Dr Gloria Jean Moore
| Town/City | North Mulgrave, Vic. |
|---|---|
| First name | Dr Gloria Jean |
| Last name | Moore |
| Country of Origin | India |
| Date of Birth | 8/1/1935 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1965 |
| Submitted by | Dr Gloria Moore |
Story
A BRIDGE AND A BULWARK. AUSTRALIAN ANGLO INDIANS. By Dr Gloria J. Moore
PART11
Our origins came when the Portuguese, the Dutch and then the British (1600) arrived in India, and as definite policies of their East India Companies encouraged the marriages of their men to local women, realising the children of such unions would be the foundation of their growing empires. Anglo Indians saw themselves as the front line, a ‘buffer’ but also the bridge between the rulers and the people of India, and a bulwark of empire. A reading of my books will demonstrate their role at crucial points, and without their presence in 1857/8, when war or mutiny came, there may have been no Raj at all. Anglo Indians were present as soldiers, as nurses, in the Boxer wars, the Boer War, and both World Wars. Like Spanish speaking Americans, they would appreciate acknowledgment of their role.
The legal definition of an Anglo Indian appeared in 1911, then in a Government of India Act of 1935. One had to be descended from Europeans in the male line and domiciled in India. This was clearly understood to mean that ancestry could be of the country in the female line. Those who claimed to have no ‘Indian blood’ called themselves Domiciled Europeans. Writers who still describe the British in India as ‘Anglo-Indian’ labour under a misconception. In life, in India, they might well have been sued for such an blunder.
While all this is in the past, the legacy remains of scholars poring over erroneous texts and perpetuating ignorance of the truth. They find it hard to change, especially in Britain, though Anglo Indians in hundreds of thousands have settled there over the last half century and more. It must be said that Anglo Indians in Britain are strangely quiet in proclaiming their history. We are left to wonder whether the climate is less magnanimous for their voices to be heard, with implications of tension and ruffling imperial feathers.
So I am grateful that, while my parents moved to Britain soon after Indian Independence, I came to settle, with my late husband Terence (also Anglo Indian) and my three children, in Australia in 1965, where I believe the climate of acceptance of newcomers is so much more generous and healthy. We take pride in proclaiming our Anglo Indian origins here. There is the paradox that while there was indeed a White Australia Policy, the great majority of our settlers have been welcomed with friendship and acceptance.
My books, THE ANGLO INDIAN VISION, THE LOTUS AND THE ROSE, and ANGLO INDIANS: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS, promote understanding. I have letters from the well known singer, (Anglo Indian) Sir Cliff Richard commending my work in educating people about Anglo Indians.
Many believe that my books have created a renaissance in the Commonwealth, as an empowering source of knowledge and pride among Anglo Indians, wherever they are now settled around the world. Captain Stan Blackford of Adelaide is one who admits that they ‘transformed his life’. In India, General Des Hayde found them inspiring. They had not realised there was so much to be proud of, in our history. The very successful Sydney businessman, Basil Sellers, AM, chose me to write his recent biography, FROM INDIA, WITH LOVE, precisely because he wanted to bring out the Anglo Indian story of his family. He is a clear example of the courage, talent and drive which the finest Anglo Indians always had. Men like him could have ruled empires, given the chance.
PART111 Follows