The Myth of Return: Dismissal, Survival or Revival? A Bradford Example of Transnationalism as a Political Instrument

Abstract

This article documents forms of ‘homeland’ attachment and analyses their significance among second- and third-generation British Pakistanis by comparison with the ‘myth of return’ that characterised the early pioneer phase of Pakistani migration to Britain. ‘Homeland attachment’ for young British Pakistanis is constituted through school holidays spent in Pakistan, participation there in life-cycle rituals involving the wider kinship network, and the older generation's promotion of the idea of Pakistan as a spiritual and cultural homeland. The article suggests that, for the pioneer generation, the ‘myth of return’ justified a socio-economically motivated migration. Yet for the second and third generations, ‘homeland’ attachments and the idea of a possible return to Pakistan represent, instead, a response to contemporary political tensions and Islamophobia. Thus, while ‘myth of return’ remains, for the majority, a myth, it has been revitalised and has a new political significance in the contemporary political context. The paper will first of all acknowledge the intersections between the two continents and analyse how homeland attachment is transmitted to younger generations through the organisation of the life-cycle. In the second part, attention will switch to the economic ‘myth of return’ of the pioneer generation and its transformation into a political issue with reference to contemporary global events.

Keywords:

• Pakistan
• Mirpur
• Bradford
• Myth of Return
• Political Transnationalism

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank both Malcolm Harrison of Leeds University for his critical comments on an earlier version of this paper, and three anonymous JEMS referees whose comments aided in the composition of the final draft.

Notes

1. My article is based on the research I carried out over this period, and therefore later events such as the London bombings and the consequent investigation into the alleged training of the British bombers in Pakistan will not be covered here.

2. Mange is the short form for mangeter—fiancé or fiancée—and it is ironically used to describe people who moved to England thanks to Primary Purpose. Primary Purpose, as in Home Office documents, refers to a marriage match implemented to provide a bride or groom with a British passport. Together with the variant ‘freshy’, it is used derogatorily to mean uncivilised and backward.

3. In July 2001 some former textile towns in Northern England were affected by a series of riots in which Muslim youth confronted the police in a violent way after provocation stirred by the British National Party (Gwynne 2004). Although the riots were condemned by the elder generation of Bradford Pakistanis, the sentencing employed against rioters was considered very harsh and produced a sense of unfairness in a considerable part of the community (Amin 2003).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marta Bolognani

Marta Bolognani is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Leeds