After the Raj

As August 1947 approached so the British prepared to leave India. The vast majority left. But some stayed on; others who had grown up in India shortly returned. Over the next 60 years they adapted to modern India while always being conscious of their legacy, the inheritance of the Raj. There are only thirty such people left and Hugh Purcell has interviewed ten of them. Each has a remarkable story to tell and a perceptive empathy with the whole issue of being British in India. Through the eyes of ten characters, Hugh Purcell shows how the legacy of the Raj has withered over the years. How also still with their help it is evolving in the new millennium, from post-imperial hangover to heritage industry, from the singing of Victorian hymns in neo-Gothic churches to a new Christian evangelism, from Shakespeare wallahs to multi-media English language teaching and call centers.