Chapter 1 - Indianisation and its Discontents

Summary

The Indian gentleman, with all self-respect to himself, should not enter into a compartment reserved for Europeans, any more than he should enter a carriage set apart for ladies. Althoughyou may have acquired the habits and manners of the European, have the courage to show that you are not ashamed of being an Indian, and in all such cases, identify yourself with the race to which you belong.

—H. Hardless, The Indian Gentleman's Guide to Etiquette, 1919

During the early part of the nineteenth century, most senior positions in the colonial medical services were occupied by Europeans. Only from 1855 were Indians allowed to occupy higher-level roles. However, public proclamations and official regulations did not always reflect British officials' sentiments and unofficial practices. In his book Race, Sex and Class, Ballhatchet discusses the case of a highly qualified, mixed-race (Eurasian) doctor who had been made assistant surgeon in the mid-nineteenth century. He soon fell foul of European prejudice, becoming the victim of a scandal. Although the allegations against him were eventually shown to have been groundless, if not malicious, the director-general of hospitals recommended that in order to avoid similar occurrences in the future, Indians and Eurasians ought not to be appointed to senior positions, regardless of their qualifications.