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CIRCA
1639, the year of
establishment of Madras.
The Suez Canal did not
exist and therefore
traders from Portugal,
France and Great Britain
sailed around the Cape
of Good Hope to reach
the eastern coast of
India. For the trade to
progress, settling down
as a community was of
paramount importance.
Long voyage prevented
the European women
moving along with their
spouses and it was
necessary for the men to
have wives from the
local community. Thus
sprouted the
Anglo-Indian community,
thanks to the union of
Brits with the locals.
"We are not the
result of casual
liaisons with native
women… The community
began with a purpose. It
was not
accidental,"
declares Neil O’Brien,
President-in-Chief of
the All India
Anglo-Indian
Association. The East
India Company was more
than eager to reward the
mother of any child born
from the marriage of
"our soldiers to
the native women of Fort
St. George". One
Pagoda, equivalent to
five rupees those days,
was the jackpot. Later
on, the British took the
widows of princes and
soldiers conquered on
the battlefield and
converted them to
Christianity.
Matrimonial alliance was
the next logical step
and the offspring of
these marriages were
treated as legitimate
and enjoying full
benefits of their
paternity.
Tough times
Around 1776, the
fortunes of the Anglo
Indian community took a
beating. The community
shunned and
discriminated against by
the same people who
encouraged its birth.
The deliberate
oppression of the mixed
community was heightened
by the awareness of
Englishmen returning
from India having
amassed enormous wealth
in a relatively short
period made the
Directors of The East
India Company envious of
the people with Indian
connections and they
could only get back at
their dependents who
often did not have
protection under the law
- as they were neither
‘natives’ nor ‘Brits".
Coupled with this was
the rebellion in the
Spanish possession of
Haiti by
"mulattos" -
persons of European and
Negro descent. This
rebellion in a far off
Pacific island by a
community of mixed blood
was seized upon by the
directors of the East
India Company and
support was generated
that Indian soldiers led
by Anglo-Indian Officers
might well emulate Haiti
and drive out the
British.
Recalls O’Brien:
"Because the
population in India of
Anglo-Indians or the
Eurasians was so large
and also educated and
intelligent, they could
lead a rebellion against
the East Indian Company
and throw the British
out. The native princes
were for far too busy
fighting amongst
themselves. The only
consolidated group,
whose loyalty was in
doubt were the
Anglo-Indians. In times
of conflict, would their
loyalty lie with their
fathers’ people or
their mothers’?"
Lord Valentia sent by
the Company post-Haitiian
crisis, passed through
India and rang the alarm
bells. The result:
mayhem and antipathy
towards the community
that almost destroyed
the loyal Anglo-Indians.
The company immediately
withdrew all privileges
extended to the children
of Anglo-Indian origin
by ordering a blanket
ban on them entering
officer cadres and
within a short span of
time the community was
reduced to the status of
a downtrodden race. This
was a period when
officers and sons of
Anglo-Indians began
joining forces of the
Indian Princes and many
of them rose to command
immense prestige and
power.
Badge of Loyalty
For the next 50 years,
until the Great Indian
Mutiny in 1857, they
lived in total
oblivion.. The
Anglo-Indians proved
their loyalty to the
British by keeping away
from the First War of
Indian Independence.
Looking back, O’Brien
wonders: "We do not
know what the quirk of
history would have
resulted in – maybe
the war might have
succeeded, but the
question then would be
whether as a community
we would have had a
separate identity or
not."
Anglo-Indians justified
their social and
cultural positions
somewhere between the
British and Indian
communities ... the
first to which they
identified and the
second to which they
found little commonalty,
remarks Prof. Wright.
Anglo-Indians were never
fully accepted into the
inner circles of British
society and at the same
time were rejected by
local Indian society.
They were on the
margins, never really a
member of either
culture, being forced to
construct their own
social system and
personal identity to
meet their social needs.
During the independence
movement, many
Anglo-Indians identified
(or were assumed to
identify) with British
rule, and, therefore,
incurred the distrust
and hostility of Indian
nationalists. Their
position at Independence
was difficult. They felt
a loyalty to a British
"home" that
most had never seen and
where they would gain
little social
acceptance. They felt
insecure in an India
that put a premium on
participation in the
Independence movement as
a prerequisite for
important government
positions. Some
Anglo-Indians left the
country in 1947, hoping
to make a new life in
Britain or elsewhere in
the Commonwealth of
Nations, such as
Australia or Canada.
