IMMIGRATION AND IDENTITY NEGOTIATION WITHIN THE BANGLADESHI IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY IN TORONTO, CANADA by RUMEL HALDER A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Anthropology University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba Copyright © 2012 by Rumel Halder ii THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ***** COPYRIGHT PERMISSION IMMIGRATION AND IDENTITY NEGOTIATION WITHIN THE BANGLADESHI IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY IN TORONTO, CANADA by RUMEL HALDER A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Copyright © 2012 by Rumel Halder Permission has been granted to the Library of the University of Manitoba to lend or sell copies of this thesis to the Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and to LAC’s agent (UMI/PROQUEST) to microfilm this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the film, and University Microfilms Inc. to publish an abstract of this thesis. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. iii Dedicated to my dearest mother and father who showed me dreams and walked with me to face challenges to fulfill them. iv ABSTRACT IMMIGRATION AND IDENTITY NEGOTIATION WITHIN THE BANGLADESHI IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY IN TORONTO, CANADA Bangladeshi Bengali migration to Canada is a response to globalization processes, and a strategy to face the post-independent social, political and economic insecurities in the homeland. Canadian immigration policy and the Multicultural Act that were adjusted to meet labour demands in local job markets encouraged the building of a new and growing Bangladeshi Bengali immigrant community in Canada. The general objective of this research is to explore how Bangladeshi immigrants’ national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, and class identities that were shaped within historical and political contexts in Bangladesh are negotiated in new immigrant and multicultural contexts in Toronto. By looking at various identity negotiation processes, this research aims to critically examine globalization theories in social science, and multicultural policies in Canada. More specifically, the objective is to determine whether transnational migration to Canada as a global process creates homogeneity, disjuncture, hybridity, or inequality in Bangladeshi immigrants’ lives in Toronto, and how Bangladeshi Bengalis as an ethnic and cultural group relocate their identity within Canadian multiculturalism. In order to address these objectives and issues, one year of in-depth anthropological research was conducted among the Bangladeshi immigrants in Toronto between 2007 and 2008. The core research location was the Danforth and Victoria Park area, but in order to address class diversity, respondents from Dufferin and Bloor Streets, Regent Park, and Mississauga areas were incorporated. Applying snowball and purposive sampling techniques, and identifying key informants, 75 Bangladeshi immigrant families were selected from three religious groups – Muslim, Hindu, and Christian. In-depth personal interviews, case studies and focus group discussions were conducted among these Bangladeshi immigrants. v This research underscores that, on one hand, Bangladeshi Bengali immigrants negotiate and re-define their “proper” ethnic, cultural, nationalist, and religious identities by imagining, memorizing, simulating, and celebrating local traditions. On the other hand, immigrants define “authentic” identity by creating “separations” and “differences” based on colonial and nationalist histories. Religious differences, the ideology of “majority and minority”, and social classes play major roles in shaping identity. This study finds that multicultural diasporic immigrant space is neither a disjointed, nor an in- between space, nor a place where ethnic cultures are only “consumed”, but it is a battleground to resist and challenge religious and gender inequalities in a globalized location. Bangladeshi Bengali identity is both fixed and contextually variable; identity is shaped in response to political contexts of both global and local. vi Acknowledgements Pursuing the Ph.D. degree has been a long and stressful academic personal journey for my family and me. As a graduate student, I had to understand critical anthropological theories, adjust culturally and emotionally in a foreign land, and count every single cent. Beyond all my academic hard work and commitment in my research, this journey could not have reached its final destiny without the support of many caring people and friends. First and foremost, I would like to thank my academic supervisor and my mentor, Dr. Raymond E. Wiest. Without his consistent intellectual guidance, encouragement, and constructive criticism, this academic journey could have ended before the halfway point. I will be always grateful to him because he always listened to me, trusted in me, and cared for me when I was experiencing a difficult personal crisis. He always found the anthropological insights and ideas in my writings even when I did not figure out the difference between a comma and a semicolon and other nuances of good writing in English. Professor Wiest never gave up supporting me in meaningful ways. My sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Wiest for funding me for a year from his SSHRC research grant (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Standard Research Grant 410-2003-0955, 2003-2007). I am blessed and honored to be Dr. Wiest’s last Ph.D. student. Thanks to my Maa and Baba (my parents) for their continuous prayers to finish my degree, and the many sacrifices they have made, both in their good and bad health conditions. Even though there were several moments when they needed me the most by their side, they remained silent and wished me good luck. My sincere thanks to Dr. Ellen Judd for her silent but her vibrant intellectual and moral support as one of my committee members. I thank Dr. Ravi Vaitheespara for encouraging me to find relevance for the post-colonial theories in my research and for his vii helpful suggestions for my research. I extend special thanks to Dr. Parvin Ghorayshi for the detailed critical and constructive comments and suggestions on my thesis. I want to acknowledge and thank my little daughter Naomi Sreya Halder for her tearless support. She forgave me when I left her several thousand miles away to pursue my higher studies in Canada. She always loved me even though I could not stay awake and sit with her when she was ill, or failed to come home on time to say “Happy Birthday Naomi”. I thank my wife Julia Halder for her kind support and for not demanding many things from a poor Ph.D. student. She even showed patience when I became very frustrated. I also thank my two sisters who always conveyed their best wishes to me. I would like to fully extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all my research participants among the Bangladeshi immigrant community in Toronto. I know it was really difficult to make time in their busy schedules but they made time for me. I am thankful to them because they have been kind to me and shared their valuable time, memories, stories and food with me. Without their time and active participation, it would have been impossible to conduct my research and finish my degree. My special thanks to my cousin Asim Mukhatee, his wife Nilom and their children for sharing their home and offering us a warm and loving environment during our one-year stay in Toronto. I always remember my cousin Lina Roy and her husband David Roy for extending their love and care, and for introducing me within the Bangladeshi immigrant communities. I extend special thanks to my niece Jane Roy for providing me editorial support over the years. I want to thank my friend Moniruzzaman for sharing his expensive digital recorder for use in my fieldwork in Toronto. I would also like to thank my teacher, Dr. Israt Ahmed; my cousin, Mark Folia and his family; my friends, Papri Halder and Mahamudda Shirin for guiding me through the field and introducing me to key personnel in the Bangladeshi immigrant community in Toronto. I also want to extend my thanks to my cousin Sonnet who was always supportive in Toronto and helped me to drive back to Winnipeg after finishing my yearlong fieldwork. I would like to thank some of the dearest friends in my life; without their kind support I could not have faced a family crisis during my studies as a Ph.D. student. I extend my special thanks to Shumi for her kind support and care extended to my daughter viii when I needed it the most. I am thankful to Syeed for constant care to his ‘big brother’. I would like to thank Zabid and Tonuka; Kamal and Moonmoon; Tazmeen and Homa; Moshur and Lota; Anupam Das, Afroza Sultana, and Dr. Matiur Rahman and Babli for their concerns and best wishes for my success. My sincere thanks to Neil Singh, David Boutilie, and Leah Lee for making some time to read several draft chapters of my dissertation and for providing editorial suggestions. I am grateful for their care, encouragement, and support to my academic and personal life as very good friends. Finally, I am thankful to the Anthropology Department and my colleagues at Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh for allowing me to stay in Canada to finish my Ph.D. program. I also thank the Anthropology Department at the University of Manitoba for extending continuous financial support by offering me teaching assistant and sessional instructor positions for the last several years. I thank the Faculty of Graduate Studies for granting me a University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship, and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Manitoba for granting me a Faculty of Arts Fellowship.