ABSTRACT
South Asian' is used as shorthand throughout this chapter to describe collectively those who can trace their ancestry to the Indian sub-continent, namely, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kashmir. It reflects on some of the ethical concerns that arise while conducting cross-cultural interviews. Research was based on existing oral history archives with South Asians, in-depth interviews with white inhabitants, and my own life-story interviews with South Asians. The argument that whites should avoid researching minority ethnic groups came to the fore and was fervently debated in the 1980s when sociological race relations' research was heavily criticized for reproducing racism and stereotypes of minority ethnic groups, such as the typecast that all African Caribbean youths were under-achievers or inherently aggressive. Despite arguments that posit the dangers of whites researching minority ethnic groups, experience showed that it was possible to overcome and negotiate some of the problems.
