“Sense of Community: a Cultural Study” Dr

© 2019 JETIR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 5 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) “Sense of community: A cultural study” Dr. Vijay Rathee (Faculty in Management) MDU-CPAS, Sector 40, Gurugram, Maharshi Dayanad Unversity, Rohtak, Haryana, India,

Ms. Sweta Sharma (Faculty in Management) Gurugram University, Gurugram, Haryana, India.

Abstract: The present study about an immigrant community enables one to understand the hardships and hopes. It also helps to know their attitude towards the host community. It enables one to understand the psychological impact of migration.Three forms of data collection methods were involved. These include qualitative interview, visual community and archival data.The data obtained was thematically analysed. Thematic analysis is an analysis of the major themes to be found in qualitative data. There were two major themes that occurred from the participant’s interview. Ultimately it has been concluded that, a sense of community enhances the environmental, psychological, and relational quality of life of an individual.

Key words: Immigrants study, thematic analysis, qualitative data, archival data, visual community.

Introduction

The present study was aimed at studying Sense of community in an immigrant population. Not just international migration but internal migration from one area to another in search of improved livelihoods is also a key feature of human history. While some regions and sectors fall behind in their capacity to support populations, others move ahead and people migrate to access these emerging opportunities. Industrialization widens the gap between rural and urban areas, inducing a shift of the workforce towards industrializing areas. There is extensive debate on the factors that cause populations to shift, from those that emphasize individual rationality and household behavior to those that cite the structural logic of capitalist development (Haan&Rogaly, 2002). Moreover, numerous studies show that the process of migration is influenced by social, cultural and economic factors and outcomes can be vastly different for men and women, for different groups and different locations.

Studying about an immigrant community enables one to understand the hardships and hopes. It also helps to know their attitude towards the host community. It enables one to understand the psychological impact of migration. It is necessary to consider the long-term requirements of this population and the implications of permanent settlement on both the migrant and the host country.Since migration is diverse, attention has generally been focused on different groups of international migrants rather than internal migrants. However, there is a high rate of migration observed in urban cities. The cities of Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata are all among the world’s top ten most populous urban areas, and India has 25 of the 100 fastest-growing cities worldwide. A significant source of this growth is rural-to-urban migration, as an increasing number of people do not find sufficient JETIR1905T43 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 1685

© 2019 JETIR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 5 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) economic opportunities in rural areas and move instead to towns and cities. Migrants belonging to different parts of India move to the urban cities.

One such community that is expanding at an immense rate is the Garhwali community from the Uttarakhand region. According to various estimates, there are at least 2.5 million Garhwali migrants living in Delhi and the National Capital Region. However, there is a dearth of research available on this community as it continues to grow rapidly. Hence the researcher was interested in finding the Psychological Sense of Community in a Garhwali participant living in Delhi since fifteen years. The participant was interviewed by preparing a probe list tapping on the elements of Sense of Community as given by McMillan and Chavis. In light of the research topic, the following review was carried out.

Berry’s (1997) model of acculturation and migrant adaptation contains four common responses to intercultural contact, including integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. These responses are characterized by shifts in attitudes and behavior toward one’s own and other communities. The different responses are also characterized by different mental health outcomes with integration being the most favorable and marginalization the least. There is general agreement among these models that those who are rooted in their home culture report better social and psychological wellbeing compared to those who are not.

Thompson (1998) discussed research showing that participation in ethnic community activities and strength of ethnic identification has positive links with self-esteem and wellbeing. Ghaffarian (1998) found support for the bicultural hypothesis that those who hold onto their home culture while adopting the host culture report better health outcomes.

Miglietta and Tartaglia (2008) shows that immigrants adapt best in relation to their ability to negotiate between the cultural entities they confront. Factors such as cultural knowledge, length of stay in the new culture, and linguistic competence strongly influence this process. Length of stay and linguistic competence may be essential for cultural knowledge acquisition that, in turn, may be enhanced by mass media consumption. A questionnaire is completed by 576 immigrants (196 Romanians, 179 North Africans, and 201 Latino Americans) investigating time spent in Italy, proficiency in the Italian language, familiarity with Italian and homeland mass media, and acculturation. The authors hypothesize that language plays a central role in the acculturation process and assume that length of stay influences acculturation mostly through linguistic competence and mass media knowledge. A structural equation model is tested to verify the hypothesis. The model results are acceptable, invariant across genders, and partially invariant across ethno-cultural groups.

