linkages between Gujarati migrants in Britain and their family members in India. It considers the home and the migrant community in the same unit of analysis rather than as separate communities. It is based on fieldwork conducted in 1998 among members of the Patidar community in rural central Gujarat and among their relatives in London in 1999.' In order to study the linkages between the Patidars of India and Britain we collected information through a survey from 313 households in six villages in central Gujarat who have relatives in Britain, out of which 157 were selected for in-depth case studies. This was followed by a survey among 159 Patidar households in Greater London, of which 80 were selected for in-depth case studies. Members of the Patidar households in Greater London originated from the six villages in central Gujarat and many of them were direct relatives of the families studied in India. Most of the quantitative information presented in this paper refers to the survey conducted in the villages in India on the 313 Patidar households with relatives in Britain. Members of the Patidar community in London have a long history of national and international migration. Many of them migrated to East Africa in the early part of the twentieth century and from there to Britain in the 1960s and 1970s. The findings of our research indicate that the members of this community still maintain frequent long-distance family linkages with their home region in India. Marriage arrangements, kinship networks, frequent visits, property, remittances and religious affiliations keep many of the Patidar migrants in London well-linked to the villages in Gujarat. This has resulted in a two-way flow of people, capital, and ideas. These linkages between India and Britain, however, are not static or without problems. There are differences of opinion between the Indian migrants in London and their relatives in Gujarat on the nature of their relationship and on the type of help rendered.