Anglo-Indian Identity: Past and Present, in India and the Diaspora
Editors: Robyn Andrews, Merin Simi Raj
Palgrave Macmillan, Switzerland, 2021
427 pages
Anglo-Indian Identity establishes a series of negotiations on what constitutes Anglo-Indianness as well as on what is at stake when certain variables are chosen as indicators of being a member of the Anglo-Indian community. Speaking English akin to a native speaker and complying with Indo-Western traditions, for instance, are both generally recognized as racial markers of the Anglo-Indian identity. More specifically, according to the Constitution of India Article 366(2), an "Anglo Indian means a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent" (4) and who has domiciled within the Indian territory of India and resides there as a permanent citizen. This controversially patrilateral definition, however, does not consider contemporary cultural variables such as language, lifestyle, and regionality which also contribute to Anglo-Indianness. While focusing on the question of "Who is an Anglo-Indian?" (2), the editors of this book, Robyn Andrews and Merin Simi Raj, address the radically enforced cultural and socio-political stereotypes connected to the Anglo-Indian community, as well as those more connected to being a member of a minority in general.
Andrews, Raj, and the other contributors of the book attempt to consider the multitude of the interpretations of the Anglo-Indian collaborative practices always highlighting the complexity and mutability of the community that has come to be seen as "plural, polyphonic and discursive in quality" (2). Anglo-Indian Identity thus brings the ontological and practical classifications of Anglo-Indianness under scrutiny from multiple aspects. The chapters progress with the transnational approach towards accepting Anglo-Indians in India both as victims of the post-colonial condition known as "midnight’s orphans" (Glenn D’Cruz 2006) and as "modern Indians" (Sealy 2007). While examining the diasporic representation of Anglo-Indians, the book investigates identity "as being representative, performative, affective and experiential through different interpretative frameworks as well as methodologies" (6). The transnational nature of the identity and the history of the Anglo-Indians consistently foregrounds the need to look into local histories and individual narratives but lacks documentation. By presenting the work from Anglo-Indian and non-Anglo-Indian assessments, this interdisciplinary volume focuses on Anglo-Indian identity along the spectrum of collective history and anthropology as well as through the lenses of diaspora, nation, province, gender, and class.
The volume is separated into five sections exploring various identity issues. It considers historical, contemporary, and gendered formulations of Anglo-Indian selves and the politicized space within the Indian diaspora. The term identity itself includes an ambiguity that heightens the comprehensive argument of the book. Etymologically, it is traced to the Latin word "idem," indicating "the quality of being identical" and is signified as "a distinguishing character or personality of an individual" (5). Thus, sameness and difference are inferred by the term identity and concurrently display the term’s problematics.
In the first section that focuses on the historical background of the Anglo-Indian identity, Nagorao Zapate addresses the historical background of the Anglo-Indian communities in India over the last two centuries and assesses the cultural associations and ideological differences that have prolonged their struggle for recognition. While also searching for prospects to solve the identity dilemma, the Anglo-Indians became increasingly anxious about their societal positions due to the Indian national movement achieving momentum against the colonial regime during the mid-twentieth century. Amid the tumultuous social and political situation, these communities struggled between the Europeans’ to claims of supremacy and discrimination against Indians. Once a community with distinctiveness, Anglo-Indians have been well on the way to declining, as Zapate documents in their struggle for communal survival. In the following chapter, Brent Howitt Otto employs the Eurasian Anthem (1826) to explore the struggles of the Anglo-Indian community by unpacking the elements of divinity and fate concerning imperialism contextualized in the anthem. Otto focuses on the politicized agenda of ethnic unity expressed through the anthem to showcase the difference between Eurasians and the Anglo-Indians, deeming the latter foreigners. Otto concludes the paper with a question: Should the anthem be read-only as the symbol of a united Eurasian voice, or should it be perceived as politicized propaganda against mixed-race identities such as the Anglo-Indians or Francophones? In the final paper of the first section, Uther Charlton-Stevens focuses on the dislocation of the Anglo-Indians due to the India-Pakistan partition in August 1947 and documents the politicized movements by religious groups forcefully influencing the collective identity of Anglo-Indians living in Pakistan as well as Burma. The chapters in this division contextualize the arguments based on archival research, some barely known records, letters, news reports, a poem, and interviews to narrate the formulation of Anglo-Indian identity over the time amid the shifting of political power across the world.
