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A recent study conducted in the United Kingdom suggests that those Anglo-Indians who have immigrated there were predominantly working class and "academically unsuccessful" (Lobo, 1989: i). Further it was suggested that Anglo-Indians in England were unable to break out of the working class because they were being hampered by living in a class based and racist society (Lobo, 1989). In addition, the latest study dealing with the Anglo-Indians in India (Lobo, 1994) indicates that the Anglo-Indians there are not doing particularly well. The main question to be answered then, is whether this apparently distressing situation in the U.K and India is also true of the Anglo-Indians in Australia.

The number of Anglo-Indians in Australia

Analysis of the 1991 Australian census indicates that there are approximately 62,500 India born people living in Australia. Of this 62,500 India born people, 42,100 speak only English at home and of this number 35,000 are also Christian. About 80 percent of this 35,000 had both parents born in Asia, this suggests that there are about 28,000 India born Anglo-Indians living in Australia.

If we then assume that a further 25 percent of Anglo- Indians were born either in Australia or in England before immigrating to Australia, we arrive at a figure of about 35,000 Anglo-Indians living in Australia. The issue of the number of Anglo-Indians is discussed further in the next section.

A Definition of the Term Anglo-Indian

There are a number of different definitions of Anglo- Indian that have been used over the years. In general, the term Anglo-Indian has come to define a group of people that were Indian born, spoke English as their mother tongue, were Christian and had European ancestors. The term Anglo-Indian as defined by the Indian constitution is as follows:

"[A]n Anglo-Indian means a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors 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 therein and not established there for temporary purposes only (The Constitution of India, paragraph 366)."

When conducting my research using 1986 Australian census data, I have used two "filters" to separate out Anglo- Indians from other respondents. These are:

1. Both parents must be born on the Indian sub-continent 2. The respondent must claim to be of European descent

A problem with this procedure is that it may underestimate the number of Anglo-Indians in Australia, since many Anglo- Indians would have one European parent or they may have not identified as being of European descent. Still, the "filters" used would insure that only Anglo-Indians are included in the study.

The 1986 Australian census was used to produce the tables below because it included an ancestry question. While it is possible to know if a person was born in India, it is only if they have European ancestors that we can be sure that they are Anglo-Indians. Data provided by the ABS indicates that about 18,000 people who had both parents born in India were of European ancestry.

Group Comparisons

Australians or ADs, that is people with both parentsborn in Australia and speaking only English at home serve as a basic reference group. Further, people with both parents born in the UK and who only spoke English at home, UKDs, were used as an immigrant comparison group. Persons of Australian, British or Irish origin constitute about 70 percent of the Australian labour force (Jones, 1992a). The basic question that drives the present analysis is how well the Anglo- Indians fare relative to members of the majority group. If the Anglo-Indians are earning less than similarly placed Australian descent and UK descent people, then there may be a case that the observed differences are due possibly to discrimination.

Analysing the 1986 Census for Hourly Income

The analysis of the total 1986 data set was based on information obtained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This information provided hourly incomes for Anglo- Indians by Occupation, Industry and Qualification. The information for Anglo-Indians was then compared to that for UK descent and Australian descent. Overall the ABS figures indicated that the average hourly income for 7692 Anglo- Indians was $10 an hour. This figure was compared to that for people of UK descent of $10 hour and Australian descent $9 hour.

The average hourly income figures indicate that Anglo- Indians are doing reasonably well in Australia. This finding was unexpected given that past literature almost exclusively paints Anglo-Indians as low achievers, both in terms of education and jobs. The present study differs from other studies dealing with Anglo-Indians (Lobo, 1988; 1994) in that it relies on a data set that includes all Anglo-Indians working full-time. For the first time, the researcher has a large and unbiased sample of Anglo-Indians to work with.

Hourly Income by Industry for the 1986 Census

The hourly income figures indicated that the Anglo- Indians earned more than those of Australian descent in the areas of Manufacturing, Construction, Whole Sale/Retail and Public Administration. The Anglo-Indians earned less than those of Australian descent in the Electricity and Communication industries. When the Anglo-Indians and people of UK descent were compared, the Anglo-Indians earned more than those of UK descent in the areas of Construction and in the Wholesale/Retail Trade. The people of UK descent earned more than the Anglo-Indians in the areas of Agriculture, Electricity, Transport and Communication.

The Anglo-Indians were well represented in the category Transport (8.09 percent), compared to those of UK descent (4.98 percent) and those of Australian descent (6.32

                                                  Table 1                               
     Comparisons of Hourly Earnings of AIs, UKDs and ADs by Industry.  1986 Census, Total Data.                           
     