To contextualize, the archival data related to the community was obtained.

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Background of the Garhwal Region

Garhwal is the northwestern region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, it is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the northwest by Himachal Pradesh state. It includes the districts of Chamoli, Dehradun, Haridwar, PauriGarhwal, Rudraprayag, TehriGarhwal, and Uttarkashi. The people ofGarhwal are known as Garhwali and speak the Garhwali language. The administrative center for Garhwal division is the town of Pauri.

Aim:The aim was to study the sense of community in Immigrants living in Delhi since the past ten years.

On the whole, it can be said that the difficult terrain, lack of transport, the lack of employment along with small farm sizes and low arm incomes are the major reasons that has fuelled large migration from rural areas of the state to the cities across the country.

Method

Sample

The participant in the present study was a 43 old male Garhwali migrant residing inDelhi. The participant originally belongs to the Pauri district of Garhwal. He migrated in the year 2001 and has been living in Delhi since then. He is currently working in an export company in Mayapuri.

Data collection

In the present study, three forms of data collection methods were involved. These include qualitative interview, visual community and archival data.

First, the data was collected using qualitative interview. The probe list was developed keeping in mind the four elements of sense of community described by McMillan and Chavis. The researchers brainstormed and finalised the list.

The second method of data collection was visual mapping. Mapping is the visual representation of data by geography or location, the linking of information to place. Community mapping does this in order to support social and economic change on a community level. Mapping is a powerful tool in two ways: (1) it makes patterns based on place much easier to identify and analyze and (2) it provides a visual way of communicating those patterns to a broad audience, quickly and dramatically. The central value of a map is that it tells a story about what is happening in our communities.Thirdly, archival data refers to information that already exists in someone else’s files. Originally generated for reporting or research purposes, it’s often kept because of legal requirements,

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© 2019 JETIR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 5 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) for reference, or as an internal record. In general, because it’s the result of completed activities, it’s not subject to change and is therefore sometimes known as fixed data. Some of the most common sources are Public records from governmental agencies, Research organizations, Health and human service organizations Schools and education departments, Academic and similar institutions.

The researcher gathered information about the Garhwali community from different newspaper articles, blogs, photographs, government reports and websites.

Data analysis

The data obtained was thematically analysed. Thematic analysis is an analysis of the major themes to be found in qualitative data. Thematic analysis requires the researcher to identify a limited number of themes to adequately describe what is happening in textual data such as interviews. Thematic analysis requires that the analyst has an intimate knowledge of their data which can be achieved by collecting the data oneself, transcribing the data oneself, and reading and re-reading the data a number of times. Then the researcher begins to code the data. Codings are brief descriptions of small chunks of data. The codings are a level of abstraction away from the data. From these codings the researcher tries to develop or identify the themes which describe the major features of the data. Thematic analysis is a descriptive method rather than a theory building approach to qualitative research (in contrast to grounded theory). Among its advantages is that it tends to generate research ﬁndings which are readily understood by the general public and policy makers (Howitt, 2010).

The researcher transcribed the semi-structured interview and different salient themes were taken out from the interview. Secondly, the different levels of analysis were looked at and an integrative approach was adopted.

Result

The data was collected using a semi-structured interview. The major themes that emerged from the qualitative interview are shown in table 1. The major themes explored the participant’s reasons for liking Delhi and a sense of community.

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Table 1: Major Themes along with Subthemes of the Participant.

S.No. Theme Sub-themes Verbatim

1) Reasons for Liking Work Opportunities  “I was anyway struggling in Delhi Garhwal also.”  “I thought there would be more opportunities for me to work here.”  “There would be more employment options so that I could do something good with my life.”

Leisure Activities  “We go out for lunches and dinner depending on our schedules.”  “We also play cricket together on weekends and go to watch matches.”  “We go on trips also out of Delhi.”

Facilities  “Everything is easily available.” . Food/Other  “There are markets nearby where accessories you can buy vegetables or things

of daily use, and clothes.”

. Transportation  “I have my own car.”  “Otherwise there is convenient public transport and there is . Water/Electricity Metro.”  “Thankfully, there are no electricity issue or water . Medical problems.”  “Delhi offers the best medical facilities.”  “People from all over India come here to get treatments done.”