Moving towards more contemporary issues of identity in India, Robyn Andrews sets forth to examine a generalized notion regarding identity crisis in the Anglo-Indian communities post 1947 in the first paper of the second section. Both chapters in this section were authored by Robyn Andrews, an anthropologist who has researched Anglo-Indians in Kolkata extensively, which is the focus of these chapters as well. Andrews argues that just as there is no monolithic ‘Indian’ identity, the same goes for Anglo-Indians. This section emphasizes that the identity crisis occurred due to Anglo-Indians being used, tackled, and blamed for their origin in both the British empire and extremist nationalists in India. Although Andrews agrees with this notion, she examines it based on ethnicity, biological binaries, and "nested identities" (113), indicating the fluidity of identity beyond the national boundaries. To express the idea of “nested identities”, Andrews brings forth Erik Erikson’s concept on identity crisis and relates the minority status of American Indians to that of Anglo-Indians. Andrews observes that the process of “re-education” turned out to be an extravagance to assimililate the American Indians into the mainstream American culture, and has been an extravagance for Anglo-Indians too (114). Therefore, perhaps the Native Americans, in a similar manner to Anglo-Indians, may themselves never aimed to be more than being the indigenous peoples of a certain geographical location. She develops the argument that while living "within the hyphen," Anglo-Indians oscillate between their British roots and Indian appropriation, through their practices and appearances, creating an identity out of the crisis. In her second paper, Andrews explores the uniqueness and positionality of the Anglo-Indians in 21st century Kolkata, pointing to the struggles of Christian minorities due to the Hindu nationalist agenda of the current Union government. Andrews emphasises on the fact of discrimination through the proposal to dismantle the former American Army barracks in central Calcutta which became home to many Anglo-Indian families since the Americans left after WWII. Even with the Anglo-Indians living there, the demolition of the buildings an open-ended possibility. The Anglo-Indians, are still adverselyamer stereotyped. She draws on India’s "constitutionally enshrined secularism" (178) to argue that Anglo-Indians have justified claims to identify as citizens of India while maintaining cultural differences.
Part three shifts the focus to the Anglo-Indian identity in immigrants and diasporic identities based on "racial uniqueness and European paternity" (155) worldwide. Throughout these chapters, there are apparent themes, such as Anglo-Indians being invisible to the majority population and finding it challenging to assimilate and maintain traditions. The concentration of Anglo-Indians in a place restructures the idea of home and the necessary adjustments needed for sustenance in a host land. The impact of local immigration policies is explored in some chapters and documents the social attitudes towards Anglo-Indian immigrants. Rochelle Almeida addresses the ambiguity of nationality hindering communal growth during international events such as the UK Commonwealth Games. The notions of multiculturalism and integration have further pushed nationalized recognition towards immigrant status, making their mixed racial descent even more problematic. Dorothy McMenamin deals with the diaspora status of the Anglo-Indians living in Pakistan post-partition in 1947. She argues that the India-Pakistan partition affected the lives of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, as well as the peaceful order of the Anglo-Indians. The Anglo-Indian communities suffered other communal aggressions, and their association of home changed from England to either India or Pakistan. This effected the job market as Indians and Pakistanis started to apply for American multinational companies but Anglo-Indians were given more priority in America because of their language skills. The socio-political and demographic transformations over the first few decades further contributed to the identity confusion. Continuing with the territorial assimilation, Arindam Das writes of Terry Morris, an Anglo-Indian from Asansol, who became a renowned songwriter and performer in Australia. Developing the "micro-historical methodology" (209), he sketches Morris’s course of actions in tandem with that of the broader population of Anglo-Indians in Australia. The reversal of Morris’s identification at various times as Anglo-Indian, Indian and Australian, echoes the diverse narratives of individuality in which Anglo-Indians partake.
