Anglo-Indian

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The Anglo-Indian community is a distinct minority community originating in India consisting of people of mixed British and Indian ancestry whose native language is English. The British ancestry was in most cases bequeathed paternally.

Article 366(2) of the Indian Constitution defines an Anglo-Indian as "...a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent but who is domiciled within the territory of India and is or was born within such territory of parents habitually resident therein and not established there for temporary purposes only" Template:Ref. Under this definition, the mestiços (mixed Portuguese and Indian) of Goa are also included.

Anglo-Indians formed a small portion of the minority community in India before independence, but today more live outside India than within. The community has historically been concentrated around towns and cities that were important railway terminals, as a large proportion of them worked in the Indian Railways and the post and telegraph services. Their numbers in India have dwindled significantly as most emigrated to the UK, Australia and New Zealand and, to a lesser extent, Canada and the United States.

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History

Anglo-Indians are descendants of British men, generally from the colonial service and the military. It was also a term used for European/Indian descendants who were not strictly of full Indian ethnicity, such as those with French and Portuguese ancestry. From some time in the nineteenth century, both the British and the Indian societies rejected the offspring of these unions, and so the Anglo-Indians, as they became known, sought marriage partners among other Anglo-Indians. Over time this group developed a number of caste-like features and acquired a special occupational niche in the railways, postal, and customs services. A number of factors fostered a strong sense of community among Anglo-Indians. The school system focused on English language and culture and was virtually segregated, as were Anglo-Indian social clubs. The group's adherence to Christianity also set members apart from most other Indians; and distinctive manners, diet, dress, and speech contributed to their segregation.

It is strange that from the start the British did not embrace the Anglo Indian community as natural allies and co-religionists; paradoxically the opposite seems to have been the case. By the 1790’s and especially in the early 19th century, the British often viewed Indians with contempt: a weak, incompetent, superstitious and corrupt multitude, incapable of organized resistance. An infusion of ‘superior’ British blood would, it was thought, create a caste of Super-Natives, capable of presenting a real threat to their rule. For this very reason tough laws were implemented to keep Eurasians out of government and the military. This prejudice first came into law in 1792, when they were banned from any employment in the civil, military or marine service of the Company. They were equally shut out from offices reserved exclusively for Indians, such as Munsiffs and Sudder Ameens. Captain Williamson in 1800 opposed their admission to offices of authority and trust, on the ground that ‘their admission could not fail to lessen that respect and deference which ought most studiously to be exacted on every occasion from the natives of rank.’

In 1803, the British governor (Viscount George Valentia) wrote: "The most rapidly accumulating, evil of Bengal is the increase of half-caste children. They are forming the first step to colonisation, by creating a link of union between the English and the natives. In every country where this intermediate caste has been permitted to rise, it has ultimately tended to the ruin of that country. Spanish America and St. Domingo are examples of this fact. Their increase in India is beyond calculation; and though possibly there may be nothing to fear from the sloth of the Hindoos, and the rapidly declining consequence of the Mussulmauns, yet it may be justly apprehended that this tribe may hereafter become too powerful for control. Although they are not permitted to hold offices under the Company, yet they act as clerks in almost every mercantile house, and many of them are annually sent to England to receive the benefit of an European education. With numbers in their favour, with a close relationship to the natives, and without an equal proportion of that pusillanimity and indolence which is natural to them, what may not in time be dreaded from them?"

Under Regulation VIII of 1813, they were excluded from the British legal system and in Bengal became subject to the rule of Mohammedan law outside Calcutta - and yet found themselves without any caste or status amongst those who were to judge them. In 1821, a pamphlet entitled ‘Thoughts on how to better the condition of Indo-Britons’ by a ‘Practical Reformer,’ was written to promote the removal of prejudices existing in the minds of young Eurasians, against engaging in trades. This was followed up by another pamphlet, entitled ‘An Appeal on behalf of Indo-Britons.' Prominent Eurasians in Calcutta formed the ‘East Indian Committee’ with a view to send a petition to the British Parliament for the redress of their grievances. Mr. John William Ricketts, the first noble pioneer in the Eurasian cause, volunteered to proceed to England. His mission was successful, and on his return to India, by way of Madras, he received quite an ovation from his countrymen in that presidency; and was afterwards warmly welcomed in Calcutta, where a report of his mission was read at a public meeting held in the Calcutta Town Hall. In April 1834, in obedience to an Act of Parliament passed in August 1833, the Indian Government was forced to once more grant government jobs to Anglo-Indians. The last of their restrictions evaporated after 1857, primarily because the Eurasian Community took up arms for the British during the Great Mutiny. The British were greatly impressed with their loyalty and bravery, and reassessed their attitudes towards them. Also in the 1850’s, with the emergence of the railways, many Eurasians found themselves a new and unrestricted industry to which they could dedicate themselves.

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. (Bhowani Junction touches on the identity crisis faced by Anglo-Indian community during the independence struggle.) 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 the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the Commonwealth of Nations, such as Australia or Canada. The exodus continued through the 1950s and 1960s, and until Britain imposed the restrictions of proving paternal lineage. Those with access to the records, or familial sponsorship, continued to be accepted to the mid-1980s. Some Anglo-Indians, however, opted to stay on the Indian sub-continent and make whatever adjustments they deemed necessary.

Like the Parsi community, the Anglo-Indians are essentially urban dwellers. Unlike the Parsis, the mass emigrations saw more of the better educated and financially secure Anglo-Indians depart for Commonwealth countries, leaving the less educated and less ambitious behind. In the 1990s, Anglo-Indians remained scattered throughout the country (and in neighbouring countries, like Pakistan), but with most still aspiring to leave India altogether.

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The present community

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 but it's widely perceived that their disinclination to master local languages does not help their employment chances in modern India.

Anglo-Indians distinguished themselves in the military. Air Vice Marshal Maurice Barker was India's first Anglo-Indian Air Marshal. At least seven other Anglo-Indians subsequently reached that post, a notable achievement for a small community said to number only about 200,000 at Independence in 1947. Countless numbers of others have been decorated for military achievements. Air Marshal M.S.D. Wollen is often considered the man who won India's 1971 war fighting alongside Bangladesh. (Source: Indian Air Force) Anglo-Indians made similarly significant contributions to the Indian Navy and Army.

Another field Anglo-Indians dominated was education. The most respected matriculation qualification in India, the ICSE, was started and built by some of the community's best known educationists including Frank Anthony, who served as its president, and A.E.T. Barrow who served as its secretary for the better part of half a century. Most Anglo-Indians, even those without much formal education, find that gaining employment in schools is fairly easy because of their fluency in English.

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Political

The Anglo-Indian community is the only Indian community that has its own representatives nominated to the Lok Sabha (Lower House) in India's Parliament. This right was secured from Nehru by Frank Anthony, the first and long time president of the All India Anglo-Indian Association. The community is represented by two members. This is done because the community has no native state of its own. Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Kerala also have a nominated member each in their respective State Legislatures.

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Notable persons

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See also

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Notes

  1. Template:Note "Treaty Bodies Database - Document - State Party Report". United Nations Human Rights Website. 2006. United Nations. Apr 29. 1996
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External links

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