Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Abstract: In this paper, I present an empirical analysis of the cultural activities of a particular group of upper-middle class immigrants of color. I apply the notion of boundary work to immigrants in the multi-faceted context of the San Francisco bay area where they might give salience to differing and contradictory criteria for status depending on the multiple cultural repertoires available to draw from. Based on participant observation and in-depth interviews, I find that Bengali immigrants, in the face of racialization and internal differentiation, construct immigrant cultural capital by fusing �tolerant� multi-cultural (Bryson, 1999) and �exclusive� ethnic cultural capital (Carter, 2003). I argue that segmented assimilation, currently, the most influential theory on immigrant identity, fails to elucidate how racial formation in the U.S. impacts upon highly skilled, non-white immigrants who identify ethnically but are not based in an ethnic enclave. My findings display that scholars of immigrant identity need to acknowledge the role of multidimensional cultural capital in adaptation and identification processes.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The paper is an attempt to trace the discursive and material contexts which framed the efforts of Bengali Muslim writers, especially women among them, to imagine a community through their work as public intellectuals in late colonial Bengal. While such writings by Muslim intellectuals, in response to the derogatory constructions of Muslimness by both the British and Hindu bhadralok (middle class), were common enough in early twentieth century Bengal, little of that work has entered into normative historical accounts of post-independence India. Additionally the paper highlights, and reflects on, some of the differences in emphasis and concerns reflected in the writings of Muslim women who seemed more likely to focus on the substance of social reforms, and their immediate ramifications for the welfare of the community, rather than on the exigencies of nation-formation�a theme that dominates the written history of the late colonial period in Bengal.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In studies of immigration and ethnicity, focus on immigrant groups as a whole has generally ignored immigrant sub-groups. Although Scholars researching Asian Indians have sometimes focused on sub-groups none have attempted a comparison between sub-groups of the same nationality (Ganguly 2001, Jain 1989, Leonard 1997, Gibson 1988). This paper compares and contrasts the identification processes of two ethno-religious sub-groups within the larger population of Asian Indians in the San Francisco bay area: the Bengali-Hindus and the Punjabi-Sikhs. I examine how immigrants draw upon and become shaped by multiple cultural repertoires. I also look at the impact of socioeconomic background on immigrant boundary work (Lamont 1992). Based on participant observation, in-depth interviews and informal focus groups, I find that both Bengali-Hindus as well as Punjabi-Sikhs construct an internal ethnic identity, but for very different purposes. Punjabi Sikhs in my sample use an ethno-religious culture to express solidarity and to avoid marginalization. In contrast, Bengali-Hindu interviewees use an ethno-class culture to safeguard their class privilege and distance themselves from co-nationals. The findings display the need to acknowledge the role of pre-migration and sub-national ethnicity in adaptation and identification processes.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Following the Immigration Act of 1965, some of the fastest growing groups of immigrants have originated from South Asia, particularly from Bangladesh. These immigrants come to the United States in search of economic opportunities and educational opportunities for their children. They strive to uphold their cultural values and traditions even while living in the United States. These immigrants have created ethnic communities in which they are able to form a Bengali subculture in the United States and better resist assimilation. These immigrants also strive to raise their second-generation children in traditional Bengali manner, so that they will also resist assimilation into the American culture. However, since the second-generation Bengalis have more exposure to the American culture in school and the media, they have two sets of values; one that reflects the traditional Bengali culture taught by their parents and ethnic community, and one that is more modern and westernized American value system. The second-generation Bengalis will integrate these two value systems, but will be more inclined to one set of values depending on how much assimilation has occurred. One of the ways in which assimilation can be seen in second-generation Bengalis is through marriage. Marriage plays a major role in the Bengali community, especially for females. Not only are Bengali immigrants faced with the pressures of fulfilling the functions of marriage, but they must also deal with issues of choosing between traditional arranged marriages or dating, endogamy or exogamy, and changing gender roles. These deal with assimilation of Bengali immigrants.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: At independence from British colonial rule in 1947, Pakistan comprised of two wings: East and West Pakistan, separated by a thousand miles of Indian territory. By 1971, its eastern wing was no more, replaced instead by the independent state of Bangladesh after a brutal civil war between Bengali nationalists and the Pakistani military. While geographical separation clearly hindered the process of national integration between the two wings, so did linguistic, cultural and social structural differences. Given these differences, could Bengali nationalism have been contained and accommodated within a united Pakistan? Inter-wing disparities in Pakistan, I argue, had their roots in British colonial rule in the Indian sub-continent. "Hegemonic" policies of the British colonial administration, which worked to the detriment of the Bengalis and in favor of Punjabis, led to the emergence of a “counter-hegemonic” Bengali ethno-nationalism. The patterns of Punjabi and Mohajir (migrant) domination set in place under colonial rule were carried over into Pakistan and were continued and reinforced after 1947. This created the environment and incentives conducive to the rise and subsequent radicalization of Bengali nationalism.