Anglo Indians want representation restored in Parliament

The president-in-chief of the All India Anglo-Indian Association, Barry o' Brien said the population of the community in India is over 4 lakhs, but based on an erroneous 2011 census result

Lucknow: The Anglo-Indian community in Uttar Pradesh has demanded restoration of their right to have representation in Parliament and state legislature that was scrapped by the Indian government in 2020 through a constitutional amendment.

The president-in-chief of the All India Anglo-Indian Association, Barry o’ Brien said the population of the community in India is over 4 lakhs, but based on an erroneous 2011 census result, which stated that the number is just 296, the community’s right to have representation in legislature bodies was scrapped by the government.

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“We have written several letters to the governments, but our requests have not been answered,” he said.

Anglo-Indians are individuals of a mix of English and Indian ancestry. Since the community was not native to any state, hence, its members were nominated to Parliament and state assemblies. It served as a platform to air their grievances.

“We have adopted Indian culture and learned vernacular languages with time. In the 1960s only 10 per cent of the Anglo-Indian population spoke Hindi, but today it has increased to about 95 per cent,” he said.