Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change

Marie Gillespie

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN:
  9780415096744
• eBook ISBN:
  9781134862924
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

For 'ethnic minorities' in Britain, broadcast TV provides powerful representations of national and 'western' culture. In Southall - which has the largest population of 'South Asians' outside the Indian sub-continent - the VCR furnishes Hindi films, 'sacred soaps' such as the Mahabharata, and family videos of rites of passage, as well as mainstream American films. Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change examines how TV and video are being used to recreate cultural traditions within the 'South Asian' diaspora, and how they are also catalysing cultural change in this local community.
Marie Gillespie explores how young people negotiate between the parental and peer, local and global, national and international contexts and culturess which traverse their lives. Articulating their own preoccupations with television narratives, they both reaffirm and challenge parental traditions, formulating their own aspirations towards cultural change.
Marie Gillespie's in-depth study offers an invaluable survey of how cultures are shaped and changed through people's recreative reception of the media.

Chapter 1
Southall: Chota Punjab, west London

Southall is a densely populated, multi-ethnic suburb of west London situated near Heathrow Airport. The majority of its inhabitants are of Punjabi origin – some having come to Britain from East Africa – and predominantly of Sikh religion, complemented by sizeable numbers of Punjabi Hindus and Muslims from both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border. This diverse Punjabi majority lives alongside minorities of English, Irish and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds. Southall has attracted migrants since the beginning of this century when local manufacturing industries began to develop. In the 1930s they came from the depressed coal-mining areas of South Wales and Durham as well as from the poorer rural regions of Southern Ireland. West Indian migration to Southall began in the late 1940s and continued until the 1960s, mainly from Antigua, St Lucia, Grenada and Dominica. Punjabi migration began in the 1950s. With the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab was split between India and Pakistan and there was a massive relocation of its inhabitants. Large numbers of Sikhs and Hindus migrated into the Indian part of Punjab, intensifying economic competition and the demand for land. Males from the rural villages of the Punjab, predominantly farmers and landowners of the Jat caste of Sikhs, in fear of becoming landless and in search of better prospects, took up the offer of jobs at Woolfe’s Rubber Company, Nestlé and Lyons food-processing plants and other local industries (Bains, 1988). Paradoxically, the tightening of British immigration laws in the 1960s led to a surge of migration, this time of the wives and children of earlier migrants who, fearing the imposition of further immigration restrictions, came to join their husbands and to reunite their families (Brah, 1982).

During the 1970s Jat Sikh migrants were joined by Sikh families from Kenya and later Uganda, forced to abandon their businesses and clerical jobs by ‘Africanization’ policies. Most of the Sikhs were of the castes of Tarkhan and Lohar, carpenters and blacksmiths, who had been shipped to East Africa to build railways and towns earlier this century. A number of factors distinguished East African emigrants from their Jat predecessors. Their shared urban background and professional skills gave them an economic advantage and a greater facility to adapt to life in Southall (Bhachu, 1985). They emigrated in close-knit family units, often with established social and economic networks, and were used to living in cohesive communities. In contrast, Jat Sikh migrants more resembled ‘new frontiersmen’ who, at least before the arrival of wives and children, had attempted to adapt to British working-class expectations and lifestyles (Aurora, 1967). The East African cohort of migrants was characterised by religious diversity. There were sizeable numbers of Muslims and Hindus alongside the Sikh settlers who were bound together by shared experiences in East Africa. Upon arrival in Southall, East African emigrants were greeted with a rather ambiguous welcome by their Jat predecessors, who felt threatened by their presence in such large numbers and the inevitable increased competition for jobs (Bhachu, 1985).

This brief history of migration to Southall gives an indication of the cultural and religious diversity, as well as the diversity of histories – and stories – of migration, within what is often assumed to be a homogeneous ‘community’ of ‘Asian’ immigrants (and a problem rather than an asset) by the media and public opinion alike. These internal cleavages give life in Southall its distinctive quality and it is worth elaborating upon them in further detail. The balance of religions in Southall in the 1990s reflects its history of migration. According to our survey data (see Appendix 1b; details of the administration of the survey are given in Chapter 2), Sikhs comprise just over half the local population (51 per cent) whilst Hindus (16 per cent) and Muslims (15 per cent) are represented in similar numbers. Eight per cent of respondents were Christians, 5 per cent ‘other’ and 5 per cent had parents of two different religions.

