INDIA: 50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE PREVIEW: ANGLO-INDIANS

English/Nat

India's 50th birthday is a bittersweet time for the country's Anglo-Indians.

Part European, part Indian, the community felt abandoned when the British left.

Under the Raj, Anglos, as they are known, enjoyed special privileges and a high place in society thanks to their distinct European-style upbringing.

But 1947 brought an end to that genteel existence.

Anglo Indians became second class citizens and they have struggled to find a sense of identity ever since.

UPSOUND: TRAIN HORN

Welcome to India's wild west.

The State of Bihar is about as close to the Old Frontier as you could possibly get.

It's infamous for its kidnappings, train robberies -- and even
ruthless lawmen.

It's the last place you'd expect to find a village named after an Irishman.

The station at McCluskieganj or McCluskie village doesn't even have a platform.

But this far-flung spot is home to a community of what might be
termed 'white Indians'.

UPSOUND: SINGING IN CHURCH

Today, they're known as Anglo Indians -- or Anglos.

A community descended from mixed European and Indian stock, the only outward clue to their ancestry is the colour of their skin.

These days at Sunday service, local Indians far outnumber the Anglos -- as they do in the community as a whole.

It's a very different scene from the heyday of this isolated settlement.

At its peak, almost 400 Anglo families lived in McCluskieganj.

And until 1960, non-Anglos were forbidden from settling here.

The colony was established in the 1930s by Timothy McCluskie, an adventurer who wanted to create a Little England.

McCluskie, an Anglo himself, was only too aware that white Indians did not fit in -- either here or in Europe.

SOUNDBITE:
"He wanted to have a situation where Anglo-Indians could have some place where they could actually own the land, have their own houses, be part of this country. His idea was very deep-rooted. The idea was to make them become permanent in this country, so that they would have some stake in this country."
SUPER CAPTION: David Cameron, Anglo-Indian

But the dream of creating an Anglo Indian homeland ended in 1947.

Independence saw most Anglos packing their bags and following the Empire back to England -- even though many had never even set foot on British soil.

The ones who chose to stay behind struggled to find acceptance in
independent India.

They identified with the British -- even living in colonial-style bungalows.

As children, the Hourigans were taught proper British etiquette.

Their parents even forbade them from speaking Hindi or going barefoot like the local children.

Their father considered himself as British as the Union Jack, even though he was born on Indian soil.

But independence hurled them into a world where they were often ridiculed.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Our parents actually brought us up to that, you know to feel that we were superior to the local people and all that. So, as long as we were small, it was alright, but as we started growing, people would sort of refer to us as 'Britishers'. So when we walked down the road and all, they'd have a laugh and all and they'd say, 'See, see,
Britishers are going. Britishers are going."
SUPER CAPTION: Kathleen Hourigan, Anglo Indian

Older Anglos still cherish the memories of McCluskieganj's heyday -- a time of picnics, ballroom dancing and the occasional leopard hunt.

But today, afternoon tea is about the only tradition that endures.

Those who stayed have had to adjust -- and the new generation has been exposed to more Indian culture.

Yet to this day, most Indians see the Anglos as outsiders and they remain in a kind of racial limbo.

The fact is, they didn't try integrating soon enough.
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