A community that has become a state of mind.
An Anglo-Indian these days is almost a state of mind. Many who became part of the community's diaspora after India and Pakistan gained Independence in 1947, never declare themselves as Anglo-Indians, seemingly eager to disappear into their host societies in the Anglophone countries of the West.
However, there are enough who care about their unique heritage to try to preserve and celebrate it, and have done so with international gatherings every three years: in the UK in 1989; in Canada in 1992; in Australia in 1995; and last year in India itself, officially in Bangalore and with a spirited follow-up in Calcutta, home to the largest population of Anglo-Indians through the centuries.
The much-anticipated Bangalore gath-ering was a thorough disappointment. It was racked by disagreement among rival Anglo-Indian groups within India, and the spirit of celebration so visible in Toronto and Perth turned joyless and sour. The 300-or-so delegates from abroad came to the reunion awash with nostalgia, believing this would go down as the most important reunion. Instead, they found dissension and a startling degree of uncaring for poorer host-country participants among the Anglo-Indian elites of India. Fortunately, Calcutta turned out different.