2) Sense of Community Membership  “There is a small group of members belonging to different religions and communities”  “All of us sit and talk, enjoy and have fun.”  “We celebrate all the festivals together and events are organized.”  “There is a deep sense of belongingness.”  “I identify myself with this group.”

Influence  “All the decisions are taken only when every member agree to the final verdict.” JETIR1905T43 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 1689

 “Not just me, but everyone has a say. And we are listened too.”

Integration and  “People are always ready to help Fulfilment of needs each other in hard situations and difficult times.”  “There is a fund system in the group where we put a certain amount of money every month.”  “This fund can later on be used by any member depending on the situation or in case of any financial crisis.”  “I can openly share my problems and express my feelings in front of them.”

Emotional  “It’s not just a group but it’s more Attachment like a family to me.”

 “People have such a great bonding.”

 “I am very comfortable with

talking to people in Delhi.”

 “I just know Garhwali, Hindi and English and I think that is enough

to communicate with people.”

 “I feel really safe and secure here.” Looking forward to staying in Delhi  “Delhi is a whole lot better than the other places in India.”  “I am satisfied. This city has changed my life for the better.”  “I have adjusted myself very well into this city and the people here.”  “Life is good here.”

Discussion

The present study was aimed at understanding the sense of community in an Immigrant residing in Delhi since 10 years.

A Community can be defined as “a readily available, mutually supportive network of relationships on which one could depend” (Sarason, 1974). Sense of community is defined as the strength of bonding among community members. Sarason (1974) termed this as psychological sense of community. He defined it as the perception of similarity to others, an acknowledged interdependence with others, a willingness to maintain this interdependence by giving to or doing for others what one expects from them, the feeling that one is part of a

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© 2019 JETIR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 5 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) larger dependable and stable structure.Sense of Community refers to a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that member’s needs will be met through their commitment to be together (McMillan and David Chavis, 1986). Sense of community includes elements such as membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs and shared emotional connection.

Studying about an immigrant community enables one to understand the hardships and hopes. It also helps to know their attitude towards the host community. It enables one to understand the psychological impact of migration. It has been found that sense of community acts as a moderating variable that buffers the effect of the adaptation process experienced by immigrants (Hombrados, Gomez, Dominguez and Garcia, 2013).

Migrants belonging to different parts of India move to the urban cities.One such community that is expanding at an immense rate is the Garhwali community from the Uttarakhand region. The participant chosen for the present study was a 43 year old male Garhwali migrant. The participant originally belongs to the Pauri district of Garhwal. He migrated in the year 2001 and has been living in Delhi since then. He is currently working in an export company in Mayapuri.

There were two major themes that occurred from the participant’s interview. These include the reasons for liking Delhi and a sense of community.

The participant originally belongs to the Pauri district of Garhwal. He lost his parents at a very early age. His grandmother used to take care of him but she also died within a few years. There was nobody to support him. His family relatives did not provide any support. He could not pursue his further education because he had no money. He used to work in tea shops and dhabas to sustain himself. He was struggling and was emotionally disturbed. He wanted to break the barriers and move out of that zone and that’s when he decided to move to Delhi.

When asked about reasons for choosing Delhi over any other place, the participant said that he had heard a lot about this city. It’s a dream city. He thought that there would be more opportunities for him to work here. A place like Delhi offers much more employment options for every individual. He thought that this way he could do something good with his life. He says, “I was anyways struggling in Garhwal also. So I just decided that I will shift here and try my luck.” This in sync with the pattern of migration examined by Kandari (2013) which states that that the major reason for migration is that the hill rural areas offers most tough working and living conditions for its inhabitants. The area does not provide conducive terrains for the development of industries or other source of employment generation.The absence of industries and other source of income and employment generation in these areas have always hooked its inhabitants towards agriculture and allied activities. However, the ever increasing population pressure on land and poor status of agriculture has led to increased pushed migration from these areas towards cities and towns (Kandari, 2013). In addition, it has been found that women’s participation in the rural economy is significant. In Uttarakhand, young men generally migrate to the plains in

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© 2019 JETIR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 5 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) search of employment, whereas women are left behind to cultivate the land and take care of the children and the older generation (Sekhar, 2007).

