The Anglo-Indian vision was written by Gloria Jean Moore and appeared in print in 1986. It was published by AE Press, Melbourne Australia. What appears below is the foreword to the book. The book is available from the author, Gloria Moore at P O Box 155, North Mulgrave, Vic. Australia 3170.

India is a country whose history and people have been closely associated with the British for some four centuries. The very concept of India has always had a magical quality for many people who have never been there. The reality of living there for many years for countless British people has formed bonds of friendship and memories which the years cannot loosen or fade and leaves a nostalgia difficult to explain. My husband, Lord Brabourne, and I count ourselves very lucky to have been among the families to whom India means so much, and to share that nostalgia.

For many British that link became an indissolvable one through intermarriage from the earliest days, gradually creating an Anglo-Indian community whose characteristics mixed very well to produce a talented and sensitive people, numbering half a million at independence in 1947.

However, gradually prejudice crept in - from both sides - so that life was never easy for the Anglo-Indian and hardly ever were they allowed to fulfil their potential and render the full services of which they were capable to the country in which they lived. Neither was the contribution they were able to make sufficiently valued or appreciated, although often of great worth.

Mrs Moore sets out in this book to try and put this record straight, before it is engulfed by the mists of time. She achieves this very imaginatively by giving us countless little windows through which to view people's lives, by quoting from earlier writings or interviewing people directly. In this way a remarkable picture is built up of the Anglo-Indians lives through the centuries, their character and culture, way of life and considerable achievements. We can appreciate, through her intimate knowledge, what these people have contributed to the communities and country in which they lived and their often heroic endurance and patience in the face of shameful prejudice.

I am sure this book will interest very many people with the fascinating picture it paints of a people whose achievements have never really been properly understood, but who have quietly given a great deal to the world in which they lived.

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