|
Q.
Is the Anglo-Indian
community, like the
Parsees, becoming
endangered species?
A. No way. We are spread
all over the world.
Likes the Jews, today we
are a scattered
community. Physically,
we are scattered, but
emotionally united.
Q. United about what?
A. Retaining our unique
Anglo-Indianness.
Recently I was in
Australia and found our
community has not
forgotten its roots.
They keep their
association with India
through associations.
The scene is same the
everywhere – Canada,
the United Kingdom or
Australia. The community
is so well-linked
globally, last year we
celebrated "World
Anglo-Indian Day"
on August 2. Next year,
we plan to conduct the
same in Melbourne.
Q. Why is it becoming
too difficult to
estimate the real
strength of
Anglo-Indians?
A. Simple. After the
1961 census,
Anglo-Indians are
counted separately.
Nevertheless, two lakh
will be closer to real
figures.
Q. What do you attribute
to the dwindling
numbers?
A. Anglo-Indians have
not disappeared from the
face of earth.
Certainly, the numbers
are tumbling because of
emigration. Remember,
ours was an endogenous
Community. Things are
changing. Marriage of
Anglo-Indian women
outside the community is
another cause because we
lose numbers when our
women marry outside the
community. Still I am
convinced that we will
not be wiped out in the
next 50 years at least.
Q. At the time of Indian
independence, a large
chunk of Anglo-Indians
left India...
A: If you look at the
history of our
community, you’ll
notice three distinct
phases.
Post-Independence, many
were concerned about
future. "We being
the standard bearers of
British, will we be
allowed to lead a
harmonious life or get
kicked out?" was a
prominent question.
Under such
circumstances, some felt
the only place to go
back to was the United
Kingdom. When the
British found that the
number of Indians
emigrating to England
was on the rise – from
all over the world,
including Uganda –
regulations were
tightened. By then, many
Anglo-Indians had
already made it.
Around the 1970s, the
second phase came when
another sizeable group
of Anglo-Indians left
for various destinations
for economic betterment.
You cannot stop them.
And the third category
of migrants left for
family reunion. I do not
fall into any of these
three phases. I am not
nostalgic.
Q. English language is a
big tool you’ve…
A.
I would like to call it
a tremendous edge,
particularly in the
globalization scenario.
More and more new job
opportunities demand
English as one of the
most important skill
sets: hospitality
industry, modeling,
travel, fashion
designing etc require
familiarity with English
language. Traditionally,
Anglo-Indians made a
name for themselves in
teaching, nursing, armed
services, telephones,
railways and police.
Q. What was the most
significant contribution
of Anglo-Indian
community
to India?
A. We created the right
education ethos in
India. Why only that? We
were pioneers in every
profession. At a time
when the job of
airhostesses was branded
as "glorified
ayahs", we took up
that line of job. If you
go into the silent era
of the Indian film
industry, again it was
Anglo-Indians who ruled
the roost. Don’t
forget that all these
professions were
considered "not
decent" that time.
Old age homes is another
gem of an idea from us.
Q. Whenever one talks
about the Anglo-Indian
community, the prominent
ones were in the
over-ripe age. Are there
any young geniuses or
prominent personalities
from various fields?
A. There are many. Let
me give a list of five
to satisfy your info
hunger. To begin with,
my own son Derek O’Brien,
the quizmaster; Roger
Binny, the cricketer;
Marc Robinson, the
model; John Masan, the
educationalist (Doon
School); Ian Sealy, the
writer. One more, Diana
Hayden, crowned as Miss
India.
Editor Notes:
He forget Linda Brady
-Hawke- Publisher of
Diplomatist!
Q. There were doubts
about the Anglo Indian
community’s loyalty to
India – dating back to
the Great Indian Mutiny
to Post-Independence.
What’s the mindset,
right now?
A. There can be no two
questions about our
loyalty. We strongly
believe that our future
is closely interlinked
to the future of India.
Otherwise, the Indian
leaders would not have
bestowed upon us the
honour of Constitutional
guarantee.
|