Indeed religion is by far the most significant marker of cultural distinction among young people in Southall (see Appendix 3). In a remarkable consensus three-quarters (75 per cent) of all respondents to our survey, when asked to ‘write down some cultures’ they were aware of in Southall, defined the word ‘culture’ in terms of religion. This figure is increased further by those responses which named a religious festival or ritual as a marker of cultural distinction (8 per cent). Religion is the cornerstone of ethnic identity and the distinction between cultures by religion is characteristic of life in Southall, at least among young people. Terms of ‘racial’ identity are comparatively rarely cited: ‘Asian’ (14 pet cent), ‘black’ (7 per cent), ‘white’ (5 per cent). Terms of national identity (e.g. ‘Indian’, ‘British’ [31 per cent]), regional/linguistic terms (e.g. ‘Punjab’, ‘Gujarati’ [11 per cent]) and subcultural markers (e.g. ‘Rasta’ [9 per cent]) are also far less common than distinctions based upon religion. Furthermore, each religion has its own internal cleavages.

The main cleavage among Sikhs, all of whom speak Punjabi, is caste, even though, in principle, Sikhism refuses caste differences. Among Sikhs in Southall, caste differences have come to assume a significance comparable with that which they have in Hinduism, a religion based upon caste distinctions. Caste normally dictates at which of the six gurdwaras, or temples, in Southall a family will worship (though a few assume a ‘higher’ caste identity by, among other things, worshipping in the appropriate gurdwara). The gurdwara is more than a place of worship: it is a focal point of the Sikh congregation where people go to pray, sing, eat and socialise together, within the limits of gender segregation. Worship takes place mainly on Sundays although some, especially older, women attend every day to pray. Before entering the room where the Guru Granth Sahib (or ‘holy book’) is installed, shoes must be removed. Women wearing traditional Punjabi dress – salwar kameez – will draw their chunni or scarf over their heads. Any men not wearing a turban will cover their heads with a handkerchief. Young people are encouraged to attend regularly and many do so not only for religious reasons but also because it is an opportunity for socialising. The gurdwara is a good place to ‘spot’ and ‘check out’ potential boy-and girlfriends, many young people claim; their parents turn a blind eye to surreptitious, silent flirtation in this context, because it poses no threat to the norm of caste endogamy. Our survey data (Appendix 8) indicates that 37 per cent of boys and 53 per cent of girls had been to their place of worship in the month prior to the survey. Young Muslims do so (52 per cent) more than their Sikh (33 per cent) or Hindu (29 per cent) peers.

Most Sikhs in Southall are of the Jat (farmer/landowner) caste. According to our survey data, approximately 65 per cent of Sikh parents worship in gurdwaras of the Jat caste. Twenty-two per cent worship in gurdwaras of the Ramgharia castes – a general term comprising several castes of skilled craftsmen, such as the Tarkhans and Lohars. The ‘twice-migrants’ from East Africa are mainly of these castes. Eleven per cent worship in the Ravidas gurdwara. Guru Ravidas is not recognised by orthodox Sikhs as one of the Ten Gurus. This congregation includes the ‘low’ Chuhre (sweeper) and Chamar (landless labourer) castes, perceived by many as ‘untouchables’. The social hierarchy of caste distinction is readily apparent. In fact many ‘low-caste’ Sikhs gravitate towards worshipping in Hindu mandirs due to their marginalisation within the Sikh ‘community’.

The notion of caste is deeply rooted in Indian society and in local consciousness. The following account was written by Kerenpaul, a 15-year-old Sikh girl, for a Sociology A-level essay on caste among Southall Sikhs:

Caste is based upon two central ideas, purity and occupation. A person’s caste is in essence a kind of identity badge […]. How ‘pure’ a person is considered to be is determined by caste. You often hear people say ‘Oh! I’m pure cos I’m a Jat’, especially boys who believe they are ‘hard’ because they are Jat. A person’s whole life is based upon what caste they are. It’s your social identity. But people who are traditionally considered to be at the bottom of the caste system i.e. Chuhre, Chamars or Ravidas, they are supposed to be slaves, non-pure, untouchables. They are supposed to work for the higher castes and they are not allowed to eat with people of a higher caste who will not accept food from them. But in Southall they drive around in expensive cars, wear gold jewellery, have huge houses and I know ‘pure’ Jats who look up to these people […]. Occupations here have confused everything in the traditional caste system. There are Chamars who are electricians and Jats who are cleaners […].

