The South Asian Community
By: M.H.K. Qureshi
From: Polyphony Spring/Summer 1984
© 1984 Multicultural History Society of Ontario
People from the Indian subcontinent started coming to
Canada in the late sixties. In the beginning they did not come
directly from India or Pakistan but, instead, were redirected from
either the United States or Great Britain. Basically, this group
was comprised of the professional class. The lure to come here
was, of course, economic-better opportunities for professional
growth, a better standard of living, better educational facilities
for children and more material comforts. Furthermore, North
American life was found to be culturally vibrant and socially free
and independent, not visibly riddled with bureaucratic corruption,
political lethargy, bribery, chronic lack of food, unemployment,
religious riots, class struggle, caste creed and linguistic
animosities as were commonplace in the subcontinent.
So Indians and Pakistanis made their way to Canada. For many it
was a risky adventure, and for a few it proved to be a total
disappointment. But even those who clenched their teeth in the
face of the inhospitable winter conditions and dug in their heels
to face the uncertainties soon learned that most of their energies
were being spent in just settling down. Worse still, there was a
realization that they were not part and parcel of the mainstream,
and they were too few and too heterogeneous a group to come
together and be heard by the majority. With the coming of Asians
from Uganda, numbers and visibility increased as did a traditional
hostility from the white majority groups. It soon developed into
racial strife and general illwill. Psychologically, it was very
unsettling. The talk of the day was nothing but the fear of the
Paki-bashing phenomenon. It made many newcomers depressed and
schizophrenic. The big question was how could one become Canadian
when the hosts were not ready to accept them as Canadians. Indians
and Pakistanis, generally a diversified and divided group, agreed
on one point; that all Canadians, not just a lunatic fringe as
politicians, do-gooders and government bureaucrats preferred to
think, one and all, were racists.
Since most South Asian immigrants were professionals or
white-collar workers, and because of their occupational
preferences back home, they thronged to join the civil service
cadres. There they believe they have met with a hostile
bureaucracy at all three levels of government, and they have
grudgingly come to terms with the reality of the situation. If
there were disappointments, there were also reasons to build hope.
If they themselves did not receive recognition and could not
achieve parity, their children had no such difficulty. Going
through the same school system and being brought up here, the
children were quite at home. They spoke Canadian English and
showed no preference for Indo-Pakistani food or dress. Canadian
society has apparently accepted them, and they appear to be
acculturating rapidly.
For the first generation of immigrants, problems of adjustment
included not just the encounters with prejudice, but their own
emotional responses to a new land, its climate and culture, as
well as its moral and social systems. Above all there was the
issue of how immigrants felt about the retention of their
religious and cultural identity, their heritage and their
language. Since those from the subcontinent and East Africa had
little religious and ethnocultural homogeneity, it was natural
that the issue of cultural retention would be vexed and
complicated in Toronto.
So what aspects of identity should one retain from the
subcontinent mosaic and yet become an integral part of a new
mosaic? A New Delhi Muslim most probably would opt for his
religious Islamic faith and perhaps his language. His options
would have no meaning for a Maharashtrian, a Tamil-speaking Hindu,
or even a Bangladeshi. It is likely that, while language and faith
may particularize South Asian immigrant life, active co-operation
in areas of economic matters and broad cultural activities can be
achieved. Divisive factors remain and result in factionalism.
Those Pakistanis and Indians who evoke the homeland too much also
bring to Canada some of its religious, sectional and ethnic
strife. In short, as a poet once said, "Home is the final trap /
That lurks for you in many a wily shape."
During the last twenty years more than 100,000 people of East
Indian origin came to Canada. They are not all professionals as
was the case in the beginning. Now you will find men and women who
run businesses, manage restaurants offering Indian and Pakistani
cuisine, operate movie theatres and radio shows.
Indians do not congregate in any particular residential areas,
neither do they cluster in one trade, profession, nor business.
However, in any uncertain situation, fate often plays strange
tricks. The immigrant community provides innumerable examples of
the disruption caused by migration. Engineers, successful in their
land of origin, have been forced to work as watchmen in Toronto.
Barbers have become radio personalities. Circumstances have forced
some highly educated people to accept humble jobs. The interesting
result of this human tragedy was that people had to adjust to new
roles and status, and that has lessened the significance of
previous station in the social structure or caste among the
groups.
The Indian/Pakistani mind seeks entertainment in culture and even
through religious institutions. The emphasis on entertainment has
several causes. First it attracts and draws people otherwise lost
to the group. Second, it teaches culture and religion, especially
to the Canadian-born. Third, it provides opportunity for people of
different Indian backgrounds to come together in this new
environment. Cultural and religious entertainment has immensely
benefited these newcomers. It has reincarnated what had died among
their Canadian-born offspring. For the older generation, living on
memories, developing guilty consciences about their relatively
easy life here compared to that of their compatriots at home and
their inability to serve their old, dying parents, the revival of
the Indian cultural scene provides a welcome relief. Instead of
sitting alone, or in the company of like-minded friends,
grumbling, complaining and cursing, they were able to get out and
participate.
The Indian and Pakistani community would have felt more
comfortable in Canada if severe immigration restrictions had not
come into effect, cruelly keeping brothers, sisters and other
family members from joining their immediate families in Canada.
Even with such a small community, people of the Indian
subcontinent have been able to revive and create their own
respective sub-cultures, religious denominations and
congregations. Many societies sprang up to cater to the cultural
needs of the people. Culture to an average Indian, especially
housewives, includes going to movies, visiting Chandni Chowk and
the East Indian shopping area on Gerrard Street to chew on "paan",
or to taste the Indian sweets and relishes.
Indian films and actors have traditionally enjoyed a mass
following. Singers too have many followers. Most of them have
visited North America and have performed here. In fact, it has
become an annual summer event to have such performances in North
American cities. There are also people who take their religion
very seriously, and many Indians and Pakistanis, enthused with an
evangelical spirit, seek religious experts of every variety and
form to keep religion alive among the immigrants. Many religious
schools have been organised to impart sacred teachings to the
children ; they follow the Canadian tradition of Sunday
schools.
Many immigrants are Urdu speaking and heirs to a 250-year-old
tradition of arranging sessions for poetry recitations. This is a
phenomenon which is really unique. It is a literary, cultural
event which is also exceedingly entertaining. If a proper rapport
is established between the audience and the poets, a very
satisfying and intellectually invigorating session takes place.
Urdu-speaking people come from India, Pakistan, England, the
Middle East and Africa. Great enthusiasm is found among them for
such poetry reading. In Toronto an Urdu society is being formed
which has been doing exemplary work in bringing poets to such
gatherings from India , Pakistan and the United Kingdom, as well
as from the United States and elsewhere in Canada. Presently, Urdu
poetry, following the trend of the time, deals with modern-day
problems, issues and their effects on the individual in social and
psychological terms. Of course, perennial themes of love and
courtship are also favourite subjects. Such poetry reading
sessions are musical concerts, evangelical sermons, cultural shows
and a serious literary exercise all rolled into one emotionally
charged performance.
As things stand now, immigrants from the Indian subcontinent feel
that they have made a niche for themselves and have no reservation
about being Canadians. They are satisfied in many ways, but are
also a bit apprehensive. The feeling of being so few, of being cut
off from blood relatives, still imparts a sense of isolation. This
is not conductive to the growth and natural blooming of their
social and cultural heritage. If the children born and raised here
do not encounter the same difficulties and prejudice that the
first generation did, then it can easily be predicted that, except
for their brownish skin, they will become North American in every
way. Their acceptance of Canada as a homeland is already a fact.
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