Middling Migration: Contradictory Mobility Experiences of Indian Youth in London

Abstract

In this paper we examine the contradictory migration experiences of Indian youngsters who recently moved to Britain on a student or temporary work visa. All of them lived in London at the time of the interview, and are from middle class families in Gujarat. Like many of their peers in developing countries, they dreamed of going to the West to earn money, to study and to get experience in a foreign country to improve their prospects at home. Once in London, however, they ended up in low-status, semi-skilled jobs to cover their expenses, and lived in small guesthouses crammed with newly arrived migrants.Why did these youngsters leave India and go to London, and what do they get by moving abroad? Based on long-term research in London and Gujarat, our findings show that the decision to migrate is shaped by a combination of individual and social motivations of both the young migrants and their families in India. Several youngsters moved to London not only to earn money and gain new experiences, but also to escape family pressures and obligations by living away from their parents. Their parents encourage them, and even support them, though they are aware of the difficulties their children face in London. They regard the migration as a temporary, but requisite precautionary strategy to maintain their status as middle class families in present-day India, thereby safeguarding the next generation's future prospects.

Elite or middling? International students and migrant diversification

“…We also identify two more middling and heterogeneous components. One of these ('networked middling') accords with expectations of ethnic embeddedness in studies of 'middling transnationals' (Rutten and Verstappen 2013). The second ('middle class middling') shares the middle class status of the 'networked middling' group, but is distinguished by its intermediate position, its lower embeddedness in social networks, and its more uncertain future intentions.…”

“…Informed by intra-EU free movement and national anxieties relating to immigration, migration policy throughout Europe has become more restrictive. Facing more limited opportunities for economic or family migration, migrants with more 'middling' and constrained possibilities may now be pursuing student routes, as noted by several recent ethnographies of students and highly skilled migrants in global cities (Ho, 2011;Rutten and Verstappen, 2013;Robertson and Runganaikaloo, 2014;Mavroudi and Warren, 2013).…”

“…In terms of pull factors, increasing pressure to recruit less selected students from developing countries for degree programmes, especially in English speaking countries, and the increasing internationalization of higher education (Altbach and Knight, 2007), have created greater demand for foreign students in the UK (Findlay, 2011). On the push side, the recent restrictions on work and family visas may create a "substitution effect", channelling wouldbe migrants to the student visa as the only viable opportunity to perpetuate network driven migration routes from 'traditional' sending countries (De Haas, 2011) Together, these trends can be expected to have altered the composition of third country students, who, while they in no way represent a 'mass' movement, may be much less elite than before (Rutten and Verstappen, 2013;Jones, 2013). …”

Migrants in liminal time and space: an exploration of the experiences of highly skilled Indian bachelors in Amsterdam

“…For many young men, migration has become a desirable element in their 'coming of age'. Within the context of personal, social and national development, spending some time working abroad seems to have become an expected element of the transition into adulthood (Ali 2007;Osella and Osella 2000;Rutten and Verstappen 2014). As Dirash told us: '[Migration] brings pride, it is considered a smart thing to do' (Dirash, 28, IT Specialist).…”

“…The aspiration to move abroad is very strong among many young Indians, and in several regions one can speak of a 'culture of migration' in which the celebration of migration has become the norm and begets further migration (Massey et al 1993;Ali 2007;Bal 2014;Rutten and Verstappen 2014;Kõu et al 2015). For many young men, migration has become a desirable element in their 'coming of age'.…”