Asian Indians in Great Britain

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Cultural Studies - European Studies, grade: 1.3, University of Potsdam, course: The Commonwealth of Nations, language: English, abstract: In this essay, I will raise the question if the story of immigration of Asian Indians toGreat Britain can be considered a "genuine success story". At first glance, no onewould seriously doubt that. Asian Indians are the largest ethnic group in Britain andknown as an "upwardly mobile people". They are successful entrepreneurs, restaurantowners and academics; as well as the inventors of the popular "British" national dishchicken tikka masala, which has recently "surpassed fish and chips in terms ofpopularity" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/british_Asian). They are also importantinfluencers of Britain`s pop culture, especially through literature and successful filmssuch as Bend it like Beckham, East is East or the TV show The Kumars at No.42(ibid). The Anglo-Indian influence on British popular culture (ibid).The biggest influence that British Indians have on British popular culture can be seenby the large number of Indian restaurants, most of which are actually run by ownersof Bangladeshi origin. Chicken tikka masala has surpassed fish and chips in terms ofpopularity and become Britain`s most popular national dish, even though it is a BritishAsian invention which was not known in India until it was introduced after manyBritish tourists had requested it. Although Asian Indians are a vital part of the Britishculture, they still have to face many obstacles; racism and unemployment as well asintergenerational conflict are amongst these problems.[...]