Social Identity Frameworks of the British South Asian Middle Classes

This chapter will explore the social identity frameworks of British South Asian professionals from primary interview data with British-born South Asian professionals. Demographic information about the research participants are found in the Appendix. This chapter will outline where and how individuals conform to, transgress or deconstruct ‘objective’ categorisations of class, ethnic, religious, racial and national identity, drawing tentative comparisons between some of the sub-groups under analysis (Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani). Commonly understood identity categories proved an analytically useful reference point to start conversations with the interview participants, playing a dual practical and political role for individuals and groups seeking to locate themselves in British society and within their own communities. As will be demonstrated, however, experiences of middle class formation, identity hybridisation and change across the immigrant to the second generation, and personal experiences of social mobility bear on identification.