Anglo-Indians and the Punjab Partition: Identity, Politics, and the Creation of Pakistan

Anglo-Indians are often overlooked in the discourse on the independence of India and Pakistan. However, despite their small numbers, Anglo-Indians punched above their weight and had a significant presence in various critical fields, as well as active and robust and political organisations. This paper traces the development of Anglo-Indian politics in the Punjab, a province which (like Bengal) was partitioned in 1947. Starting with the general Anglo-Indian quest to locate both their identity and nationality in the 1940s, this paper investigates why and how the community leaders in the Punjab not only broke with the central leadership but also argued for a very novel, ‘Anglo-Muslim’ identity, as they began supporting the Muslim League. This change of stance was much to the chagrin of the central leadership which, by 1947, was firmly tied to the Indian National Congress. This paper thus not only substantially improves our understanding of the politics of the Anglo-Indians during partition, especially at a provincial level, but enables us to understand the manoeuvrings for survival of small communities at a time when the focus seemed to be on only the Muslims and Hindus (and Sikhs in the context of the Punjab).