The Anglo-Indian Legacy

(A celebration of the Anglo-Indian's contribution to modern India, it is hoped that this poem makes every Anglo-Indian feel proud of our history and legacy.)

Five summers have I, now, in Zambia spent
Time in which I continually try to explain my descent
To people who consider me quite an interesting mystery
For they have heard little or nothing of Anglo-Indian history

In conversations with students, colleagues and friends
I repeatedly strive to make huge amends
For the paucity of knowledge of my people, my race
And in the context of Indian accord us our place

In classroom debates, my “Indianess” I strongly claim
To which students retort, “You can’t be, with your English name.”
And when I reply, “I am Anglo-Indian, don’t you know?”
That’s when their curiosity just begins to grow.

“What’s your native language?” is another that does arise
Smiling, I say “English” and there is that jolt of surprise
But the answer that now has them in quite a trance
Is my reply to, “Where did you learn ballroom dance?”

These questions in India were hardly ever posed
So my culture, my identity I naturally supposed
Was something that I could easily take for granted
Until now, of course, when with these queries I am haunted

India is diverse and its many cultures I respect
But now, when upon my personal identity I reflect
I would like the Anglo-Indian to be accorded his worth
In the annals of India, the country of his birth.

An Indian education is sound, its teachers it would seem
Are in Zambia, held in rather high esteem
So, in this verse, I’d like to place on record
The Anglo-Indian teacher whom I duly accord

The merit of pioneering Indian railway and convent schools
In days when the blackboard and chalk were her only tools
And with pride I swell when a successful manager does pay tribute
To the Anglo-Indian teacher whose achievements I now salute.

Trains span India, its entire breadth and its length
The reason for its ever-growing economic strength
And when I recall tales I was told as a little boy
The chest once again heaves with pride and joy

For if anything typifies the Anglo-Indian legacy
It’s the railway driver and the steamer he drove with glee
And if the Indian railways is the giant it is today
It’s to those pioneering loco-men to whom quiet tribute I pay

Communications, today, make this world go round
And without our mobile phones we’re hardly ever found
But in an era when a new nation was slowly taking form
Getting connected by telegraph was much the norm.

And here again the Anglo-Indian played his part
In helping a huge network with a little start
As he punched in code on the telegraph
Proud member of India’s pioneering postal staff

Of its global reach, sport can now lay claim
And even here did the Anglo-Indian make his name
Bringing to field hockey such vim and passion
As he wielded the stick with guile and fashion

And powered his country to eight medals of gold
As he tackled opponents within the Olympic fold
And with regal panache, did firmly hold fort
As he shaped field hockey into India’s national sport

To Anglo-Indians now scattered, in corners far and wide
This is your legacy; and in it, take immense pride
Your forefathers and mothers helped lay the foundation
For what is now a large, diverse and successful nation

We are not a footnote in the annals of history
But a community with a rich, proud and acclaimed legacy
One which we should proclaim with a passion dear
As the community that helped carve modern India.