Anglo-Indian lives in Pakistan through the lens of oral histories

Anglo-Indians are the legacy of European colonialism in South Asia. They are of mixed Indian and European descent. Since the late 20th century Anglo-Indians have been the focus of much ethnological research that generally depicts them as a “marginalized” group due to “racist” British policies. Anglo-Indians are a tiny minority in a vast native population, but the natives did not protect them from marginalization. Why? This dissertation explores the question because my personal experience, being born into an Anglo-Indian family and schooled in Pakistan, had no resonances with the impoverished lives depicted in scholarly accounts. All Anglo-Indians are Christians and in India live within a majority Hindu population, whereas in Pakistan they reside amongst a Muslim milieu. To date no research has focused specifically on Anglo-Indians in or from Pakistan, and using oral histories, my thesis fills this gap. I outline the establishment of British institutions in the North West region from the mid-1850s, particularly schools, government services and industries, showing that the connection of the periphery of empire to metropolitan centres in India drew Anglo-Indians into the region. The religious and cultural mentalities of Hindus and Muslims are described to explain how these cultural traditions affected the lives and social status of Anglo-Indians. The religious differences led to the creation of Pakistan in August 1947 amidst sectarian violence, witnessed by many Anglo-Indians. The oral histories reveal the exclusion of Anglo-Indians as a group from being targets of violence. Following the withdrawal of the British in 1947 a wave of Anglo-Indian emigration occurred. In India the socio-economic situation of many Anglo-Indians diminished, whereas I show that in Pakistan they moved out of subordinate government employment, many rising to senior positions in professional capacities and the armed forces. Descriptions given of Anglo-Indian lives in Pakistan from 1947 until recent times, focusing on schooling, employment and intermarriage, demonstrate the social status of Anglo-Indians, and Pakistani acceptance of their lifestyle. A case study of an Anglo-Indian children’s home and the residents’ subsequent lives is given; these do not reflect the penurious situation of Anglo-Indians described by scholars in Indian ghettos. Political changes in Pakistan from the 1970s are outlined showing the constraints imposed on Anglo-Indian lifestyles by Islamist agendas. Radical reforms introduced in the 1980s placed Christians at risk, again inducing Anglo-Indians to emigrate. The lives of the Anglo-Indians who stayed on, because of good jobs or marriages into upper class Pakistani families, are described. Resettlement stories provided by emigres to England, New Zealand and Australia show a shift in attitude, that of permanence, towards residence in their new homeland. This signifies that Anglo-Indian identity had not been rooted in South Asia due, I suggest, to their unknown native ancestry and polluting status as outsiders, feringhis and mlecchas, to high caste Hindus in India. This finding supports persistent notions that Anglo-Indian identity lay outside South Asia, and after emigration, their status was confirmed as transnationals with an indelible western colonial identity