SOAS Research Online

Abstract

A study of generation differences in immigrant groups. with special reference to Sikhs The study is based on data about Punjabi Sikh immigrants collected during nine months field work in Coventry. The three main themes of the thesis are: (1) the determination of the extent to which the social relations of Punjabi immigrants are with natives and the extent to which they are with other Punjabis; (2) the comparison of the patterns of social relations of first generation immigrants with those of subsequent generations; (3) the comparison of social behaviour in various fields of young second generation immigrants with the behaviour of other young immigrants more recently arrived in the immigrant situation. Chapter 1 deals with the methods and problems of fieldwork. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 give a background to the analysis of the local situation in the following chapters, including a definition of terms, the theoretical framework, a typology of chain migration with a review of previous migration into England, the aetiology of the Punjabi migration and a sketch of the Punjabi settlement in Coventry. In Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 the three main themes are developed with reference to the family, household and marriage; to education and employment; to peer group association and to political activity. The final chapter is a summary of the conclusions of the four previous chapters.