If a Jat girl marries a Tarkhan guy it’s regarded as ‘bad’ because the girl is marrying down the so-called system; this is because the girl joins the husband’s family and adopts his name and his caste. If the marriage fails people say it is because they inter-married. People talk – like they’ll say ‘You know the girl down the street, you know, the one who married the Chamar’ […]. You can tell a person’s caste by their surname and where they worship but some people change their name and worship in the Jat gurdwara to avoid being seen as ‘impure’. […] Some people get sworn at because they have a Ramgharia surname […]. Most young people do not like to discriminate against people on the basis of caste. All Sikhs share the same religion so there shouldn’t be a caste system – at least that’s what our prophet Guru Nanak preached […].

The caste hierarchy among Sikhs is firmly established and is of the greatest significance when it comes to marriage arrangements, since caste endogamy is the rule. In many respects, the caste system has intensified because in Southall the different castes mix socially and live in close proximity, whereas Punjabi villages are usually organised along caste lines and therefore there is a greater degree of caste segregation in daily life. However, some anomalies have also arisen in the British context. The Ramgharias who migrated from East Africa often have better jobs, more money and more conspicuous styles of consumption than their Jat neighbours. In the eyes of some Ramgharias, this has challenged the established caste hierarchy, as it conflicts with distinctions of class. Caste distinctions are deeply embedded in local consciousness; they are crucial in marriage arrangements, and young people often feel a special affinity with peers of the same caste, tending to cement their closest friendships with those who are ‘the same’ in caste terms. Yet this is by no means the rule, and many bonds are forged across religious and caste boundaries, as young people progressively develop a common ‘Asian’ identity in the British context, based on a shared present rather than distinctive heritages. And few people in their everyday lives wish to discriminate, at least openly, on the basis of caste.

The main, interrelated cleavages among Hindus are those of region and language. In responses to our survey, half of all Hindu parents are shown as speakers of Punjabi, just over one third as speakers of Hindi and 15 per cent as speakers of Gujarati. Ironically, and in contrast with the Sikh experience, because Hindus are in a minority and there are few temples, there has been a tendency for caste differences to diminish in importance when it comes to sharing places of public worship – although this is not the case where marriage is concerned.

Among Muslims, although there is a shared sense of belonging to a global ‘community’ of faith, or ummah, cleavages of regional background are important in Southall. The main distinctions are between those from Pakistan, the Indian Punjab, East Africa and Mirpur, on the borders of Kashmir (smaller numbers come from Bangladesh, Somalia, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Malaysia, Trinidad and Fuji). There are also quite significant internal cleavages between those adults who have lived in urban centres such as Lahore and those whose backgrounds are in poorer, more rural districts such as Mirpur. In fact the rural or urban origins of parents is often cited as a further marker of distinction – rural parents being deemed more traditional and ‘set in their ways’ than their urban counterparts. Survey figures indicate that 50 per cent of parents come from a village; 32 per cent from a town; and 18 per cent from a city – although there are probably wide variations in how these three categories are perceived.

These various cleavages within, as well as between, religions mean that young people may unite or divide along several ‘axes of difference’. They may forge strong ties by virtue of shared religion, caste, migration history, region or language. Their sense of ethnic identity is variously composed according to the importance which is attached to any one criterion in a particular context. Despite the centrality of religion as a mark of distinction, a shared East African background, for example, may override this difference. And furthermore, any and all of these distinctions may be, and increasingly are being, transcended in the formation of a broad-based ‘British Asian’ identity.

SOCIAL PROFILE

The social and cultural life of Southall can only be appreciated in the context of its broader demographic and topographical features (see map) The 1981 census gave Southall a population of 66,488. The most densely populated area is Northcote ward: an area of terraced housing built in the 1920s and 1930s, containing the Town Hall, police station, other civic buildings and several gurdwaras, churches and temples. This, the most urbanised part of what is called ‘new’ Southall, encompasses the Broadway, Southall’s main artery: a busy highway lined with locally owned shops selling silk, saris and jewellery, food and music. Shop windows are adorned with huge posters of the latest Bombay stars; market stalls protrude on to the broad pavements selling spices, vegetables, clothes and music cassettes.

Figure 1 Sketch map of Southall

Southall, or Chota Punjab (‘little Punjab’), as it is known locally, is divided by what was formerly the Great Western Railway line, a territorial and symbolic boundary separating ‘old’ and ‘new’, which is exploited by local youth gangs eager to defend their ‘patch’. South of the railway line is Glebe ward, or ‘old Southall’, which covers a larger area than Northcote. It is less densely populated and contains Edwardian terraced houses, shops, churches, temples, gurdwaras and an impressive mosque with a tall minaret. Glebe and Northcote wards contain the highest number of households with families of South Asian origin – ‘white’ families having moved to the more ‘leafy’ and sparsely populated peripheries of Southall. Indeed, Southall has the highest proportion (59 per cent) – and number – of households headed by persons born in the ‘New Commonwealth and Pakistan’ (NCWP) in the London borough of Ealing, of which it is part. On 1981 census figures, 39 per cent of the population were born in the NCWP while 57 per cent of the population are UK born (including the children of NCPW parentage born in the UK).

