The Sikhs of South Auckland : an anthropological and historical account of Sikh migration and resettlement in the Counties-Manukau districts of Auckland, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology
Loading...
Date
2011
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Migration has always been part of the human endeavour. This aspect of human
behaviour is often characterised as driven solely by an economic rationale in
that individuals or families migrate in order to improve their economic well
being. Because of this perspective most contemporary academic studies have
focused on the economic push- pull factors of migration. However there has
been little attention given to other dimensions such as normative family
obligations, geographical dispersion of relatives and friends or historical depth
of family migration that may facilitate or inhibit the migration and resettlement
process.
To delve into these differing paradigms I spent considerable time with the Sikh
Community as a participant observer and conducted interviews both formally
and informally with Sikh migrants. I explored their reasoning for migration and
documented their initial and long term experiences here in New Zealand.
I conclude that economic considerations, whilst important no longer play the
dominant role, as espoused by neo-classical economic theorists. Rather it is
factors such as clean air, weather patterns, infrastructure capability and political
transparency that have eclipsed the importance of immediate and future
economic considerations when considering, implementing or maintaining the
migration process.
Description
Keywords
Sikh migration, Sikhs, Auckland, Counties-Manukau, Sikh communities