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Lost Generation
by Susan van Dongen
TimeOFF (A PACKET PUBLICATIONS
WEBSITE )
Monday, July 25, 2005
Anglo-Indians seek to preserve the culture of the diaspora.
I was born in British India and had an Anglo-Indian
attitude as such.
I speak only English. I went to English schools and
colleges.
The first 16 or 18 years of my life, I had very little
contact with Indian India.
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They're not the last of the Mohicans, but Blair Williams and
his wife Ellen are some of the last members of a "tribe"
on the verge of extinction.
"You're looking at the end of the Anglo-Indians," says Mr.
Williams.
Although the outgoing, expressive man says it with a smile,
he speaks a sobering truth. Anglo-Indians, people of mixed
European and Indian descent, are dwindling in numbers. Fewer
and fewer "authentic" Anglo-Indians exist in South Asia or
elsewhere, because they're spread out all over the world,
meeting and marrying people from their adopted countries.
The 60-ish Mr. Williams remembers India when it was still
a British Commonwealth, before independence in 1947, when
the British "packed up their polo sticks . . . and went
home to Blighty," writes Anglo-Indian author Margaret
Deefholts.
In order to preserve the memories and culture of this diaspora
- and to undo some unflattering stereotypes - Mr. Williams
has overseen the publication of several books, including 2004's
"Voices on the Verandah: An Anthology of Anglo-Indian
Prose and Poetry" (CTR, $15). Edited by Margaret
Deefholts and Sylvia W. Staub, it's a collection of writings
created solely by Anglo-Indians and their children, chronicling
their memories of India as well as experiences adjusting to
life and culture away from their homeland.
The ethnic group has its roots in the British soldiers and
government personnel who settled in India as long ago as the
1700's. Before the Suez Canal, the journey was so long, once
the Brits got there, they stayed. The British government urged
the men to marry Indian women, since few English women would
make the ocean journey, or could adapt to the heat of the
sub-continent.
While their language, religious and educational background
was European, they developed a style of life that was neither
British nor Indian. Mr. Williams notes a few well-known Anglo-Indians
including pop stars Cliff Richard and Englebert Humperdinck,
and actress Merle Oberon.
"At one time, our population was over half a million," Mr.
Williams says. "We run the spectrum from very dark to very
light in coloration. And many of us have moved into either
the British mainstream, or the Indian mainstream."
Born in India, he is the grandson of a British soldier who
came to the sub-continent in the early 19th century and married
an Indian woman. Mr. Williams only vaguely remembers the times
of Lord Mountbatten, Mahatma Gandhi and the drive toward Indian
independence.
"I was born in British India and had an Anglo-Indian attitude
as such," Mr. Williams says. "I speak only English. I went
to English schools and college. The first 16 or 18 years of
my life, I had very little contact with Indian India. Then
I joined the railways through a public service exam and that's
where I got completely enmeshed in India."
Like himself, many Anglo-Indians found employment with the
network of central government services set up by the British
- civil services, communications and railways.
He adds that the British liked to have Anglo-Indians in these
government positions, reserving a good number of jobs for
Anglos, especially in the railways.
"The British were the managers, the 'officers,' and the Anglo-Indians
were 'sergeants' - the middlemen," Mr. Williams says.
When India did become independent, Anglo-Indians feared retribution
from Indians. The Anglos had had the upper hand for so many
years - looking down a little at non-English speaking Indians.
Now, with the British gone, their power base was also gone.
There were fears that the newly empowered Indians would retaliate.
India has changed greatly over the decades, but Mr. Williams
says in the old days Indians held both Anglo-Indian men and
women with disdain. The Anglo women adopted Western clothing
and diet, worked outside the home and were able to go out
dancing or to cocktail parties. They also married for love
- not through the arranged marriages that were prevalent with
Indians. Anglo men were much like British and European men,
as far as clothing, diet and language. And there were no taboos
on flirtation, dancing and drinking.
"Therefore, Anglo-Indian women had this reputation for being
loose," Mr. Williams says. "And the men were stereotyped as
drunken bums. Which was untrue of course, but once a stereotype
is in place, it's hard to undo."
Popular literature and even scholarly studies have not presented
the Anglo-Indian community in a favorable light. At best,
Anglo-Indians are given a patronizing, one-dimensional portrayal.
At worst, the view is biased, sensationalist or derisive.
"Before the last generation of Anglo-Indians born in British
India fades away, the need to document our stories and our
way of life thus assumes paramount importance," he writes
in the preface to the anthology. "To that end, we have (my
own) 'Anglo-Indians: Vanishing Remnants of a Bygone Era'
(CTR, 2002), Margaret Deefholts' 'Haunting India'
(CTR, 2003) and now 'Voices on the Verandah.' Another
book, 'The Way We Were' is scheduled to be published
by CTR in 2006."
'Voices' was compiled from an international literary
contest, sponsored by CTR and open exclusively to persons
of Anglo-Indian ancestry. With 22 stories and 29 poems, 'Voices'
features works from India, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia,
New Zealand and Germany.
CTR stands for Calcutta Tiljallah Relief. It's a U.S.-based
charity dedicated to helping Anglo-Indians in India. With
branches in Canada, the U.K. and Australia, the fund provides
monthly pensions to 150 destitute seniors in Calcutta, 75
in Madras and 20 in Bangalore. CTR also educates more than
100 needy children across India. Since publishing costs are
borne privately, the gross proceeds of all book sales go to
CTR.
Blair Williams in full flow . . . . .
"You're looking at the last of the Anglo-Indians."
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"During the Anglo-Indian community's middle-class exodus from
India to countries in the British Commonwealth, many of the
less fortunate were left behind, caught in India's transformation
from a British colony to independent sovereignty," Mr. Williams
says. "Anglo-Indians, especially senior citizens, continue
to struggle for basic subsistence."
A resident of Monroe, he was an officer in the Indian Railway
Service for 15 years before immigrating to the U.S. in July
1976 - in time to celebrate this country's bicentennial.
A retired engineer with AT&T, Mr. Williams has embraced
writing and publishing and the work with CTR, but also finds
time to teach engineering at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn.
His technical skills were sought-after in the U.S., good fortune
for an Anglo-Indian - or anyone - wanting to move to this
country.
"It was very difficult to come to America," Mr. Williams says.
"England would have been easier for us to get into, same with
Australia and Canada. But not so with the U.S. Because of
this, there's not really much of an Anglo-Indian community
here. Everyone is spread out."
One thing from his Indian ancestry that has settled in permanently
- British blood or no - is the love for Indian spices and
foods.
"We eat hamburgers and American food, but we love to go to
Indian restaurants," Mr. Williams says. "It's that way all
over the former British commonwealth. Even in England, curry
and rice has replaced fish and chips as the national dish."
Blair Williams will give a presentation, "Anglo-Indians
on the Verge of Extinction," at the Monroe Library,
4 Municipal Plaza, Monroe, Aug. 20, 2005, 2 p.m. For information,
call (732) 521-5000.
To learn more about anything that appears in this article,
contact Blair Williams
direct.
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