Sweden

People marked as 'South Asians' in Sweden

The presence of those marked as 'South Asians' in Sweden rose from 45 in 1900 to 21,418 in 1997. The rise was gradual till the 1970s when with the arrival of 'South Asians' from Uganda the numbers went up considerably . Since then further refugees and asylum seekers have come, especially from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The major form of immigration is, however, family reunion. From the 1970s onwards the adoption of 'South Asian' children, particularly from India and Sri Lanka, has also played an important role. Sundaram (2000) gives the account of a young 'Swede', who 24 years after having been adopted, finds his 'Indian' family.

Hole (1997) argues that the relatively small number of 'South Asians' has resulted in a special diaspora situation. There are too few Hindus not only to differentiate among each other according to caste and other religious markers, but also to keep totally separate from non-Hindu 'Indians'. Already since the middle of the 1970s the most important organisation in Sweden is the Swedish-Indian Association which brings together Indians of all religions and Swedes with an interest in India. Hindus in Sweden develop rather 'pan-Indian' than religious markers of ethnicity. They form social networks beyond caste and religious boarders. Muslim 'Indians' join them in the Swedish-Indian Association to foster an 'Indian' identity, but join also the Swedish-Pakistani Association for their religious belonging.

Bibliography

Baumann, Martin (1998), “Sustaining ‘Little Indias’. Hindu diasporas in Europe”, in: Gerrie ter Haar (ed.), Strangers and Sojourners. Religious communities in the diaspora, Peeters, 95-132.
Short reference to the Hindu presence in Sweden.
Hole, Elizabeth A. (1997), Ethnicity and Symbolism among Hindu Women in a small Diaspora Community, The Department of Cultural Anthropology at Uppsala University, Uppsala.
Paper presented at the International Hindu Diaspora Conference at the Concordia University in Montreal, Canada from the 22nd to 23rd August 1997. It consists of preliminary notes on the Hindu diaspora community in and around Stockholm using research material collected for a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at Uppsala University. Rather than giving a description of Hindu live in Sweden it theoretically analyses the material from the point of gender and diaspora research.
Sundaram, Viji (2000), “A Swede’s search for his family in India is documented”, in: India Abroad, 26.05.2000.
Article on the search of an adopted Swede for his Indian family.

Further Literature

Andersson, Hans (1991), Varför så många asylsökande från just Bangladesh uppsöker psykiatriska vårdinrättningar, Stockholm: Stockholms universitet, Socialantropologiska inst.
Jacobsen, Knut A. (2006), "Scandinavia", in: Lal, Brij (2006, Hrsg.), Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora, Singapur: Edition Didier Millet, 361-363.
Myrvold, Kristina (2011), "The Swedisch Sikhs: Community Building, Representation and Generational Change", in: Knut A. Jacobsen and Kristina Myrvald (eds.), Sikhs in Europe. Migration, Identities and Representations, Farnham: Ashgate, 63-94.
Sander, Åke (1993), I villken utsträckning är den svenske muslimen religiös?, Göteborg: Göteborgs universitet, Centrum för studier av Kulturkontakt och Internationaell Migration, 46p.
Schalk, Peter (2003), "Tamil Caivas in Stockholm Schweden), in: Martin Baumann, Brigitte Luchesi and Annette Wilke (eds.), Tempel und Tamilen in zweiter Heimat - Hindus aus Sri Lanka im deutschsprachigen und skandinavischen Raum, Würzburg: Ergon Verlag, 379-390.
Sjöberg, Katarina (1992), Pilotstudie av invandrare/ flyktingars väg ur berorendesituationen och ut i arbetslevt, Lund: Lunds universitet, Sociologiska institutionen.
Westin, Charles (1997), Ankomsten. Asiater från Uganda kommer till Sverige. Soicalstyrelsen, Stockholm.
Westin, Charles (1986), Möten. Uganda-Aisaterna i Sverige. Akademitryck, Stockholm.

For statistical material click here (pdf-file).