                                     AI             UKD               AD  

        INDUSTRY                 N   %     $    N    %     $     N    %    $ 

        AGRICULTURE             42  0.55   5  112   2.19   6  2051   7.56  5 
        MINING                  99  1.29  14   88   1.72  14   481   1.77 14
        MANUFACTURING         1518 19.74  10  963  18.82  10  3923  14.46  9
        ELECTRICITY            201  2.61  11  138   2.70  12   689   2.54 12
        CONSTRUCTION           228  2.96  11  392   7.66  10  1885   6.95  9
        WHOLESALE RETAIL      1220 15.86   9  953  18.62   8  4932  18.19  8
        TRANSPORT              622  8.09  10  255   4.98  11  1713   6.32 10
        COMMUNICATION          297  3.86  10  108   2.11  11   642   2.37 11
        FINANCE               1030 13.39  11  612  11.96  11  2845  10.49 11
        PUBLIC ADMIN           677  8.80  12  364   7.11  12  2135   7.87 11
        COMMUNITY SERVICES    1370 17.82  11  793  15.49  11  4076  15.03 11
        RECREATION             254  3.30   8  226   4.42   8  1231   4.54  8
        NON-CLASSIFIABLE        72  0.94  10   55   1.07   9   211   0.78  8
        NOT STATED              60  0.78   7   59   1.15   8   307   1.13  7
        TOTAL                 7690        10 5118         10 27121         9

percent). This was to be expected, given the history of Anglo-Indians working on the railways in India (Anthony, 1969; The unexpected finding was in the area of Manufacturing. More Anglo-Indians were working in Manufacturing (19.74 percent), than those of UK descent (18.82 percent) and those of Australian descent (14.46 percent). In India many of the Anglo-Indians would have refused to work in a manufacturing environment where many of the jobs were "unskilled" and poorly paid Gaikwad, 1967; Gist and Wright, 1973). In addition, the large proportion of Anglo-Indians working in Community Services (17.82 percent), compared to those of UK descent (15.49 percent) and those of Australian descent (15.03 percent), was expected given their long history of working for the Government in India. But, with immigration came a change in the social environment and a willingness to accept less skilled jobs.

The reported unwillingness of Anglo-Indians to "dirty their hands" and risk their "pride" by accepting unskilled employment in India may have been exaggerated. Gaikwad (1967: 101) produces figures that suggests that about half the Anglo-Indians in his study were employed in Government and Private factories. Similarly, Gist and Wright (1973: 60) report that skilled and semi- skilled Anglo-Indians were employed as "mechanics, electricians, engineers, welders [and] factory operatives..." .

Qualifications and Hourly Income

The Anglo-Indians who earned the highest hourly incomes were the Managers and Professionals ($13 an hour). Managers of UK descent earned ($14 an hour) and those of Australian descent ($13 an hour). For all three groups it was the professionals who had the highest hourly income. There is substantial gap in the proportion of Anglo-Indians (8.55 percent), who have managerial positions compared to those of UK descent (11.22 percent) and Australian descent (14.94 percent). Although some of this difference could be attributed to a higher proportion of UK descent and Australian descent being farmers and farm managers. Farmers and farm managers, are coded as managers in the present analysis.

The UK descent professionals had the highest hourly earnings ($14 an hour), of all three groups. They earned, on average, ($1 an hour) more than Anglo-Indian and Australian descent professionals. Part of the reason for this, almost certainly, lies with the devaluation of Asian qualifications and labour force experience that occurs in Australia (Stromback, 1984, Tran-Nam and Neville, 1988; Jones, 1992a; 1992b). Still, the Anglo-Indians did earn similarly as the Australian descent professionals.

While the Anglo-Indians were under-represented in managerial positions, they were over-represented in professional (12.82 percent) and

                                              Table 2                                
Comparison of Average Hourly Income, for AIs, UKDs and ADs by Occupation. 1986 Census Total Data.                       
    
                                  AI            UKD           AD      
                              N   %    $    N   %    $    N    %    $ 

        MANAGERS            658  8.55 13  574 11.22 11  4051 14.94  9 
        PROFESSIONALS       986 12.82 13  602 11.76 14  3064 11.30 13 
        PARA PROFESSIONALS  616  8.01 12  409  7.99 12  1871  6.90 11 
        TRADESPERSONS       954 12.40  9  970 18.95  9  4613 17.01  9 
        CLERKS             2359 30.67  9  922 18.01  9  4628 17.06  9 
        SALESPERSONS        722  9.39  9  559 10.92  9  2712 10.00  8 
        PLANT & MACHINE     476  6.19 10  386  7.54  9  2458  9.06  9 
          OPERATORS                                                   
        LABOURERS AND       787 10.23  8  575 11.23  8  3176 11.71  8 
          RELATED WORKERS                                             
        INADEQUATELY         92  1.20  9   89  1.74 11   372  1.37  9 
          DESCRIBED                                                   
        NOT STATED           42  0.55  9   32  0.63  9   176  0.65  8 
        TOTAL              7692       10 5118       10 27121        9 

para-professional (8.01 percent) positions. Those of UK descent and Australian descent were about a percentage point behind in these important categories. One of the categories that stood out for the Anglo-Indians was the clerical category. About twice as many Anglo-Indians (30.67 percent), as those of UK descent (18.01 percent) and Australian descent (17.06 percent), worked as clerks. This is consistent with the Anglo-Indian preference for White collar work in India. In general, the Anglo-Indians earned about the same as people of UK descent and more than people of Australian descent in many of the categories.