The participant’s initial experience of shifting to Delhi was very different. For him, the environment of Delhi was very different as to what it used to be in Garhwal. In Garhwal, the summers used to be pleasant and there was snowfall in winters. In Delhi, it’s the exact opposite, either its extreme summers or its extreme winters. When the participant moved into Delhi, he had no place to live. It was a tough time for him to find a shelter and sustain himself as he didn’t have much money. However, his first experience with people of Delhi was very good. He described an incident where he met an old lady in a small dhaba who offered him help. She gave him a small room to live and didn’t even charge him any money. She helped him a lot during his struggling period. This made the participant believe that humanity still exists.

The participant had to struggle a lot during his initial days to find himself a work. He could not even complete his education due to financial crisis and had no degree. Knowing that there are a lot more competent people with so many degrees, have studied from good universities and are so talented, it was hard to be able to find a job.He started working in small scale factories, targeting to achieve somethingbig in the future.

The participant migrated to Delhi in the year 2001. According to him, over these 14 years that he has been in Delhi, things have changed for the better. Other than the varied employment opportunities that the city provides, the participant has also been able to establish good relations with people and adapt himself to the city very well. He loves Delhi for a lot more reasons. He has a lot of friends here. He said that they all often go out for lunches on weekends or probably for dinner depending on the schedule. They also play cricket together on weekends. He says, “We go for matches. We go on trips also. It’s quite a lot of fun.” The participant feels comfortable enough talking to people in Delhi and doesn’t feel hesitant in any way. He feels that the people here are very social, helpful, friendly, and fun-loving. Infact, the language known by him include Garhwali, Hindi and English and he feels thatthese are enough to communicate effective with people. Language plays a central role in the acculturation process and the length of stay influences acculturation mostly through linguistic competence and mass media knowledge (Miglietta and Tartaglia, 2008).

In reference to the participants mapping, it is clearly evident that the participant is well established in Delhi. He feels that the city provides all the possible facilities to people living here. There are markets everywhere where you can buy everything be it vegetables or things of daily use. There are a whole lot of shops providing all the different accessories. Since the participant has his own car, he does not experience ay transportation problem. However, the participant feels that the public transport is convenient enough. And then there is metro which links the entire NCR. He says, “You can travel to any place within the NCR region easily.” Further, the participant also believes that the city provides optimum electricity and water facility. He says, “Thankfully, there are no electricity issues or water problems.” In addition to this, the participant also believes that the city of Delhi offers the best medical facilities. Delhi has the best hospitals and people from all over India come here to get treatments JETIR1905T43 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 1692

© 2019 JETIR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 5 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) done. Because of all these reasons, the participant likes Delhi and considers it to be one of the friendly cities in India. Both individual characteristics and the ability of the ethnic community in the receiving society play an important role in attracting the immigrant into its social boundaries. This ability is largely dependent on the degree of institutional completeness of the ethnic community, but other characteristics of the community are also important (Breton, 2000).

The second theme that emerged from the participant’s interview was a sense of community. When asked about his involvement in Delhi, he discussed about a group in his neighborhood where he resides. His society has a committee which consists of 25-30 people belonging to different religions and communities. Anybody who is willing can join the group and there is no restriction or barrier.The whole idea behind the formation of this community is to deal with any problem or issues that are happening in the society. The committee deals with all the complaints.Other than this, all the members and their families meet every weekend. They sit and talk, enjoy and have fun. They celebrate all the festivals together. Functions and events including fun-filled activities are organized by the group for everyone. This is seen as a way by which people interact with each and the bond grows stronger. This can be understood in accordance with the fact that participation in ethnic community activities and strength of ethnic identification has positive links with self-esteem and wellbeing (Thompson, 1998).

Infact, the participant also talked about committee having a rule where all the members put a certain amount of money every month as a fund. This fund can later on be used by any member of the committee depending on the need or the requirement of the situation or in case of any financial crisis. Along with this, every member of the committee has the right to influence the decisions. All the decisions are taken only when every member agrees to the final verdict. In this context, the participant says, “Not just me, but everyone has a say. And we are listened too.” These are the factors which lead to a healthy relationship in between all the members who are a part of this group.

