Anglo-Indian identity : past and present, in India and the diaspora

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Acknowledgements 5 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 10 List of Figures 15 Chapter 1: Introduction 16 Starting Points 16 The Question of Identity 18 The Current State of Scholarship 19 What this Work Offers 20 Organisation and Overview of the Book 21 Identities: Historically 21 Identities in Contemporary India 22 Diasporic Identities 23 Gendered Identities 24 Identities in the Arts: Literature, Film and Performance 25 References 28 Part I: Identities: Historical 29 Chapter 2: The Politics of Representation: Identity, Community and Anglo-Indian Associations in South Asia 30 Introduction 30 Community Consciousness and Anglo-Indian Associations 31 Dilemma of Identity 35 Conclusion 45 References 46 Chapter 3: Which Eurasians May Speak? Elite Politics, the Lower Classes and Contested Eurasian Identity 49 The Eurasian Anthem 50 Contexts 54 The Text Around the Text 54 The Oriental Herald 55 Madras 56 The Text 58 Poem/Verse/Anthem as Historical Text 58 Rhetoric and Sentiment 59 Who Speaks? 61 A History of Contested Voice and Power 65 Conclusion 70 References 72 Print Sources 72 Archival Sources: Oriental and India Office Collection (OIOC) at the British Library 73 Chapter 4: The End of Greater Anglo-India: Partitioned Anglo Identities in Burma and Pakistan 74 Loyal Sons and Daughters of Britain and Its Indian Empire 75 Collective Boundary Blurring and Individual Modes of Racial Passing 84 Reflections on the Lost Identities of a Receding Past 89 From Anglo-India to Anglo-Burma 93 Personal, Political and Constitutional Ruptures 98 Strategies for Remoulding Group Identities Towards Rival Patriotisms and Nationalisms 105 Imperial Abdications, Perilous Retreats and Desperate Battles for the Future 106 Paradoxical Postscripts 113 References 114 Interview by Author 116 Online Sources 116 Archival Sources 116 Bodleian Library, University of Oxford 116 British Library 116 National Archive, UK 117 National Archive of India 118 Private Archive of the All India Anglo-Indian Association, New Delhi 118 Radio 118 Part II: Identities in Contemporary India 119 Chapter 5: Is the Anglo-Indian ‘Identity Crisis’ a Myth? 120 Introduction 120 Identity 121 Origins: From Colonised to Globalised 127 Anglo-Indian Cultural Characteristics 130 Ethnic Identity 132 Concerns About Belonging 134 Conclusion 137 References 138 Chapter 6: Citizenship, Legitimacy, and Identity: Kolkata Anglo-Indian Experiences 140 Introduction 140 Citizens as the Responsibility of the State 142 Securities and Insecurities 143 Background to Constitutional Provisions 144 Anglo-Indians as Constitutional Citizens 145 Secularism in India 147 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 148 Demonetisation Leading to Further Erosions 149 Example #1: The Current President-in-Chief of the AIAIA 151 Case Study #2: The Calcutta Anglo-Indian Service Society 156 Conclusions 159 References 160 Part III: Diasporic Identities 162 Chapter 7: Immigration Rhetoric and Public Discourse in the Construction of Anglo-Indian Identity in Britain 163 The 1950s: Ambivalence Following Post-colonial Prejudices and the Colour Bar 165 The 1960s: Imitation and Assimilation Amidst Anti-Immigration Rhetoric 168 The 1970s: Celebrating Multiculturalism 172 The 1980s and 1990s: Political Correctness Brings Shifts from Multiculturalism to Integration 173 The 2000s: Animus Against Islam 176 From the 2010s to the Present: The Call for Standardization 177 Conclusion: Anglo-Indian ‘Nested’ Identities in the UK Today 180 References 182 Chapter 8: Anglo-Indians of New Zealand: Colour and the Social Construction of Identity 184 Introduction 185 Contexts 186 White Privilege and Racism 186 On Whiteness and Racism in New Zealand 187 Anglo-Indian Scholarship on Whiteness and Racism 189 Migration in New Zealand 191 Anglo-Indians in New Zealand 192 The Project 195 Anglo-Indian Identity 196 Explanation Fatigue, Identification, and Misidentification 196 Identity Linked to a Country 198 Misidentification as Māori 198 Discrimination and Racism 200 Employment-Linked Identity 201 Fitting in 202 Making Spaces to Belong 205 Concluding Discussion 206 References 208 Chapter 9: The Dilemma of Anglo-Indian Identity in Pakistan 211 Introduction 211 Background Situation in the Region that Became Pakistan 213 Impact of the New Nation on Anglo-Indian Identity 216 Partition and Its Immediate Effects on Anglo-Indians 217 Non-political Identity and Lifestyles in Pakistan Compared to India 219 Social Lives Before 1970s 222 Employment, Status and Identity 223 Government Policies and their Effects Post 1970s 225 Effects of Radical Islamist Agendas from 1980s 228 The Dilemma of Staying On 230 Conclusion 232 References 233 Chapter 10: From Asansol to Sydney: Terry Morris, Microhistory and Hybrid Identity 236 Research Methodology and Microhistory 237 Anglo-Indians