Words of the Chakradharpur branch of
the Anglo-Indian association 1930.
Imperialism, Colonialism and Empire had many
lasting consequences, not least that of the millions of mixed-race people who
were born as a result of inter-racial union. The Anglo-Indian (who was neither
Anglo nor Indian) is a cultural and racial hybrid dating back to the very early
days of the East India Company's rule in India. During the Raj, British-Indian
relationships faced stigma, which meant that the ethnicity of some
Anglo-Indians was undocumented or identified incorrectly. The ease at which
many Anglo-Indians were able to ‘pass’ as white in order to further their
careers (some very successfully in Hollywood) made this minority group sink
further into obscurity. The Anglo-Indian story, and their part in the wider
drama of decolonisation have been consistently overlooked in both British and Indian
accounts. This, in turn, has seen a lack of books about ‘Anglos’ which makes Anglo-India
and The End of Empire by Uther Charlton-Stevens an important and necessary read.
This excellent and detailed study takes the
reader back to the 1600s where, owing to an initial lack of British women, the
men were encouraged to marry native Indian girls rather than the many
Portuguese for fear of offspring being raised as Roman Catholics. Until 1741, a
special payment was made to each soldier who had his child baptised Protestant.
Initially referred to as Eurasian but also Indo-Briton, Asiatic-Briton,
Anglo-Asiatic, East Indian and even Half Caste, this new ethnic group formed a
small yet significant portion of the population and became well represented,
forming their own official associations. In the early days children born
Eurasian would be taken from their Indian mothers and placed in class-segregated
orphanages then sent to the army or married off to a soldier. This harsh practice
helps explain why the bulk were so profoundly orientated towards Britain and deracinated
from Indian society and culture. To further cement the ‘British’ bond the
group’s leaders vigorously campaigned to be referred to as Anglo-Indian, which
was officially sanctioned in the 1911 census of India. In this sense they are
one of the oldest, most politically developed and self-conscious mixed-race groups
to have emerged from the colonial encounter.
Over generations, Anglo-Indians
intermarried with other Anglo-Indians to form a community that developed a
culture of its own. Their cuisine, dress, English language, and Christian
religion all served to separate them from the Indian population, yet bind themselves
together. They formed social clubs and organisations and were specifically
recruited into the railways, nursing and teaching professions; they served in
the armed forces in both world wars. Yet, these mixed people, despite their
fierce loyalty to the British had no guarantees or safeguards to protect them
from a cruel fate.
Charlton-Stevens brings to light the
struggle of the community leaders and how they tried to encourage pride in an
Indian Motherland as opposed to a British so-called Fatherland that many, if
not all, had never visited. Faced with the question of India’s independence
there was to be a very rude awakening. This was an era of extreme turmoil
including rising sartorial nationalism amid attacks in the streets for wearing topis
and western-style suits and ties. Even the politically engaged and
well-informed found it difficult to anticipate the dramatic changes that were
to come, or the decisiveness of the rupture. In the midst of far weightier
concerns, Anglo-Indians were hardly thought of in the run up to the
disastrously hasty British ‘transfer of power’.
Through latter stages of decolonisation,
and even following independence, there was a call for a new Israel-style mixed-race
nation or collective settlement overseas to be dubbed Anglo-India, Britasia or
Eurasia where Anglo-Indians, Anglo-Burmans and similar Eurasian peoples from
Malaya and Hong Kong could resettle in another part of the empire. The Andaman
Islands in particular were envisaged as a potential site, but the British
dismissed the idea stating that the islands were too rural, that the
Anglo-Indians were city dwellers and not suited to an agricultural life, so
this scheme was quashed. Their position at this time was extremely difficult as
their leaders attempted to negotiate terms with the incoming Indian government and
integrate the community within the new India and get them to seek pride in
mixedness. Seats in the Indian parliament were requested (and eventually
granted), citing their historical exceptionalism as the only real
racial-cum-linguistic minority in India over a period of 300 years to have
evolved into a distinctive minority.
Charlton-Stevens shows us through
documented evidence, how the Anglo-Indians argued amongst themselves as to what
was best for them. Britain was keen to wash its hands of postcolonial
liabilities and discouraged Anglo-Indians from going to England to settle and
tightened up their procedures for granting passports. Despite the protestations
and sensible arguments given by their leader Frank Anthony, many left for England
or Christian countries of the wider anglosphere; former ‘White Dominions’ where
the colour prejudice was rife and where, to the ignorant settler colonials,
Anglo-Indians were “nothing but black men”. Adequate provisions for the
Anglo-Indians had not been made before handing over the reins of government; Britain
could not and would not help them. It was seen as a grievous act of ingratitude
for all the loyal services which Britain had exacted from the Anglo-Indian community
during the many crises of the preceding 300 years. At the time of independence
in 1947 there were roughly 300,000 Anglo-Indians compared to about
125,000–150,000 in modern day India. Many have adapted to local communities in Kolkata
and Chennai or emigrated to the London, Perth, Sydney, Toronto, the United
States and New Zealand where they form part of the worldwide diaspora. My
Anglo-Indian father was born in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu and migrated to England in
1956. We can trace our ancestry back to Christopher Friis a Norwegian who
changed his name to Browne and settled in India mid-1800s; a family photo of
ours appears in this book. The first generation of the Friis-Browne family spread
far-and-wide; USA, Canada, Australia with our little branch now settled in
Gibraltar.
About the Author
Uther Charlton-Stevens is a fellow of
the Royal Asiatic Society and the author of Anglo-Indians and Minority Politics
in South Asia. He earned his doctorate in history from the University of
Oxford. Uther spent his childhood in colonial Hong Kong. Born in Ferozepore,
his Anglo-Indian father grew up in Bangalore before migrating to England.
Anglo-India and The End of Empire by Uther Charlton-Stevens
Book review by Rebecca Calderon March 2023
Buy the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anglo-India-End-Empire-Uther-Charlton-Stevens/dp/1787383121
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