World Anglo-Indian Day celebrations at Assembly of God Church School on Park Street on Wednesday Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta
Members of a small, dwindling community came together to celebrate World Anglo-Indian Day on Wednesday.
The day was marked by prayer services in churches and special assemblies or short programmes in schools to speak about the contribution of the community.
Barry O’Brien, president-in-chief of the All India Anglo-Indian Association, drew the attention of the community and others to the contribution of Anglo-Indian women, who stepped out of their homes more than 100 years ago to earn a living.
“While those from other communities stayed home, more than a hundred years ago, the Anglo-Indian woman stepped out of her home with a handbag full of courage and a demeanour full of confidence to earn an honest living.... She pioneered the movement for the emancipation of women in India not via activism and protest but by sheer determination to go out and work,” O’Brien said in an online message for the community.
Gillian Rosemary Hart, a former school principal, said the number of Anglo-Indians in the city may be small, but they “are united”.
“As long as we are united we can do a lot for our country in education or any other field. Currently, there is so much division and disharmony in our country... we need to be united,” said Hart, who was thrice nominated to the Assembly to represent the community.
“We always speak about the diversity of India and we and other communities are that diverse part that makes our country different from other countries,” Hart told Metro
Hart attended a programme organised by the Bengal chapter of the Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools in India at the Assembly of God Church School on Wednesday evening.
“It gives us an idea of how many Anglo-Indians are there in our institutions,” Terence John, secretary of the association, said at the programme.
“The day is significant because it marks the coming together of the community and reminds others of the contribution of the community in every field....”
The school heads discussed ways to encourage more Anglo-Indian students to join the teaching profession. Like the community itself, the number of Anglo-Indian teachers in schools is also dwindling.
Terence Ireland, principal, St James’ School, said: “.., earlier about 75 per cent of our teachers would be Anglo-Indians and almost all in the junior school. Now we have less than 10 per cent….”
At Loreto House, students performed a skit where they enacted interviewing Ruskin Bond, Rudyard Kipling and others.
“The day is not just about song and dance but understanding the greatest contribution (of Anglo-Indians), which has been in the field of education,” said Aruna Gomes, principal of Loreto House.