Many of these people
returned to India after
unsuccessful attempts to
find a place in
"alien"
societies. Most
Anglo-Indians, however,
opted to stay in India
and made whatever
adjustments they deemed
necessary.
Constitutional
guarantees of the rights
of communities and
religious and linguistic
minorities permit
Anglo-Indians to
maintain their own
schools and to use
English as the medium of
instruction. In order to
encourage the
integration of the
community into the
larger society, the
government stipulates
that a certain
percentage of the
student body come from
other Indian
communities. There is no
evident official
discrimination against
Anglo-Indians in terms
of current government
employment. A few have
risen to high posts;
some are high-ranking
officers in the
military, and a few are
judges. In occupational
terms, at least, the
assimilation of
Anglo-Indians into the
mainstream of Indian
life was well under way
by the 1990s.
Nevertheless, the group
will probably remain
socially distinct as
long as its members
marry only other
Anglo-Indians and its
European descent
continues to be noted.
Dwindling numbers
The Anglo-Indian
Community is
disappearing and in a
generation or two will
no longer exist. Oh
sure, the people will be
here but there will be
no reason remaining to
call themselves
Anglo-Indians. But O’Brien,
the most vocal
Anglo-Indian, begs to
differ (See
interview). The term
has started to have a
lot of its meaning lost
to the understanding of
the people around here.
See, there were dozens
of families fifty years
ago, but they simply are
not here today. Many
have moved away... some
to other communities in
India and some to other
communities outside of
the country. But several
have stayed here and you
know they are
Anglo-Indian just
because you knew that
their family was
Anglo-Indian. There is
not much reason to be
one today. It does not
do you any good and it
really does not do you
any harm since few
people today know what
it was like when the
British controlled
India." Will they
fast disappear, like the
Parsees? Only Father
Time will tell.
Those who remained
As previously mentioned,
many Anglo-Indians chose
to move to Canada, the
UK and Australia after
Indian Independence in
1947. However, many
chose to remain in
India.
Today, Anglo-Indians can
be found at all social
and economic levels of
Indian society, from
government officials,
schoolteachers and
prominent businessmen or
entrepreneurs to
shopkeepers and drivers.
Many Anglo-Indians are
offered employment due
to their impeccable
mastery of the English
language. Some,
especially women attempt
to conceal their
Anglo-ness by wearing
saris and other forms of
Indian dress. Others
remain proud of their
heritage and wear
typically western
dresses and skirts –
the dress of their
ancestors.
Anglo-Indians played an
important role in the
Indian Railways. As Dr.
Beatrix D’Souza, one
of the two nominated
Parliamentary
representatives of the
country’s Anglo-Indian
population points out,
the Anglo-Indians made a
major contribution to
the railways in India
during the first 100
years and "nearly
every Anglo-Indian alive
today has an ancestor
who was in the
Railways". As a
result of their
connection with the
railways, concentrations
of Anglo Indian can be
found in major railway
junctions of India such
as the four metros,
Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur
and others.
Some (but not all) of
the Anglo-Indians who
remain in India get
rather peeved when they
hear those from outside
referring to themselves
as Anglo Indians. They
feel that at best these
outsiders should be
referred to as
Canadians, Australians
or Britons of
Anglo-Indian origin but
not Anglo-Indians in the
true sense. Technically,
they are correct.
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The
Architect
- I
Sir
Henry
Gidney
(1873-1942) |
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Lt.
Col. Sir
Henry
Gidney
was the
first
prominent
leader
of the
Anglo-Indian
Community.
Born in
Igatpuri,
near
Nagpur,
Gidney
was
educated
in
various
cities:
Bangalore,
Calcutta,
and
Allahabad.
As a
qualified
physician,
he
joined
the army
to
render
active
service
in China
during
the
Boxer
Rebellion.
In 1904,
he
married
Grace
Wignall,
daughter
of a
Yorkshireman,
from
Agra.
After
separation
from his
wife,
who had
returned
to
England,
he was
posted
as a
civil
surgeon
to
Kohima
where he
joined
an
expedition
against
the
headhunters.
