The Paradoxes of British Raj in India: A Hypocritical Reign

Running head : HISTORY ESSAY
HISTORY ESSAY
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HISTORY ESSAY
The British Raj in India was a reign that lasted for thirty-five years of British rule. The
Raj was a period of paradoxes and oxymoron. It was about fallen pride of the Indians, the blood
and sweat of the freedom fighters and barbaric treatment of the Indians 1. The British Raj was
also a period of glamour, high society parties that were only accessible to the elites of the
society, development of transportation system and communication system. However, it was also
a period of brutality that was meted out to the Indians. During the British Raj, there was an air of
intellectual high headedness, regality and a feeling of animosity for the Indians as a whole2. The
British Raj interestingly consisted of hypocrites that were both Indians and British. In “At Arm’s
Length Joining the Club” by Zareer Masani he tells us about the rich and elites of the Indian
society that mostly consisted of the British officers and their families. During that era high
society clubs were being established all over the country. The clubs where the wealthy and royal
bloods went were the Roshanara Club in Delhi, the Gymkhana Club, the Breach Candy
Swimming Pool, Willingdon Club and other such clubs all over India. Ironically, most of these
clubs were prohibited for Indians until and unless they belonged to the elites of the society and
they were British slaves. Khushwant Singh in one of his books mentioned that as his father was
one of the few black members of the Gymkhana club, he got the privilege to witness the
hypocrisy of both the Indians and the British from different perspectives. Khushwant Singh
recollects that though his mother could not speak English, she played bridge and tennis at the
Gymkhana Club. He also says that the British detested Indian men as these men never bought
their wives to the clubs instead ogled at the wife of the British officers. There were some men
who were brought up in a westernized fashion and they stuck to being westernized but not as
westernized when it came to bringing their wives to clubs.
1 Hutchins, Francis G. The illusion of permanence: British imperialism in India. Princeton University Press,
2015. 2 Bayly, Christopher Alan. Imperial Meridian: The British Empire and the World 1780-1830. Routledge,
2016.

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HISTORY ESSAY
Dorothy Ganapati, was a daughter of a renowned police officer. She had also acquired
her degree from Durham University in those days3. Her husband also held a high rank in the
Indian Army. In spite of her social stature and contacts nor she or her family was allowed to be a
member of any club4. Indians were strictly not allowed in these clubs except those who had
servile and subservient attitude towards the British. It is a known fact that British officers,
soldiers and planters kept Indian mistresses. In fact, during the British Raj most Indian women
were raped and molested by British soldiers. Masani recalls this one incident when everyone,
including the Indian and British officers knew of this man who was a judge and had an Indian
mistress. The funny thing was that he had made a huge wooden box with holes in it and he told
people he made the box to carry his piano5. However, everyone knew that it was his mistress that
he carried with himself wherever he was transferred6. Now the irony is that the Raj tolerated any
kind of intimate relationship between Englishmen and Indian Women but when it came to
relationships between Indian men and English women then it was a matter of disgrace and taboo.
Hence, we can clearly see the hypocrisy of the British Raj. Indian women were abused and
exploited by the Englishmen for their own pleasure. There was always a fear in Indian men for
talking with any White women as any relation could give rise to scandals and termination of their
job. Khushwant Singh recalls that at the most An Indian man and a White woman would flirt and
in some cases develop intimate relationships and affairs7. Masani also presents the plasticity of
the ‘mem-sahibs’ . He mentions that these ‘mem-sahibs’ were so fake and conceited that they
turned their back to the miseries of the poor Indian people.
3 Masani, Zareer. Indian tales of the Raj. Univ of California Press, 1990.
4 Hyam, Ronald. "Empire and sexuality: the British experience." (2017).
5 Masani, Zareer. Indian tales of the Raj. Univ of California Press, 1990.
6 Kidambi, Prashant. The making of an Indian metropolis: Colonial governance and public culture in
Bombay, 1890-1920. Routledge, 2016.
7 Visram, Rozina. Ayahs, Lascars and Princes: the story of Indians in Britain 1700-1947. Routledge, 2015.