India Humphreys

To what extent did Indian culture influence British culture from the 18th
century to the present day?
Regardless of the extent of Indian influence on British culture, an
exchange of social behaviours was inevitable given the power and
wealth of the British Empire: the prosperity of India proved too
advantageous for British resistance. The British Raj gave authority to
both the elitist and middle classes of Britain and moreover Indian
culture affected these sects primarily. It remained thus until the 20 th
Century when consumerism made such customs became available to
all classes.
The fact that the British Raj gave authority to the upper and middle
classes was prominent when the British left India during the 1930s and
1940s. Given the racially white minority within India, Britons were
symbols of power. This widened expectations of the British public and
inevitably, upon returning to Britain led to disappointment in their
treatment, especially amongst the middle classes whose authority had
now been removed. Elizabeth Buettner states that whiteness was no
longer a symbol of empowerment and failed to separate from mass
society the working classes. Therefore, the racial respect from
Indian culture was removed and with that, the Anglo-Indian sense of
purpose, having a negative impact of British culture. In order to
compensate, Negro or Indian servants were employed by the upper
classes; retaining racial superiority and founding a basis for increasing
Indian population in Britain which is today 2.6% of the population, the
second largest ethnicity, thus noting its significance.
The trade monopoly which Britain entertained with India also affected
the British diet. Since the 17 th century, the spice trade altered the
Western cuisine as spices acted as preservatives, allowing meat which
was scarce in the winter months to be available. As British influence in
India grew into the 18th and 19th centuries, so did the British palate:
Hannah Glasse introduced the first recipe for curry in 1747 soon
followed by a variety of breakfast dishes, most notably kedgeree.
However, like Indian servants, it remained an elitist privilege. G.M
Trevelyan claims that the British diet was materially altered as early
as 1707 and this is supported by the fact that the staple spices of the
Indian diet had already been introduced into Britain, despite being for
practical use, two centuries before the official Raj; showing how the
British adoption of Indian culture was inevitable as the Empire
expanded. The Second World War saw an influx of Western Indians
arriving in Britain (125,000 by 1958) and with them small communities
in urban areas, sole trading restaurants and take-outs. Instantly
popular, the demand for Eastern cuisine intensified with Indian chefs
such as Madhur Jaffrey promoting home Indian cooking, ultimately
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making a diet previously available to only upper classes a multi-class
and diversified cuisine, maximising its impact on British culture.
Another significant influence was that of architecture. The first Britons
in India were traders, stimulating a need for temporary housing. The
European bungalow was moreover born, taking influence from
traditional Indian trading huts. As the British Raj grew in India,
bungalows were given to the military and became symbols of power
with up to nineteen rooms and multiple bungalows becoming a way to
show ones status. Back home, growing concern over health in polluted
areas increased travel to sea-side resorts and better transport soon
saw bungalows as rural accommodation to house wealthy Britons on
holiday. These, ironically developed into urban dwellings. The 1919
Housing Act made use of bungalows as affordable housing in a time of
growing inflation and economic issues. Even though the building of
urban bungalows decreased in the inter-war years, the air raids of the
Second World War caused damage to four million homes and under the
1944 Housing Act, the notorious prefab houses were commissioned.
These prefabs were bungalows showing that despite their decline in
the interwar years the bungalow still had an impact on British
architecture and it could be argued that without prior knowledge to this
inexpensive accommodation over the past centuries that such
extensive building after the Blitz would not have been so affordable, if
at all possible considering Britains economic situation.
As well as architectural and edible trade with India that shaped modern
Britain, India also influenced the most trivial aspects of British life. One
example is the origin of Victorian facial hair, commonly known as the
Imperial Moustache. As modern historian G.M Trevelyan quotes, the
moustache began as a sign of masculine Christianity after British
success in the Crimean War however other sources suggest that
perhaps this infamous facial hair had Indian origins. Both ancient and
modern Hinduism proclaim that facial hair is a symbol of masculinity
and strength: clean shaven men were more feminine, thus weak and
vulnerable. The historian Piers Brendon wrote in an article for the Daily
Mail that one contemporary noted, Indians looked upon the bare
faces of the English with amazement and contempt. One can
speculate therefore that the Moustache Movement was an imitation of
Indias hierarchy, proving British authority. It is interesting moreover,
that the Imperial Moustache is now seen as an example of British
valour, the most reputable being Lord Kitchener in the WW1
conscription posters; still a sign of power although its roots are
predominantly Eastern, showing how India has impacted Western
culture and even our modern perceptions.
Sport was another area of trade between India and Britain. Polo has
Eastern origins, transported to India from Persia in 1527 with the
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Mughal invasion. It was traditionally played by the Mughal kings and
later the military; stimulating the trend that polo would become an
elitist sport. Interestingly, it was the British who opened the first polo
club in 1850 after favouring the game and this is significant as the
British became the signifiers of the game rather than the inheritors.
This gave it publicity back in Britain with clubs opening nationally
within the 1870s. As the sport became more popular at home, it
became a representation of British authority in India: much like the
transference of the bungalow, food, use of Indian servants and facial
hair, polo came to represent wealth and power. Unlike other aspects of
Indian culture however, polo has remained elitist, reducing its impact
as only a minority attribute to the game.
Furthermore, the extent of Indian influence over British culture has
opposing results. One on hand, the lack of superiority felt by many on
their returns to Britain from the Orient resulted in a loss of purpose and
uselessness, yet simultaneously, India offered the trade advantages
with the West of which lay the foundations of modern Britain. It is
plausible to suggest that the British Raj in India had primarily negative
impacts in Britain; the need to maintain status in the 19 th century
called for bungalows, Indian servants, Indian food and elitist sport to
be adopted by the British public, increasing the prominent class divide
further and driving the country into a state of conflicting peoples. The
early 20th century had many disputes over class warfare, seen in the
1909 Peoples Budget for example, of which was accused of causing
intentional agitation. For much of the aspects discussed, class
separation dissolved into the late 20th century with the growth of mass
production however, showing how Indian cultures influence over
Britain disappeared with the separation of India from the Empire in
1947: in itself suggesting these trends were merely temporary.

India Humphreys

1208 words

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