ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to understand the process of urbanization in India, one of the most important factors for the growth of multicultural cities, in the context of the immigrant communities. The reason for the prevalence of rural migration to mega cities could be that the cities continue to maintain strong ties, economically and socially, to the immediate surrounding hinterland. The ethnic composition of Kolkata being an important aspect of the city's level of urbanization drew the attention of, who examined the population of Kolkata from three points of view: the occupational clustering, the linguistic clustering and the residential pattern. Communities like the Gandhabanik and the Subarnabanik, followed by the caste Brahmins and the Kayasthas, were the first to come to this growing centre of trade and commerce. The Western model of urbanization emphasizes the melting pot' theory, according to which migrant groups are assimilated and absorbed into the core culture of a city.