In part four, the chapters discuss the nationalised and gendered aspects of forming the Anglo-Indian identity. Dolores Chew concludes that the gendered representations of both British and Indian cultural dogma contribute to the identity crisis of Anglo-Indians. This chapter contextualizes the gender representations of Anglo-Indians in texts while incorporating nation and nationalism in the analyses. The subjective and the objective are entwined and explain how Anglo-Indians have been situated in the contemporary political sphere. Jyothsna Belliappa and Sanchia DeSouza’s chapter, while focusing on the rise of Anglo-Indian female teachers in Bangalore, argues the significant role that Anglo-Indian teachers have played in English-medium school education in independent India. With the advantage of their familiarity with the English language, exposure to Western music, especially American country music, art, and literature, and the access to sponsored training offered by the church due to their Anglo-Indian identity, they have shaped careers in schools where English is the medium of instruction in Bangalore. Although they are a minority, these Anglo-Indian teachers have made contributions to the education of an English-speaking workforce propagating India’s emergence as a global economic power.
The last section of the book focuses on Anglo-Indian representations in art such as literature, film, and performance. Shyamasri Maji assesses the Anglo and Indian identities separately and the desire for a "home" through fictional representations of Patricia McGready-Buffardi (2004), Jimmy Pyke (2014), and Keith Butler (2014). Maji constructively explores the diasporic literature through Avtar Brah’s (1996) framework, the problematics of Anglo-Indian identity, and analyses the sense of community and home as demonstrated in Anglo-Indian diasporic literature. By utilizing the concept of home as an analytical tool, this chapter examines the idea of searching "home-in-nation and nation-in-home" (323) from the viewpoint of selected diasporic writers of the Anglo-Indian community. Glenn D’Cruz’s chapter observes the Anglo-Indian "way of life" through contemporary visual and performing arts practices, providing a wholesome knowledge of Anglo-Indian identity. In her concluding chapter, Jade Furness integrates Allen Sealy’s quest for expertise and understanding of his fictional works such as The Trotternama (1988) and The Everest Hotel (1998). The novels provide Furness with persuasive versions of her own family’s Anglo-Indian history in India, before and after independence. Sealy’s works showed the Anglo-Indians’ generational struggles, which would have otherwise remained unrecoverable.
Discussions on Anglo-Indian diaspora in Anglo-Indian Identity: Past and Present, in India and the Diaspora reveal a linear and comprehensive structure of the Anglo-Indian history, disputes, and stereotyping not just in India, but in the diasporic settlements of Anglo-Indians all around the world. This book demonstrates cultural and religious encounters typical of the Anglo-Indian groups. The Anglo-Indians are often misidentified and differently judged due to their complicated history and controversial political standing, resulting in the community experiencing rejection and alienation. Those chapters on various aspects of Anglo-Indian identity approached from several disciplinary angles concentrate on the past, the present, and, geographically, ranging from India to the diaspora. Given that an increasing number of students are interested in researching the Anglo-Indian community in India and the diaspora, this book offers guidance through the vast and diverse history of a community whose identity is often generalized as homogenous and prone to stereotypical depictions. At the same time, Anglo-Indian communities, especially of non-British descent, with Dutch, French, and Portuguese lineages whose history, lives, and narratives are downgraded to the margins of the organized extremist, cultural and political understanding of Anglo-Indian identity. Uniquely, this work establishes itself as a medium, enabling transnational methodologies to Anglo-Indian Studies, on which the potential scholarly research of this field also rests.
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