Children of Colonialism Anglo-Indians in a Postcolonial World

by Caplan, Lionel

• ISBN13: 9781859735312
• ISBN10: 1859735312
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-01
• Publisher: Berg Pub Ltd

Summary

Among the legacies of the colonial encounter are any number of contemporary 'mixed-race' populations, descendants of the offspring of sexual unions involving European men (colonial officials, traders, etc.) and local women. These groups invite serious scholarly attention because they not only challenge notions of a rigid divide between colonizer and colonized, but beg a host of questions about continuities and transformations in the postcolonial world. This book concerns one such group, the Eurasians of India, or Anglo-Indians as they came to be designated. Caplan presents an historicized ethnography of their contemporary lives as these relate both to the colonial past and to conditions in the present. In particular, he forcefully shows that features which theorists associate with the postcolonial present '” blurred boundaries, multiple identities, creolized cultures '” have been part of the colonial past as well. Presenting a powerful argument against theoretically essentialized notions of culture, hybridity and postcoloniality, this book is a much-needed contribution to recent debates in cultural studies, literary theory, anthropology, sociology as well as historical studies of colonialism, 'mixed-race' populations and cosmopolitan identities.

Author Biography

Lionel Caplan is Emeritus Professor and Professorial Research Associate, at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction	1	(20)
Colonial Sex and the Creation of a Mixed-race Population	1	(3)
The Colonial Science of Racial Hybrids	4	(2)
Anglo-Indians and the Blurring of Categorical Divides	6	(4)
Theorizing the Colonial and Postcolonial	10	(1)
Creolized Cultures, Bounded Identities	11	(4)
Researching Anglo-India	15	(6)
Anglo-Indians in Madras	21	(38)
Introduction	21	(1)
The Evolution of an Anglo-Indian Population in Madras	22	(3)
The Emergence of Class Divisions	25	(12)
The Education of Anglo-Indians	37	(6)
Anglo-Indian Settlement in Madras	43	(8)
Conclusion	51	(8)
Guarding Boundaries -- Crossing Boundaries	59	(32)
Introduction	59	(1)
Erecting Boundaries	60	(3)
Threatening Boundaries	63	(3)
Crossing Boundaries: Colonial Censuses	66	(10)
Crossing Boundaries: Out-marriages	76	(4)
Contemporary Crossings	80	(5)
Conclusion	85	(6)
Paradoxes of Belonging	91	(38)
Introduction	91	(1)
The Paradox of British Policies	92	(4)
Anglo-Indian Rhetorics of Belonging	96	(10)
Manifestations of `Community'	106	(7)
Contemporary Associational Politics	113	(2)
The Politics of Philanthropy	115	(5)
Conclusion	120	(9)
The Spirit of Emigration	129	(28)
Introduction	129	(2)
Colonial Migrations	131	(2)
Post-Independence Migrations	133	(2)
Planning Emigration	135	(3)
Failed Emigrants	138	(5)
The Consequences of Emigration	143	(5)
Resisting Emigration	148	(4)
Conclusion	152	(5)
Close Families and Matrifocal Households	157	(36)
Introduction	157	(1)
The Composition of Households	158	(4)
Close Families	162	(5)
Boarding Schools and Families	167	(4)
Failed Families	171	(4)
Family and Workplace	175	(2)
Family Narratives	177	(7)
Women in the Family	184	(4)
Conclusion	188	(5)
The Practice of Culture	193	(30)
Introduction	193	(1)
Emblematic Lifeways	194	(1)
Depicting Anglo-Indian Lifeways	195	(3)
Dress: Changing Gear	198	(6)
Food: Custards and Curries	204	(6)
Making and Celebrating Marriages	210	(8)
Conclusion	218	(5)
Conclusion	223	(10)
Bibliography	233	(20)
Author Index	253	(4)
Subject Index	257