Multiculturalism in Practice

This text is concerned with multiculturalism as a practical process through which different cultures are accommodated within a wider social context. It shows, through historical comparison and investigation, that there is nothing new in this process, but that there is value in reasserting the part it plays in undermining exclusionary practices and informing anti-racist strategies. The fieldwork in this study focuses on the Pakistani population of Govanhill on the south side of Glasgow, Scotland. The study shows that while differences of language, religion, diet, dress and social mores do exist and are reproduced, the majority of this population have settled in Scotland permanently and so should be regarded as local and not as foreign. It also shows that while cultural racism is directed at the Pakistani population their interaction with service providers also includes the notion of fair and equal treatment. The text also looks at other ethnic groups in and around Glasgow. This study places immigrants and their descendants at the heart of a multicultural process and examines some of the ways in which they assert and negotiate their priorities in the wider social context.