I watched a documentary this week about Anglo-Indians and I would like to talk a little bit about that. The film is called "A Calcutta Christmas" and was produced in 1998. Some of the information may be a bit dated.
India was ruled by the British since the mid-20th century, and Anglo-Indians are remnants of that rule. They are the descendants of British-Indian marriages, and were meant to bring alliances between the two counties closer (and help business/British rule). While Anglo-Indians used to be mostly upper-class and lived a very privileged and separated life in India, they have now become a sort of half-way race between the cultures, not fitting into either. The British do not fully accept them, and India does not fully accept them.
According to the documentary, most of the wealthier Anglo-Indians have since moved to Britain or Australia. In fact, when India first gained independence, there was a large migration of Anglo-Indians moving to what they considered their "home country". However, many of the less affluent Anglo-Indians remained in India, serving as remnants of a previous era. This documentary in particular was about a group of destitute older people who lived in an old-age home called ". Some of them live in an old-age home called "Tollygunge Homes" in Kolkata.
Watching the film was a unique experience because to felt like stepping into a former time - one where Indian customs, mannerisms, and language sounds blended with British. Many of the mannerisms of the residents of Tollygunge Homes were very British - a particular way of the folding the hands, listening to Pavarotti, or dressing in suits and vintage British clothes. And yet other aspects were definitely from Indian culture - a certain way of eating rice with the fingers or the uniquely thick and musical Indian-English accent.
Some of the more salient parts of the film were the descriptions of racism and prejudice between Anglo-Indians and "pure" Indians. There was one Anglo-Indian man that was relatively darker skinned, and his wife felt the need to defend her decision to marry him. She said she didn't pay any thought to the color of his skin (even though his whole life he was mistreated for it) but she married him because he was a "very, very, very nice man". She said, in context of how people mistreated his for his color,
"What is the difference? He is a human being - he has as much feelings as anybody else has. They even told it to my face in this place, 'What did you see enough to marry him?' I saw something you all could not have seen. I don't look for the complexion or the features. I look for the nature of the person. And I have never regretted one day having married my husband. Never. And if I had to do it again, I would do it again and again. Because, honestly I'm not saying it because he's [here], but he's a very, very, very nice man." [Below is a photo of the couple.]
There is certainly a lot of animosity between differently perceived groups in the world, and India is no exception, but it takes one decision at a time like marrying a "very, very, very nice man" or helping those different from you, to make the world a better place.
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