Title: From the Belgrave Road to the Golden Mile: the transformation of Asians in Leicester
1From the Belgrave Road to the Golden Mile the
transformation of Asians in Leicester
- Pippa Virdee
- De Montfort University
- 17 March 2008
2History of migration
- Post-war labour shortage
- 40s 50s Afro-Caribbean
- Early 60s Pakistani and Gujarati
- Late 60s early 70s East African Asians
3South Asian Migration into Leicester, 1951-2001
according to place of birth
Country 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
India 569 1,827 11,510 18,235 20,841 24,677
Pakistan 49 109 775 1,305 1,155 1,854
Bangladesh - - 685 - - 1,051
East Africa 18 1,630 6,835 18,622 17,168 18,843
Total 636 3,566 19,805 38,162 39,164 46,425
Source Bonney, 2003 and National Census
4(No Transcript)
5Religion Census 2001
6Leicester wards since 2001
Hindus Latimer, Belgrave and Rushy Mead Muslims
Spinney Hill and Stoneygate Sikhs - scattered
7Distinguishing features
- Large East African presence
- High number of twice migrants
- Home of the Jain community
- Multicultural role model
- Will become the first minority white city
- Associated problem of white flight
8Transformation of the city
- 1960s-1970s Reputation for racism
- Hostility of the local press
- Involved in the revival of the city
- 1980s-1990s model of successful
multiculturalism - Present new wave of migration
- 10,000 Somalis via the Netherlands
- Polish migrants
9Themes of the workshop
- The Leicester Role Model
- Narrating Asian Leicester
- Migration, Food and Integration
- Sport and Ethnicity in Leicester
- Religion, Identity and Dance
10Themes and issues
- Branding and marketing of Leicester by the city
council - Role of festivals
- Diwali, Navratri, Belgrave Mela, Caribbean
Carnival, and Pride Mardi Gras
11Diwali celebrations on Belgrave Road
12Themes and issues
- Great diversity in the religious landscape
- Role of the city planning policy
- Active participation by the migrant community in
local government
13Further research
- Focus has been on the economic and political
contribution of South Asians - Reflects the entrepreneurial background of
migrants - Minorities within minorities and the
intra-relationship - Relationship with the homeland
- Complicated by the twice migrants
- Impact and incorporation of new migrants
14Key texts
- J. Herbert, Joanna, Negotiating Boundaries in the
City Migration, Ethnicity, and Gender in
Britain, (2008) - R. Bonney and W. Le Goff, Leicester's Cultural
Diversity in the Context of the British Debate on
Multiculturalism International Journal of
Diversity in Organisations, Communities and
Nations (2007) - G. Singh, Multiculturalism in Contemporary
Britain Reflections on the 'Leicester Model
International Journal on Multicultural Societies
(2003) - P. Panayi, The Spicing up of English Provincial
Life The History of Curry in Leicester in A.
Kershen, Food in The Migrant Experience (2002) - G. Singh and J. Martin, Asian Leicester (2002)
- M. Banks, Organizing Jainism in India and
England, (1992) - V. Marrett, Immigrants Settling in the City (1989)