Calling Southampton home

The South Asian population in England grew rapidly in the ‘60s and ‘70s – particularly in hotspots such as Southampton. Research at the University is seeking to uncover the stories of the highs and the lows of how these new arrivals settled in.

Thousands of South Asians arrived in the UK to start a new life several generations ago. The partition of British India in 1947 into two independent countries – India and Pakistan – displaced millions of people as they were forced to flee violence. Many eventually came to the UK.

Southampton became a popular destination for them to settle. With cheaper housing than London, a small-town appeal and plenty of job opportunities, Southampton had obvious attractions.

But what was this community’s experience of settling in? Dr Priti Mishra, Associate Professor of History, Dr Bindi Shah, Associate Professor in Sociology, and Dr Ajit Nayak, Associate Professor of Strategy at Southampton Business School, have been finding out.

Their recent research – funded by an AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Public Engagement grant in collaboration with the BBC to mark the broadcaster’s centenary – has rediscovered a BBC show targeted at South Asians that first aired in 1965. The show was called Make Yourself at Home.

“The show was a product of the mood in the Government about new migrants and how we welcome them and help them settle in,” said Priti. “The programme featured Bollywood actors to try to make migrants feel at home. In another part of the show, called Can I Help You?, people sent in letters with questions about their life in Britain. At one point, the programme was receiving 300 letters every week. There was also a language programme called Look, Listen and Learn in which the BBC tried to teach language through acting skits.

“There was also a soap opera called Parosi, meaning ‘neighbour’, which encouraged South Asian women to engage with their neighbours to learn the language and to talk.”

The research team has conducted interviews and workshops, asking first and second generation South Asians in Southampton about their experiences of both settling in the town and their memories of Make Yourself at Home.

Dr Priti Mishra

Settlement stories

There are moving and poignant stories from the early days of settling in Southampton –from packed houses to desperate job hunting, to language barriers.

“There are some surprising stories from 40 to 50 years ago,” said Priti. “The most poignant are those early days of settlement. Even the journey itself was difficult for many. I spoke to one couple where the husband came alone, he was very young. When he arrived in London, he was given seven days’ worth of food and shelter, by which time he needed to have found a job. Fortunately, he succeeded in finding work and moved to Southampton.”

Finding somewhere to live was another challenge immigrants faced. At any given point, some of the South Asian households in Southampton had five different families under one roof.

Women’s work was another theme to emerge from this research. “They were sheltered Indian women when they arrived in Southampton, and working outside was not the done thing,” explained Priti. “Many of them worked in bakeries together, forming communities and learning the language through this.”

Many men, however, worked in the British American Tobacco factory in Southampton or at an auto parts factory in Lymington, both of which employed significant numbers of South Asian immigrants.

“The experiences were slightly different for those from the upper classes, as they were more affluent and could generally already speak English, which made a huge difference to them settling,” added Priti.

Why Southampton?

Southampton was a hotspot for South Asian migration.

“Southampton was viewed as safer and more welcoming than London, with significantly less racism,” explained Priti. “Housing was cheaper here, and it would have felt a lot less chaotic than London. There were also jobs here, particularly in factories and bakeries.”

The St Mary’s area of the city, particularly around Derby Road, and also Portswood were areas where most South Asians settled.

One man, in particular, is remembered as a pioneer for the Sikh community in Southampton. Sardar Harnam Singh Roudh arrived in the city with just £3 in his pocket and went on to set up Southampton’s first Indian and West Indian grocery store. He also led the founding of the Gurdwara Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib, the city’s first ethnic place of worship, and was a community leader who supported people through their transition to living in Southampton.

Sardar Harnam Singh Roudh

AN EXHIBITION OF COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE

An exhibition called Make Yourself at Home, co-created by Dr Priti Mishra with local artists and interview respondents, is running at the John Hansard Gallery in Southampton until 28 January 2023.

The exhibition features the personal stories of some of Southampton’s South Asian immigrants, as well as cultural references from the ‘60s and ‘70s when many of them arrived here.

Find out more: jhg.art/whats-on