British India, White Australia: Overseas Indians, Intercolonial Relations and the Empire

- Blurb -

'Commonwealth, curry and cricket' hasbecome the belaboured phrase by which Australia seeks to emphasise its sharedcolonial heritage with India and improve bilateral relations in the process.Yet it is misleading because the legacy of empire differs in profound ways inboth countries. Indians may be the fastest-growing group of migrants toAustralia, but they have long been present.British India, White Australia explores connections between Australia and India through the lensof the British Empire, by tracing the lives of people of Indian descent inAustralia, from Australian Federation to Indian independence. The WhiteAustralia Policy was firmly in place while both countries were part of theBritish Empire. Australia was nominally self-governing but still attached verystrongly to Britain; India was driven by the desire for independence. Theracist immigration policies of dominions like Australia, and Britain'sinability to reform them, further animated nationalist sentiments in India.Kama Maclean has undertaken extensivearchival research in all three countries and the book includes cartoons andphotographs, many of them shocking, that reflect attitudes of the time. In thisoriginal, landmark work she calls for more meaningful dialogue and acknowledgmentof the constraints placed upon Indians in Australia and those attempting toimmigrate. The force of white imperialism was strong: some Australians may havefound solidarity with the cause of Indian nationalism, but at the point BritishIndia ceased to exist, White Australia remained steadfast.Indians are now the fastest-growinggroup of migrants in Australia, yet their presence has a long history, as toldin this book.'At last a history of thetriangular relations between the United Kingdom, India and Australia thatlocates the tensions around the White Australia policy within the Britishimperial context. Even as Australians and Indians enjoyed a common status asBritish subjects, the superior rights accorded white colonies belied the mythof imperial equality. As this brilliant book shows, only by escapingempire can Australians and Indians forge independent relations basedon reciprocity and mutual respect.' - Professor Marilyn Lake'Original andpioneering, this connected history looks at Indian-Australian relationsthrough Empire, race, and postcolonial belonging...told with deep scholarship,irony and style.' - Dilip Menon