Anglo-Indian People - Present Communities

Present Communities

India constitutionally guarantees of the rights of communities and religious and linguistic minorities permit Anglo-Indians to maintain their own schools and to use English as the medium of instruction. In order to encourage the integration of the community into the larger society, the government stipulates that a certain percentage of the student body come from other Indian communities.

There is no evident official discrimination against Anglo-Indians in terms of current government employment, but it is widely perceived that their disinclination to master local languages does not help their employment chances in modern India.

In a 2013 BBC news feature on Anglo-Indians, journalist Kris Griffiths wrote: "It has been noted in recent years that the number of Anglo-Indians who have succeeded in certain fields is remarkably disproportionate to the community's size. For example, in the music industry there are Engelbert Humperdinck (born Madras), Peter Sarstedt (Delhi) and Cliff Richard (Lucknow). The looser definition of Anglo-Indian (any mixed British-Indian parentage) encompasses the likes of cricketer Nasser Hussain, footballer Michael Chopra and actor Ben Kingsley."

Anglo-Indians distinguished themselves in the military. Air Vice-Marshal Maurice Barker was India's first Anglo-Indian Air Marshal. At least seven other Anglo-Indians subsequently reached that post, a notable achievement for a small community. A number of others have been decorated for military achievements. Air Marshal Malcolm Wollen is often considered the man who won India's 1971 war fighting alongside Bangladesh. Anglo-Indians made similarly significant contributions to the Indian Navy and Army.

Another field in which Anglo-Indians won distinction was education. The second most respected matriculation qualification in India, the ICSE, was started and built by some of the community's best known educationists including Frank Anthony, who served as its president, and A.E.T. Barrow who served as its secretary for the better part of half a century. Most Anglo-Indians, even those without much formal education, find that gaining employment in schools is fairly easy because of their fluency in English.

In sporting circles Anglo-Indians have made a significant contribution, particularly at Olympic level where Norman Pritchard became India's first ever Olympic medallist, winning two silver medals at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, France. In cricket Roger Binny was the leading wicket-taker during the Indian cricket team's 1983 World Cup triumph. Wilson Jones was India's first ever World Professional Billiards Champion.

Several charities have been set up abroad to help the less fortunate in the community in India. Foremost among these is CTR (Calcutta Tiljallah Relief - based in the USA), which has instituted a senior pension scheme, and provides monthly pensions to over 300 seniors. CTR also provides education to over 200 needy children.

Today, there are estimated to be 80,000-125,000 Anglo-Indians living in India, most of whom are based in the cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Mumbai, Madurai and Tiruchirapalli. Anglo-Indians also live in Kochi, Kollam, Kozhikode, Cannanore(Kannur), Goa, Pune, Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, Agra, and in some towns of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Also a significant number of this population resides in Odisha's Khurda Road, which is a busy railway junction. However, the Anglo Indian population has dwindled over the years with most people migrating abroad or to other parts of the country.

Most of the Anglo-Indians overseas are concentrated in Britain, Australia, Canada, USA, and New Zealand. Of the estimated million or so (including descendants), who have emigrated from India, some have settled in European countries like Switzerland, Germany, and France. According to the Anglo-Indians who have settled in Australia, integration for the most part has not been difficult. The community in Myanmar frequently intermarried with the local Anglo-Burmese community but both communities suffered from adverse discrimination since Burma's military took over the government in the 1962, with most having now left the country to settle overseas.