Towards a sociology of money and family in the Indian diaspora

Abstract

The linking of money, family and migration has become increasingly important with the rise in Indian remittances to US$ 21.7 billion in 2004, the largest amount of remittances in the world. The economic importance of remittances has meant that they have primarily been studied as money flows resulting from direct migration. Some attention has been paid to their economic impact at the local, regional and national levels in India. In this article, I argue that sociologists and anthropologists have much to contribute to the study of remittances, as a social phenomenon linked to family and migration. The emergence of a transnational Indian family also means the development of a special kind of transnational family money, where money is equated with or measured against filial care. In the global context of migration, remittances are one of the ways families negotiate shifting arrangements of care, responsibility and security for the young, for women and for the elderly. These perspectives will help develop the sociology of money in India, connecting it to migration, family, marriage and gender relationships.