He later
helped
his
group
thwart a
Naga
raid.
During
World
War I,
Gidney
was
posted
at
Peshawar
and saw
active
service
in the
North
West
Frontier
Province.
Here
again he
distinguished
himself
with
bravery.
He was
wounded
during
the
attack
on
Shabkadar
Fort,
and was
forced
to take
retirement
from the
IMS. He
then set
up a
private
practice
in
Bombay
and also
devoted
his free
time to
the
welfare
of the
Anglo-Indian
Community.
Gidney
represented
the
Anglo-Indian
Community
at all
the
three
Round
Table
Conferences
in
England,
testified
before
the
Simon
Commission
and the
Cripps
India
Mission,
met King
George V
and
spoke of
the sad
lot of
the
Anglo-Indians.
He spoke
of the
Anglo-Indians
as
"my
people"
and then
corrected
himself
addressing
them as
"Your
Majesty’s
people
and my
community."
This is
supposed
to have
brought
a smile
to King
George V’s
face.
Gidney
was
knighted
in 1931,
and when
the
Central
Legislative
Assembly
was
formed
he was
nominated
by the
Viceroy.
At the
Assembly,
he had a
dig at
Mohammed
Ali
Jinnah.
Both of
them
wore
monocles
and were
among
the best
dressed.
He died
in 1942
of heat
stroke
on his
return
to Delhi
from his
native
Igatpuri.
He was
also a
great shikari
of great
skill,
and had
hunted
big game
all over
India.
The
Gidney
Club in
Connaught
Place,
New
Delhi is
named
after
Sir
Henry
Gidney
and in
his
memory.
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The
Architect
- II
Frank
Anthony
(1908-93) |
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The
Jabalpore-born
Frank
Anthony
excelled
at
University
and won
the
Viceroy’s
gold
medal
for
English.
After
studying
law in
London,
he
returned
home to
commence
practice
in
Jabalpore.
At the
same
time he
retained
his deep
interest
in the
affairs
of his
Anglo-Indian
community.
In 1942,
Anthony
was
elected
the
President-
in-Chief
of the
Community
of the
All
India
Anglo-Indian
Association.
He
opposed
the
partition
of India
on the
grounds
that it
would be
injurious
to the
minority
communities.
During
those
difficult
days
when the
future
of India
was
being
decided
by the
British,
Muslim
and
Indian
leaders,
he put
the
Anglo
Indians
case to
Mahatma
Gandhi,
Sardar
Vallabh
Bhai
Patel
and
Jawaharlal
Nehru,
and they
agreed
to make
special
provision
for the
Anglo-Indians
in the
Indian
Constitution.
In
October
1946,
Frank
Anthony
was
selected
as one
of India’s
principal
delegates
to
represent
the
country
in the
first
delegation
from
Independent
India to
the
United
Nations.
In 1948
and
again in
1957, he
was one
of India’s
representatives
to the
Commonwealth
Parliamentary
Conference.
Anthony
had
given up
his
practice
as a
lawyer
in 1942,
but ten
years
later
when
Prime
Minister
Nehru
requested
him to
proceed
to
Peshawar
and
defend
Mehr
Chand
Khanna,
the
ex-finance
minister
of
North-West
Frontier
Province;
he had
to
resume
his
career
as a
lawyer
in 1952.
At the
time no
Hindu
lawyer
dared to
go to
Peshawar
and so
Anthony
was
found to
be the
most
appropriate
and
competent.
Following
discussions
with the
chief
minister,
Khanna
was
released.
Again in
1978,
Anthony
assisted
the
Nehru
family
when
Prime
Minister
Mrs.
Gandhi
was
arrested
and
appeared
before
the Shah
Commission.
His
greatest
contribution
has been
in the
field of
the
Anglo-Indian
Education.
In 1947
he was
elected
Chairman
of the
Inter-State
Board of
Anglo-Indian
Education.
The
Board
co-ordinates
standards
in about
270 and
more
schools
throughout
the
country.
Anthony
had also
been the
Chairman
of the
Indian
School
Certificate
Examination
to which
over 250
of the
leading
English
medium
schools
in India
is
affiliated.
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