Voicing a Return: The Impact of the BPO Sector on the Anglo-Indian Community in Secunderabad

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact that a generation of job opportunities in the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector—also known as call-centre unit— has had on the Anglo-Indian community in the Secunderabad-Hyderabad region. Possessing an unparalleled communicative proficiency in English, the community quickly forayed into the Information Technology (referred to as IT hereafter) sector boom that the region has experienced since the mid-1990s. In many ways, this proved to be a turning point for the less privileged members of the community who found themselves financially constrained after the retraction of reservations in jobs in the 1960s. In terms of livelihood, the BPO sector became a launching pad for better job opportunities and much more besides. Based on the findings arrived at through a series of surveys and interviews, my paper investigates how the community has negotiated the socio-economic shifts brought about by the arrival of IT companies. In this context, I will also examine the sustainability of hopes among Anglo-Indians that the IT revolution had promised in its initial years.