in Australia: Tracing the Prime Narrative 240 Terry Morris: History and His-Story 242 Songs of Terry Morris: Constructing and Deconstructing Identity and History 245 Conclusion 252 References 253 Part IV: Gendered Identities 256 Chapter 11: The Personal Can Be Political: Deconstructing Representations of Anglo-Indians 257 Beginnings 258 Internalized Colonization 259 Breaking Free 260 Literary Representations 261 Marginalisation as Colonial Policy 265 Representations That Buck the Trend 268 Factoring in Nation and Nationalism 271 References 277 Chapter 12: Anglo-Indian Women in Teaching: The Interplay of Gender, Profession, Community Identities and Religiosity 282 Introduction and Background 282 Anglo-Indian Women and Paid Employment: Historical Circumstances 283 Anglo-Indian Teachers in Bangalore’s English-Medium Schools 285 Literature 286 Gender Amongst Anglo-Indians 286 Gender in the Teaching Profession 288 Methods 290 Discussion 292 The Value of an Anglo-Indian Teacher 292 Teaching as a Career ‘Choice’ 294 Earning an Income 295 Relationships Within and Outside the School 297 Work Ethic and Professional Identity 298 Religiosity and a Sense of Vocation 299 Conclusions 301 References 303 Chapter 13: A Queer Encounter with Anglo-Indians: Some Thoughts on National (Non)Belonging 306 References 322 Part V: Identities in the Arts: Literature, Film and Performance 324 Chapter 14: Identity and Homing Desire: Anglo-Indian Literary Perspectives 325 Introduction 325 Section I: Theoretical Overview 327 Section II: Historical Analysis 330 ‘Gendered’ Lands 331 Section III: Literary Perspectives 332 The Motherland 333 The Fatherland 335 The ‘Second’ Land? 338 Conclusion 341 References 342 Chapter 15: ‘Not Knowing for How Much Longer’: Requiem for the Living as an Act of Cultural Recovery of the Paranki Community in Kerala 344 Memory Studies as an Interpretative Framework 345 Parankis as Anglo-Indians 348 Remembered Lives: Personal and Collective Memory 351 Crisis of Masculinity 355 Markers of Paranki Identity 363 Conclusion 368 References 369 Chapter 16: Daivathinte Vikruthikal: Homelessness and Fragmented Identities of Indo-French Families in Mahé, Post-1954 371 Colonial Mahé 375 Daivathinte Vikruthikal: The Novel and the Film 376 Assimilative Policies of French Government and Prevention of Absolute Identities 379 Geographic Spaces, Contested Identities, and Homelessness 382 Fragmented Identities 385 Identity Expressed in Sartorial Ways 386 Objects, Identity, and Homelessness 387 Conclusion 388 References 389 Chapter 17: Mixed Feelings: Autoethnography, Affect and Anglo-Indian Creative Practice 390 Introduction 390 Rhett D’Costa’s ‘Masala Mix’ (2019) 391 Autoethnography and Creative Practice 396 Vanitas 399 Suit 400 Signet Ring 401 Tape Recorder 402 Performance and Performativity 403 References 405 Chapter 18: Fictionalised Identities: Remodelling Anglo-Indians 407 The Trotter-nama: A Chronicle 1977–1984 410 Magical Realism: The Narrative Vehicle 413 The Everest Hotel: A Calendar 417 Conclusion 422 References 423 Index 425 Revisionist in approach, global in scope, and a seminal contribution to scholarship, this original and thought-provoking book critiques traditional notions about Anglo-Indians, a mixed descent minority community from India. It interrogates traditional notions about Anglo-Indian identity from a range of disciplines, perspectives and locations. This work situates itself as a transnational intermediary, identifying convergences and bridging scholarship on Anglo-Indian studies in India and the diaspora. Anglo-Indian identity is presented as hybridised and fluid and is seen as being representative, performative, affective and experiential through different interpretative theoretical frameworks and methodologies. Uniquely, this book is an international collaborative effort by leading scholars in Anglo-Indian Studies, and examines the community in India and diverse diasporic locations such as New Zealand, Britain, Australia, Pakistan and Burma. Revisionist in approach, global is scope, and a seminal contribution to scholarship, this original and thought-provoking book critiques traditional notions about Anglo-Indians, a mixed descent minority community from India. It interrogates traditional notions about Anglo-Indian identity from a range of disciplines, perspectives and locations. This work situates itself as a transnational intermediary, identifying convergences and bridging scholarship on Anglo-Indian studies in India and the diaspora. Anglo-Indian identity is presented as hybridised and fluid and is seen as being representative, performative, affective and experiential through different interpretative theoretical frameworks and methodologies. Uniquely, this book is an international collaborative effort by leading scholars in Anglo-Indian Studies, and examines the community in India and diverse diasporic locations such as New Zealand, Britain, Australia, Pakistan and Burma