Influence of cultural ambiguity on interpersonal relationships among anglo-indians Ananya K S.1, Shree G C Navya2 1Associate Consultant Psychologist-DRAUP, Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt Ltd, Koramangala, Bangalore, India, Email id: murthyksananya@gmail.com 2Assistant Professor, Department of PG Studies and Research in Psychology, SDM College, Ujire, DK, Karnataka, India, Email id: navyashreegc@yahoo.co.in Online published on 16 October, 2019. Abstract Culture and distinct cultural practices have for long promoted bettering of bonds and improved interpersonal relationships. Culture has been considered an aspect that promotes harmonious living among the residents of a land. The communities that share a common ground are most likely to share some aspects of culture and way of life, which acts as a chain link, holding the communities together. But, in the case of the Anglo-Indian community, the aspect of their cross-cultural background has proved to be otherwise. Culture, which is seen to bond people and better relationships, in the Anglo-Indian community has created distress and caused ambiguity (Parker, 2015) The shared traditions of India and Europe, practicing the culture of a land that they have never witnessed and the ones that never resembled the practices of the land they lived in, has left the community with questions, that have remained unanswered for decades. This ambiguity, not only has left the community in the state of dilemma, but also has hampered their avenues of improving their interpersonal relationships with other communities of the land and becoming one with them. The present study titled, ‘Influence of Cultural Ambiguity on Interpersonal Relationships among Anglo-Indians‟, is aimed at studying the cultural ambiguity faced by the Anglo-Indians, as well as the ways in which their cultural background has influenced their interpersonal relationshipswith native Indians. The participants of the study include 22 young adults and 28 middle-aged Anglo-Indians, recruited using snow-ball sampling method. The Semi-Structured Interview Schedule on Cultural Ambiguity among Anglo-Indians, developed by the researcher (2018) was used as a tool for data collection. A thematic analysis of the obtained data resulted in the emergence of various themes such as the differences in mother-tongue, patterns of socialization, cultural practices and festivities, and a pure-blood line, language and attitude towards life and other such aspects being a mark of distinction between the communities, influencing their patterns of interaction and interpersonal relationships. Top Keywords Anglo-Indians, Cultural Ambiguity, Cross-Cultural Origin, Interpersonal Relationships. Top |