" 1‘Going Away’ and ‘Coming Home’: Exploring the concept of ‘home’ and ‘homeland’ in thewritings of South Asian Writers of Britain.IAccording to Yasmin Hussain in her book Writing Diaspora: South Asian Women, Culture andEthnicity (2005) the notion of South Asian identity promotes a unity and solidarity among theSouth Asian diaspora. People from the South Asian cultures have often been treated as one?monolithic people? by the West. In Britain, all South Asians were defined as =Indian‘ prior to1947 (Hussain 2). Subsequently they were re-defined as Pakistani and Indian. Hussain observesthat Bangladeshis were only categorised as such from the 1970s when West and East Pakistanwere divided and Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation. The authors discussed in my paper share some link with the subcontinent through theirparentage. Hussain observes that =South Asian‘ is an ?umbrella term? (2). Yet, ethnically,culturally, and religiously there are differences within the term South Asian. Hussain furtherobserves that the majority of Britain‘s current South Asian population can be placed within fourbroad categories, Gujaratis and Punjabis from India, and Punjabis from Pakistan and Bangladesh.Those who are from Gujarat the populations are drawn from the coastal districts in Saurashtraand the Gulf of Cambay, with eighty percent being Hindu and the rest Muslim. The Punjabisfrom Pakistan are from areas such as Mirpur, Jhelum, Rawalpindi as well as Faisalabad andLahore. The majority of Bangladeshis are from the district of Sylhet.2According to the studies conducted by Avtar Brah and Judith Brown, a large number of migrantsfrom the South Asia were those recruited to rebuild the economy of post – war Britain. Dividingher study into three phases Brah observes that there was a severe labour shortage after the post- World War II period. She examines the flow of migrants from the South Asia beginning from the1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The history of colonialism and imperialism played an important role inthe migration process of 1950s. As Brah examines: ?If once the colonies had been a source ofcheap raw materials, now they became a source of cheap labour? (21).The South Asians whocame to Britain in the 1950s were part of this broader movement of migration in Europe. Thejobs that were available to them were those left by the white labour population. These unskilledjobs involved unsociable working hours, poor housing conditions and low wages. As a result,Asian labours came to occupy the lowest rungs of British employment hierarchy. Brah observesthat as ?ex-colonial subjects? the migrants inevitably came to occupy a ?group whose countrywas once ruled by Britain?. Thus, the ?encounter between the Asians and British wascircumscribed by colonial precedents? (21). Judith Brown further observes that the South Asians were part of a larger movement of peoplefrom the ?NewCommonwealth?. Citizens of the Commonwealth countries including those suchas ?India and Pakistan which had become independent, had free right of access into Britain atthis stage? (40). Brah suggests that in this early phase of the migration of South Asians there wasan under representation of women. At this stage the migrants had not come with an intention tosettle down. As Brah notices, ?They came primarily with the idea of accumulating sufficientsavings and then returning home? (24).In a sociological study of the South Asian migrants, Brah observes that at this stage the migrantshad to make many adjustments. The migrants at this stage belonged to rural origins. On their3arrival in Britain, they had to fit in the role of the industrial work. Thus, their working scheduleswere now governed by the clock and proper working hours. Thus, ?Overnight, a villager fromthe sub-continent arriving at Heathrow would be faced with the requirements of an urban,industrial society? (Brah 24). The migration of the South Asians was soon met by resentment of the white population. It wasmainly due to the nature of their work and the poor quality of their housing that the immigrantcame to be associated with the working class areas. At this stage the immigrants faced manysocio-economic problems such as lack of housing, inadequate social services, high levels ofunemployment and poor educational facilities. Brah advocates that the resentment was reflectedin the negative constructions of the immigrant. As a result, it was the Asian cultural practices thatcame under attack. According to the British stereotype, the Asian was an undesirable who=smelled of curry‘, was =dirty‘, wore =funny clothes‘, lived =packed like sardines in a room‘,practiced =strange religions‘ and so forth?