Living in two cultures - Transnational identities of Indian migrants in Germany

The question of migrant identities is a leitmotif of the research on transnationalism. This paper explores how Indian migrants in Germany describe their identities. Differing views will be portrayed: on the one hand positive self-perceptions, which are nurtured by living in two cultures; on the other hand the self-perceptions of transnational migrants, who perceive living transnationally as a burden. Further, it will be discussed how the relationship to the sending society develops with an increasing duration of stay in Germany. Also the cultural identity of different Indian migrant organisations in Germany will be described. Special interest is given to the analysis of transnational identities of second generation migrants. For this group the embedding in transnational familial and social networks poses a special challenge. The paper aims at substantiating the concept of "hybrid identities" by applying a differentiated analysis of the concrete case study.