>Here's something for all of you - Cheers!!!!!!
>
>> >This was a speech given by a friend at a dinner dance in Sydney last
>>year.
> >Good Evening Ladies & Gentleman. Welcome to this special evening.
> >
> >I'm attempting to condense over 300 years of Anglo-Indian history in to
>10
> >minutes.
> >
> >The British Empire once held absolute power in over 52 countries.  About
> >two-fifths of the world. But there was only one jewel in the crown -India
> >The first European settlers in India were the Portuguese in 1498 about
>100
> >years before the British. The Dutch, French and the British followed.
> >
> >
> >They were all here for the duration. The inevitable happened and a new
>mixed
> >race community emerged. Even though the British came in peacefully as
> >merchants and traders they soon colonised the sub-continent of India. But
> >the British needed allies to protect the jewel in the crown and so began
>a
> >deliberate policy encouraging British males to marry Indian women to
>create
> >the first Anglo-Indians. The East India Company paid 15 silver rupees for
> >each child born to an Indian mother and a European father, as family
> >allowance.
> >
> >These children were amalgamated into the growing Anglo-Indian community,
> >forming a defensive structure for the British Raj. This was a deliberate
>act
> >of self preservation by the English. This unique hybrid individual was
> >ethnically engineered by the occupying British so much so that the
> >Anglo-Indians were the only micro-minority community ever defined
>in a
> >Constitution.
> >
> >
> >Article-366 of the Indian Constitution states An Anglo-Indian means a
>person
> >whose father or any of whose male ancestors in the male line is or was of
> >European descent but who is domiciled within the territory of India and
>is
> >or was born within such territory of parents habitually resident there-in
> >and not established there for temporary purposes only. So you can see we
> >were intended to be a permanent micro-minority. In 1830 British
>Parliament
> >described the Anglo-Indian as those who have been English educated, are
> >entirely European in their habits and feelings, dress and language.
> >
> >
> >They were more "Anglo" than "Indian". Their mother-tongue was English,
>they
> >were Catholic or Anglican and their customs and traditions were English.
> >While most of them married
>within their own circle, many continued to marry
> >expatriate Englishmen. Very few married Indians. Without Anglo-Indian
> >support British rule would have collapsed.
> >
> >
> >RAILWAYS
> >We ran the railways, post and telegraph, police and customs, education,
> >export and import, shipping, tea, coffee and tobacco plantations, the
>coal
> >and gold fields. We became teachers, nurses, priests and doctors. If it
>had
> >any value the British made sure we ran it. And when it came to
>secretarial
> >duties no one could touch our Anglo-Indian girls - the best stenographers

>in
> >the world and with beauty to match. Were we favoured? Yes, the English
> >trusted us. After all we were blood related. We worked hard. We became
> >indispensable. We lived comfortably and were protected by the British
>raj.
> >Like the British we had servants to
>do all our domestic work. The average
> >Anglo-Indian home could afford at least three full time servants - a
>cook, a
> >bearer and the indispensable nanny (ayah). Part time servants included a
> >gardener, cleaner and laundry man (dhobi). Of course we learned to speak
> >Hindi to be able to argue, give orders, bargain, accuse and terminate
> >employment and throw in a dozen Hindi expletives. Imagine our horror when

