From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Hyderabadis/Shehla Burney
Over centuries the Hyderabadi established a proud, patriarchal society with strong kinship ties. While people in the former territory of Hyderabad, and throughout India, have in recent years tended to be progressive and forward-looking, many Hyderabadis in Canada have become more conservative in order to protect a way of life that they value highly and to preserve their cultural continuity. They have become more observant of their various religions and have revived those traditional ceremonies that are unique to Hyderabad. Although most Hyderabadi Canadians had the opportunity to choose their own partners when they married, many have attempted to arrange marriages with “suitable” Hyderabadi partners for their Canadian-born children. These arranged marriages often result in divisive conflicts between the generations as young people are torn between their commitment to their families and their desire to adopt a Canadian lifestyle.
Life in Canada has been especially difficult for Hyderabadi women. Most of them had no experience of working outside the home, and they were unprepared to juggle the conflicting demands of nine-to-five jobs, handling money, housekeeping, and child care. Their jobs are frequently low-paying, and they lack power and recognition and a sense of identity in the workplace. In caring for their children they are deprived of the support systems that were provided by extended families and ayahs (“nannies”), which was a deep-rooted institution of Hyderabadi upper- and middle-class life. Many women feel isolated, and lack both inner contentment and external recognition of their efforts.
Many Hyderabadi men in Canada have suffered a serious loss of self-esteem. During the early 1970s they frequently faced racial discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere. Their loss of pride and the resulting frustration, in conjunction with the difficulties faced by many Hyderabadi women, have sometimes led to unsatisfactory relationships and divorce among Hyderabadi couples, a phenomenon that was not common in the homeland.