Southall also has by far the youngest population profile in the borough of Ealing. Overall, one quarter of its population are of school age. Twenty-seven per cent of its residents are 16 or younger and 44 per cent are under the age of 24. In Northcote ward, around the Broadway, this figure rises to one third. The presence of youth can be felt on the streets, in the cafés and bars, in games arcades and in the parks. Young males can often be seen conspicuously ‘cruising’ up and down the Broadway in red Ford Capris and white Triumph Stags, sound systems at full volume pumping bhangra or reggae beats, trying to catch the eyes of girls walking by, shouting provocative and flirtatious remarks. As an elderly Sikh cab driver once told me with cheerful sagacity: ‘I always made a rule of living at least two miles from the Broadway when my children were growing up – and I advise all my friends to do the same. The Broadway – you see it’s like honey to bees – something happens to young people when they live too near the Broadway.’

But at night, after the shops close, usually at around 8 p.m., the Broadway empties and all is quiet – except for large groups of young boys who can be seen on street corners and in the side-streets off the Broadway, huddled around, talking ‘men’s’ talk, smoking, at times drinking and casually enjoying themselves.

However, Southall also has the highest percentage of unemployed people in the borough. School-leavers constitute the largest group of unemployed (22 per cent), followed by the 20–24 age group (15 per cent) (1981 census data). Official figures are of dubious accuracy and probably underestimate the number of unemployed. According to registered unemployed figures appearing in the local newspaper (Informer, 12 April 1991), the number of unemployed in Southall had risen threefold, from 3,266 in 1981 to 9,637 in 1991. Of Southall’s 66,488 residents, just under half were economically active at the time of the 1981 census. Of these 61 per cent were male and 39 per cent were female. The majority of employed people in Glebe and Northcote wards, where most ‘Asian’ families live, are employed in semiskilled and unskilled manual jobs. The main occupations for both men and women are in the manual grouping (38 per cent). In contrast, in Waxlow ward, where more white people live, there is a greater percentage of people employed in professional and managerial jobs. According to our survey data, nearly three-quarters (71 per cent) of young people claim to aspire to better occupations than their parents. This highlights young people’s aspirations towards increased mobility – geographical, economic and social – a theme which will recur in this study.

Ethnographic data highlights the ever greater economic role of women in families and their greater likelihood of being exploited. In the youth survey (see Appendix 1c), 69 per cent of mothers were reported as employed outside the home, 28 per cent as housewives and 3 per cent as retired. Of the 69 per cent in employment, 38 per cent fall into the manual, 10 per cent into the semi-skilled and 17 per cent into the skilled job categories. The decline of local manufacturing industries has caused a sharp rise in male unemployment, while the expansion of the service sector has improved employment opportunities for women especially. One of the key local employers of both women and men is Heathrow Airport and the service industries that have arisen around it. Though many parents work long hours and do several shifts, such jobs are eagerly sought after: they are relatively secure and, moreover, they offer the perk of reduced airfares to the subcontinent (as low as 20 per cent of the normal fare), allowing many families to visit relatives annually or at least much more frequently than they could afford to otherwise.

Increased economic independence has brought some women greater autonomy, and this is probably one of the most significant factors affecting changes in gender roles and relations in the family. However for others, employment means being doubly exploited – on the work front and in the home. Many women are employed in low-paid, part-time jobs in local catering firms, factories and ‘sweat shops’ for manufacturing clothes. Others work from home and are paid on a piecework basis. Often they are paid in cash and deprived of their statutory employment rights. At the same time most mothers and daughters are still expected to take full responsibility for cooking and cleaning and other domestic duties.

Southall has the highest proportion of owner-occupied housing (appro...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Figures
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Southall: Chota Punjab, West London
• Chapter 2: Living Fieldwork – Writing Ethnography
• Chapter 3: Local Uses of the Media: Negotiating Culture and Identity
• Chapter 4: Coming of Age in Southall: TV News Talk
• Chapter 5: Neighbours and Gossip: Kinship, Courtship and Community
• Chapter 6: Cool Bodies: TV Ad Talk
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Southall Youth Survey (1989–1990)
• Bibliography