The participant feels that this group has been a very important part of his life because it gives him a sense of emotional connection with all the other members. He says, “It’s not just a group but it’s more like a family to me. I live alone here however I never feel lonely.”It’s almost been 6 years that the participant has been a part of this committee. As a result, he identifies himself with this group. The participant believes that all the people belonging to this group have developed such a great bonding and they are always ready to help each other in hard situations and difficult times. To this, he adds, “There is a deep sense of belongingness that I feel with regard to this group.”Infact, it is evident that neighborhood relations have been found to be the strongest predictor of sense of community which in turn is related to life satisfaction and loneliness in both the large and small town and in the city (Prezza& Amici, 2001).In addition, affective link with the place of residence (place attachment) and the perception of one's own community of residence (sense of community) impacts the health and quality of life. The

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© 2019 JETIR May 2019, Volume 6, Issue 5 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) quality of life is affected by sense of communityand living in a small town enhances the environmental, psychological, and relational quality of life (Gattino&Rollero, 2013).

The participant also accepts that there is a certain level of personal and emotional investment, not just in terms of giving time but being a part of the group and it is continuous. This is in sync with McMillan’s idea that Investment indicates long-term commitment (McMillan, 1996). It can also involve taking emotional risks for the group.Over the years, the participant has become really attached with all the people in the group. He feels that he can openly share allhis problems and express his feelings in front of them. He also adds that this group provides him a sense of emotional safety. A sense of safety in a neighborhood leads tothe formation of secure relationships for sharing feelings and concerns. Emotional safety in that sense requires mutual processes of self- disclosure and group acceptance (McMillan, 1996).

Lastly, the participant expressed that he is satisfied living in this city. He feels that over the years, he has adjusted himself very well into this city and the people here. He says, “Life is good here, I am earning good, I am financially stable and there is no such problem.” The participant believes that Delhi is a whole lot better than the other places in India. When asked about whether he would ever wish to move out of Delhi, he said that he really loves this place and would love to stay here only.

Conclusion

The major themes emerged from the participant’s data indicate that his sense of community is influenced by the availability of resources and effective neighborhood relations. On the whole, looking at the four elements given by McMillan and Chavis, it can be said that the neighborhood relations are one of the strongest predictors of sense of community which in turn is related to life satisfaction and loneliness. The host community also plays a very important role. Perceived psychological sense of community is associated with perceptions of environmental as well as with interpersonal networks and support. Factors such as the facilities available and the nature of community support provided play an important role in attracting the immigrants within its social boundaries. A sense of community enhances the environmental, psychological, and relational quality of life of an individual.

Suggestions

In the context of the present study, alongitudinal approach can be an option in order to get a detailed view of sense of community among the migrants over a period of time. Different scales of sense of community can be used. Along with this, an inter-rater approach can be helpful to eliminate the biases of the researcher while analyzing the data.

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Limitations

The method employed in the present study is a case study method and hence, the data obtained cannot be generalized. Though it was a case study method, but due to the limitations of time, information was not obtained from different sources. Only a single participant was interviewed. This failed to generate an overall picture. Another limitation was thatnothing could be said about the authenticity of the data as the participant could have given socially desirable responses.

Implications

The present study involved interviewing a single participant. Further studies could involve interviewing multiple participants. Also, a cross-generation analysis could be done. Further, the gender differences can be analyzed with respect to sense of community. Also, sense of community could be studied in relation to other constructs like personality etc.

The psychological sense of community is context specific, therefore it must be understood as involving more than individual behaviors, and should be researched at a community level. Future studies can involve the use sense of community index. The research could also review government policies and advocate for further policy development. It is suggested that research on psychological sense of community could best be accomplished using a multidisciplinary approach to give a well-rounded result.

Bibliography and References

 Berry, J.W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5-34.  deHaan A., Rogaly B., (2002), “Introduction: Migrant Workers and Their Role in Rural Change”, Journal of Development Studies, 38(5): 1-14.  Hombrados‐Mendieta, M. I., Gomez‐Jacinto, L., Dominguez‐Fuentes, J. M., & Garcia‐Leiva, P. (2013). Sense of community and satisfaction with life among immigrants and the native population. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(5), 601–614. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21559  Gattino, S., de Piccoli, N., Fassio, O., &Rollero, C. (2013). Quality of life and sense of community. A study on health and place of residence. Journal of Community Psychology, 41(7), 811– 826. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21575  McMillan, D. W. &Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: Definition and theory. Journal of CommunityPsychology,14,6-23  Sarason, S. B. (1974).The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  Prezza, M., Amici, M., Roberti, T., &Tedeschi, G. (2001). Sense of community referred to the whole town: Its relations with neighboring, loneliness, life satisfaction, and area of residence. Journal of Community Psychology, 29(1), 29–52.

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