Solidarity of Anglo-Indians is Still the Question

Abstract

In this essay I address the efforts by Anglo-Indians to build solidarity and strength as a community, both historically and in recent times. The question of Anglo-Indian solidarity is especially relevant currently, as the last five years have brought a legal challenge to the Community’s recognition, representation and benefits as a minority in modern India. This is not the first challenge faced by the community; for such contestations of rights for the mixed-race Anglo-Indians dates back to prescriptive rulings of the East India Company in the late eighteenth century. The present moment is critical, however, and a topic to which I can speak particularly because of my history of leadership of Anglo-Indian organisation for many years and having served in recent years as a nominated Member of Parliament representing Anglo-Indian interests. In this article I argue that a persistent problem of Anglo-Indians has been the community’s disunity and failure to make good use of opportunities for solidarity that have both been provided legally and have been created by the initiatives by Anglo-Indians themselves, over many generations. Besides sharing my insights into past failures and triumphs, I sketch out the community’s response to the Constitutional amendment in 2020 which removed Anglo-Indian representation in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies, and suggest a way forward to provide for the good of the Community.