Hourly Income and Educational Qualifications

The most interesting result, with reference to educational qualifications, is that the Anglo-Indians appear to be relatively well qualified. Most of the literature dealing with the Anglo-Indians, in India (Lobo, 1994) and England (Gist, 1975; Lobo, 1988), indicate that as a rule, Anglo-Indians are poorly educationally qualified. The ABS data below indicates quite clearly, that on average, Anglo-Indians are better qualified than those of UK and Australian descent. There is a higher proportion of Anglo-Indians with bachelor or higher degrees (9.67 percent), than those of UK descent (7.56 percent) and Australian descent (7.93 percent). The Anglo-Indians in Australia appear to be doing reasonably well. They are a better educated and more likely to be professional compared to people of UK and Australian descent.

                                          Table 3                                
Comparison of Average Hourly Income, for AIs, UKDs and ADs by Qualifications. 1986 Census Total Data. 
                         
                                     AI           UKD            AD  
      
                                 N   %    $    N   %    $     N   %    $
 
                         
       HIGHER DEGREE            76  0.99 16   77  1.50 17   213  0.79 17 
       GRADUATE DIPLOMA         88  1.14 14   45  0.88 14   259  0.95 14 
       BACHELOR DEGREE         580  7.54 14  265  5.18 15  1679  6.19 14 
       DIPLOMA                 409  5.32 13  214  4.18 14  1214  4.48 13 
       TRADE CERTIFICATE       948 12.33 10  913 17.84 10  4288 15.81 10 
       OTHER CERTIFICATE      1222 15.89 11  600 11.72 11  2554  9.42 10 
       NOT CLASSIFIABLE         38  0.49 10   14  0.27 12    88  0.32 10 
       INADEQUATELY DESCRIBED  516  6.71  9  215  4.20  9  1085  4.00  8 
       NO QUALIFICATIONS      3285 42.72  9 2519 49.22  9 14315 52.78  8 
       NOT SHOWN               528  6.87  9  256  5.00  9  1426  5.26  9 
       TOTAL                  7690       10 5118       10 27121        9 

While the Anglo-Indians are better qualified than the other two groups in the study, they are often on lower hourly rates of pay. Anglo-Indians with a higher degree ($16 an hour), earn less than those of UK and Australian descent with higher degree's ($17 an hour). Both Anglo-Indians and those of Australian descent with bachelor degrees ($14 an hour), earn less than similarly qualified people of UK descent ($15 an hour).

Summary of Findings for the 1986 Census

In general, the Anglo-Indians in Australia are doing better than people of Australian descent. Although, there are some areas of concern, such as the under-representation of Anglo-Indians in management positions and the lower hourly earnings of Anglo-Indians with higher degrees. One of the main problems that Anglo-Indians have is that Australian employers often don't value their Indian qualifications and labour force experience. Certainly not to the same extent that they would qualifications and labour force experience from other countries such as England or the US. These issues will be discussed in more detail in a second article that will appear in the next issue of The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies.

REFERENCES
Anthony, F. (1969). Britain's Betrayal in India. Allied: New Delhi.

The Constitution of India. New Delhi: Government of India Press, 1963. Paragraph 366.

Gaikwad, V.R. (1967). The Anglo-Indians. Asia: New York.

Gist, N.P. (1975). Anglo-Indian migrants in Britain. Plural Societies. 4, 39-49.

Gist, N.P. & Wright, R.D. (1973). Marginality and Identity: Anglo-Indians as a racially mixed minority in India. Netherlands: Leiden.

Jones, F.L. (1992a). Sex and Ethnicity in the Australian Labour Market: The Immigrant Experience. AGPS: Canberra.

Jones, F.L. (1992b). Labour market outcomes among the Chinese at the 1986 Census; In Inglis, C., Gunasekaran, S., Sullivan, G. & Wu, C-T. (1992). Asians in Australia: The Dynamics of Migration and Settlement. pp. 117-156. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies: Singapore.

Lobo, A. (1988). The Anglo-Indians in Britain. Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the Master of Arts. The Institute of Education, University of London.

Lobo, A. (1994). A comparative study of educational disadvantage in India within the Anglo-Indian Community: A historical and contemporary analysis. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the Ph.D. The Institute of Education, University of London.

Stromback, T. (1984). The Earnings of Migrants' in Australia. BLMR: Canberra.

Tran-Nam, B. and Nevile, J.W. (1988). The Effects of Birthplace on Male Earnings in Australia. Australian Economic Papers. 27, 83-101.

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