CONTENTS
A BOOK REVIEW OF COLONIAL
COUSINS: A SURPRISING HISTORY OF CONNECTIONS BETWEEN INDIA AND AUSTRALIA By
Deborah Yadav THE ORIGINS OF THE
ANGLO-INDIANS By Sheila Pais James COLOURFUL
THOUGHTS By Rudy Otter ANGLO
INDIANS AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY By Susan Dhavle THEY STAYED
BACK By Aubrey Millet
LETTER'S TO THE EDITOR
EDITORIAL
This is our second issue
for the year 2010. We owe a debt to all our contributors for their efforts in
making the issue vibrant and interesting.
The IJAIS is so widely cited in scholarly research done on and by Anglo
Indians that this is something to be proud of. New contacts keep coming our way
and it very heartening to note that so many scholars want to contribute to the
journal and have so much to add to the body of work already available on Anglo
Indians in all the issues of the journal since its inception.
There seem to be many Anglo Indian reunions going on simultaneously: a
welcome trend. There is one in Bangalore, India called ‘Jamboree 2010’ from 26th
to 30th October (Source: ‘Anglos in the Wind Vol 5, Issue 20, March-May 2010).
It would be good to know of more that are happening elsewhere. In
September/October 2010 the 8th World Anglo Indian Reunion is taking place in
Perth, Australia. From the perspective of The International Journal Of Anglo
Indian Studies, it should help and be of great interest to those who like to
write and publish academically, to meet up with each other. To this end, Dr
Robyn Andrews is organizing a Researchers Workshop and hopefully some people
presenting papers will be amenable to their work being published in the IJAIS.
We heartily welcome that. A Symposium is being held by the organizing committee
of the reunion themselves, to examine where Anglo Indians have reached in
contemporary times. There will also be a discussion to examine how poor Anglo
Indians can be helped. The results of these discussions should be valuable to
record for scholars doing work on any aspects of Anglo Indian charity, or
charitable organizations
The reunion is also a jamboree of festivities and social gatherings. Indeed
those of us who can attend are fortunate but it will surely be beneficial if
some serious research and serious commitment to aid for the poor is realized
here. This is an excellent opportunity to come up with ideas in this regard. It
would of course be wonderful if more people could attend this reunion. Perhaps
there can be a fund set up to send some not so well off Anglo Indians, who
nevertheless, have much to contribute, for such reunions in the future.
In this issue Deborah Yadav (nee La Fontaine), reviews an interesting and
fascinating book sent to us by the publishers Wakefield Press, Australia. Its
interesting premise is “the historic relationships and connections between
Australia and India” from the time the continents were physically joined as
‘Gondwanaland’ to the present. Sheila Pais James does another soundly researched
article on Anglo Indian identity and origins. This is part of her Ph.D thesis
which she has kindly reworked as an article and permitted us to publish. Rudy
Otter takes a sidelong glance at the colour consciousness of Anglo Indians. No
doubt he has set his work in the past but it would be interesting to hear if any
other Anglo Indians feel that colour consciousness still exists within the
community. The editor has contributed an article on “Anglo Indians and economic
activity”, tracing the community’s economic life historically and underlining
their enterprising spirit in contemporary times. Lastly, Aubrey Millet writes on
Anglo Indians who “Stayed Back”. In a series of articles, this being Part 1, he
examines the changing contexts of influences on the community etc. - their
economic contribution and participation in Indian society and also in Indian
politics, in the land that Stark so long ago named “the land of our mothers”.
Thus the IJAIS is truly well launched once again. I want to thank all the
contributors for giving their time to this journal when all are busy in their
respective fields. This issue also sees the launching of the ‘Letters to the
Editor’ section. We have been lucky to receive some encouraging ones. I hope
readers will pass on the link to others and also write to us with their views.
The address for letters to the editor remains susanddhavle@gmail.com . We
welcome letters. New readers and new friends have emerged but it should be
stressed that old contributors and old friends are as valued as ever. There is
immense talent, both intellectual and creative, in this community.
Susan Dhavle