(Brah 22). This resentment of the British was alsoreflected in the various policy measures taken by them to restrict the flow of immigrants. As aresult, the British Government introduced the Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1962 (Brah23). Moreover, it was in the early 1960s that the South Asians began facing discrimination inhousing and employment. Even racial abuse became a ?significant facet of the day-to-day socialexperience of Asians in Britain? (Brah 25).In the 1960s, an assimilation model was promoted for the South Asians. The immigrant was anepitome of the ?outsider? and the ?alien? whose culture constituted an antithesis of the Britishway of life (Brah 23). Those who followed the ?assimilationist theory? believed that the futuregenerations of the South Asians would abandon their culture in favour of western lifestyle.4The integration theory implied more equal opportunities, cultural diversity and mutual trust(Brah 25) .As the ?race relation industry? grew so did racism(Brah 26). Various bodies andagencies as well as the individuals were involved in the ?race relations industry?, namely, theCommunity Relations Commission (later constituted as the Commission For Race Equality), theRace Relations Board, the Runnymede Trust as well as the locally-based community relationscouncils (Brah 26).As Judith Brown observes, the British government introduced the ?voucher system? for theSouth Asian migrants. Ironically, the British attempts to control the immigration led to =chainmigration‘. Those who were already settled sponsored their family members and friends .Brownobserves that since the primary migration of male workers stopped there were more ?familyreunions? (Brown 44). Moreover, the migration of women and children was more significant as?it was the beginning of more permanent settlement in Britain? (Brown 44).In a similar vein, Brah observes that by the 1970s the Asians from the sub-continent too hadcome to accept that their stay in the continent was permanent. Once the family was reunited, the=myth of return‘ was likely to remain a myth. Thus, the attention was now directed towardsbuilding a life in Britain. The mid-1960s also witnessed the arrival of East African Asian inBritain. It is important to mention it in the paper since Avtar Brah is an East African Asiansettled in Britain. Her book Cartographies of Diaspora form an important framework to thepaper and her writings are largely centered on her study of South Asians settled in Britain. It was in the 1970s that the issues of cultural identity became crucial. Brah observes that theeducational curriculum during these times was highly ?ethnocentric? (Brah 36). Moreover,?racialised practices? in the school by the students as well as the teachers was undermining theaspirations of their children. As a result, parents began to teach their children about their5background and histories. It was also around the 1970s that the black population in Britain wasorganising self-help groups. The black communities across Britain were providing information,advice, support and education to the members of their communities. Thus, the idea popularisedby the black community was also adopted by the South Asians.During the 1970s Britain witnessed economic recession as well as racialised conflict. TheImmigration Act of the 1971 prevented more immigration from the South Asia. In 1978,Margaret Thatcher promoted anti-immigration laws. Such policies demonstrate that thegovernments of Britain were adopting measures to prevent the immigrants which they had earlierrecruited to uplift their economies. The 1970s also witnessed the emergence of the firstgeneration of young Asians with formal education in British schools. Brah observes that therewas a difference between the parents who migrated in the 1950s and 1960s and their children:…having grown up in Britain, they articulate a home-grown British politicaldiscourse.They lay claim to the localities in which they live as their =home‘. Moreover, howevermuch they may be constructed as =outsiders‘, they contest these psychological andgeographical spaces from the position of =insiders‘. Even when they describe themselvesas =Asian‘, this is not a reaching back to some =primordial Asian‘ identity. What they arespeaking of is a modality of =British Asian-ness‘. (47)An interrogation in the works of South Asian writers also allow us an inquiry in the concept ofthe diaspora. Etymologically derived from the Greek term diasperien, from dia- across and – sperien to ?sow or scatter seeds? (Braziel and Mannur 1). According to Jana Evans Braziel andAnita Mannur in Theorizing Diaspora: A Reader ?diaspora is a term that can be seen as namingof the other which has been historically dislocated from their native homeland through themovements of migration, immigration, or exile.?(1) Braziel and Mannur trace the historical "