Anglo-Indian people

Anglo-Indians
Anglo-Indian lady and girl in c. 1920 (British Raj era)
Total population
500,000
Regions with significant populations
India
  • 300,000-400,000 (1996)
  • 125,000-150,000 (2023)
United Kingdom86,000
Australia22,000
Canada22,000
Bangladesh20,000
United States20,000
Myanmar19,200
New Zealand15,861
Malaysia10,310
Singapore4,800
Pakistan<1,500
Languages
English (British · Indian)
Hindustani (Hindi · Urdu)
Many other Indian languages
Religion
Majority:
Christianity (Protestant · Catholic)
Minority:
Hinduism · Islam · Sikhism
Related ethnic groups
Anglo-Burmese, Scottish-Indians, Irish Indians, Burghers, Kristang people, Indo people, Singaporean Eurasians, Macanese people, Indo-Aryan people, Dravidian people, British people, Indian diaspora

Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority community in India with at least partial British ancestry. Post-British Raj, "Anglo-Indian" has also encompassed other European and Indian ancestries. Anglo-Indians' first language is usually English. Prior to 1911, various designations like "Eurasian" or "Indo-Briton" were used to describe this community. Nowadays, Anglo-Indian refers primarily to individuals with mixed British and Indian ancestry after the departure of a substantial number of Britons following independence.

The All India Anglo-Indian Association, founded in 1926, has long represented the interests of this ethnic group; it holds that Anglo-Indians are unique in that they are Christians, speak English as their mother tongue, and have a historical link to both the British Isles and the Indian sub-continent.

During the period of British rule in India, people of mixed British and Indian descent typically originated from children born to unions between British fathers and Indian mothers from the 17th century onwards. This new ethnic group formed a small yet significant portion of the population and became well represented in certain administrative roles. As Anglo-Indians were mostly isolated from both British and Indian society, their documented numbers dwindled from roughly 300,000 at the time of independence in 1947 to about 125,000–150,000 in modern-day India. During much of the time that Britain ruled India (the Raj), British-Indian relationships faced stigma, which meant that the ethnicity of some Anglo-Indians was undocumented or identified incorrectly. As such, many have adapted to local communities in India or emigrated to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the United States, South Africa and New Zealand.

Similar communities can also be seen in other parts of the world, although in smaller numbers, such as Anglo-Burmese in Myanmar and Burghers in Sri Lanka.