>we
> >were later to migrate to England, Canada and Australia and we no longer
>had
> >servants to do our domestic chores. Who can remember looking at our first
> >toilet brush and asking 'what do we do with this?' We had to learn to
>cook,
> >clean, garden, do the laundry and take the garbage out and look after the
> >kids.
> >
> >
> >CHRISTMAS CAKE
> >The tradition of making your own Christmas cake was a sacred
>Anglo-Indian
> >custom. Each family had a secret cake recipe, handed down from our
> >grandparents. About a week before Christmas the local baker was
>contacted.
> >He would turn up to your home with two very large terracotta bowls that
> >looked more like satellite dishes. One for the egg whites and one for
> >mixing. Mum would dish out the ingredients. This was all mixed together
> >under her watchful eye and distributed in to about dozen or so cake tins
>and
> >labelled with your name on it. This labelling was all important. We did
>not
> >want him to return that evening with someone else's cake recipe. Heaven
> >forbid.
> >
> >MUSIC/DANCE
> >Music, movies and socialising were high on the agenda. We loved a dance.
> >Afternoon dance jam sessions were a magnet for the teenagers where we
>jived,
> >jitterbugged, tango's or just fox
>trotted. Many a lasting liaison was forged
> >on the dance floor and today many of us are celebrating 40-year plus
> >marriages. Our mums sat around gossiping and seldom took their eyes off
> >their darling daughters. I know I speak from experience. I met my wife at
> >one such event and now 44 years later I still fancy her. The Anglo-Indian
> >railway and cantonment towns that sprung up around the major cities
> >cultivated a unique social and industrial blend with a heartbeat. Their
> >dances were legendary. At the drop of a hat the city cousins would jump
>on a
> >train and travel for anything up to six hours to get to that up-country
> >dance. Many of our lives revolved around the biggest and best railway
>system
> >in the world. And the trains ran on time! Today the Indian Railways
> >transports over 5 billion passengers each year employing
>more than 1.6
> >million personnel. Between 1853 and 1947 we built and managed 42 rail
> >systems. This was a legacy we can be proud of.
> >
> >
> >CONTRIBUTIONS
> >During World War 1 about 8000 Anglo-Indians fought in Mesopotamia, East
> >Africa, and in the European theatre - three Anglo-Indians were awarded
> >Victoria Crosses. In World War II they fought at Dunkirk and flew in the
> >battle of Britain Guy Gibson of the Dam Busters was one such
>Anglo-Indian,
> >and we were in North Africa, Malaya and the fall of Singapore. Merle
>Oberon
> >and Juliet Prowse, Tony Brent, Engelbert Humperdinck,Cliff Richards are
>all
> >Anglo-Indians
> >
> >The Anglo-Indians took India to Olympic hockey glory. From 1928 India won
> >five consecutive Olympic hockey gold medals. In fact, when India faced
> >Australia in the semi-finals of the
>1960 Olympics in Rome, it was a unique
> >occasion. The captains who came face to face were both Anglo-Indians,
>Leslie
> >Claudius and Kevin Carton.
> >
> >
> >EDUCATION
> >English education played a major role amongst the Anglo-Indians.
> >Anglo-Indian schools numbered close to 300 and were prized. They
>stretched
> >from Bangalore in the south to the cooler northern hill stations of
> >Darjeeling in the foothills of the Himalayas. Each was modelled on the
>posh
> >English Public school system. We ran them as teachers and principals and
>to
> >this day these schools are coveted across the sub-continent.
> >
> >
> >IDENTITY DILEMMA
> >The Anglo-Indian has always faced an identity dilemma because of our
>mixed
> >origins. Europeans said they were Indians with some European blood;
>Indians
> >said they were Europeans with some
>Indian blood. The world of Anglo-India
> >vanished on August 15th 1947, when India became the largest independent
> >democracy in the world. The British packed and went home. Over 300,000
> >Anglo-Indians remained. We felt apprehensive and abandoned. So we too
>packed
> >our bags and began to migrate to Australia, Britain, Canada, the U.S.A.
>and
> >New Zealand. Many of you will remember the dreaded Income Tax Clearance
> >document you need to leave the country and further faced the strict
>Indian
> >foreign exchange regulations that allowed you only 10 pounds each.
>Imagine
> >starting life in a new country with 10 quid in your pocket. Some had to
> >leave behind their savings; others simply resorted to the risky black
>market
> >loosing a 30% of your savings.
> >
> >IDENTITY
> >The Anglo-Indian identity is disappearing. We have found new
>lives and
> >merged into the mainstream. Our generation, sitting here tonight, who
>were
> >born in India, growing up in the 40s thru to 60s, are possibly the last
>true
> >Anglo-Indians. Look around you. Where is the next generation?
> >
> >Most of our children were born abroad and their connection to Anglo-India

>is
> >very fragile. They have married Aussies, English, Canadian or other
> >Anglo-Indians born outside India. They prefer to be regarded as English,
> >Australian or Canadian. Our grandchildren will assimilate and forge a new
> >identity based on their country of birth. Putting aside history I believe

>we
> >could regard ourselves as an exotic cocktail that had its origins over
>300
> >years ago. We have matured and become a unique aromatic spirit,
>generously
> >flavoured and very stimulating. We were a force to be reckoned with. We
>were
> >the shakers and the stirrers. Please pick up your glasses and toast your
> >State of Origin and New Horizons.
> >
>
>
>



---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message (including any attachments) is confidential and may be privileged. If you have received it by mistake please notify the sender by return e-mail and delete this message from your system. Any unauthorised use or dissemination of this message in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Please note that e-mails are susceptible to change. ABN AMRO Bank N.V, which has its seat at Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and is registered in the Commercial Register under number 33002587, including its group companies, shall not be liable for the improper or incomplete transmission of the information contained in this communication nor for any delay in its receipt or damage to your system. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. (or its group companies) does not guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained nor that this communication is free of viruses, interceptions or interference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------