Throughout the political journey of imperial Britain in India, food remained a medium through which power was maintained. The power was first gained through legitimisation, then dominance was asserted through food.
Nabobs: Aristocratic eating lifestyles of Anglo Indians
Through the food Nabobs ate, they sought to legitimize British power in the Indian subcontinent. Nabobs were not Nawabs: Nawabs may be Indian aristocrats, but Nabobs were East India Company (EIC) aristocrats in eighteenth-century colonial India. Nabobs were Anglo Indians who sought to emulate Indian aristocratic lifestyles. The Anglo-Indians were British living in colonial India. In the initial years of EIC, they surrounded themselves with Indian signifiers of nobility. They did so to establish continuity with the Mughal Empire so that the native Indians saw Anglo Indians as a continuation of the existing ruling class. In living these lavish lifestyles and asserting their legitimacy, food played an important role. Hence a Nabobi life of aristocracy included lavish fests with lots of meat, also as it was very cheap, with few vegetables. The meat-eating practices were inspired by Mughal and Rajput cultures. The breakfast included fish, rice muffins, cold meats, coffee, and tea, which was had at the break of dawn, followed by the tiffin or lunch around the afternoon and dinner being the most extravagant of all, had a center turkey, ham, beef, mutton chops, chicken cutlet, pigeon pies, curry rice, tongues. Anglo-Indians also preferred spicy Indian food, brandy and strong wines after dinner. Other than being inspired by Indian aristocracy, Indian cuisine influence came from households being run by their Indian wives and mistresses. While the lavish food habits of Anglo Indians successfully portrayed the image of the ruling class, they also contributed to morbid conditions from gluttony; these habits proved unsustainable in the long run.
The elegant victorian dinner parties: asserting dominance through food
After the early years of the East India Company, the Anglo-Indians continued to lead a lascivious lifestyle. After the power transfer to the crown in 1857, food remained a distinction between the ruled and the ruler. But, now that power was legitimized by showing similar lifestyles to the Indian aristocracy, dominance was sought to be maintained through the civilizing mission by asserting superior Britishness. The earlier Anglo Indians, with heavy Indian influence in food, came to be seen as barbaric and lacking etiquette. Hence, the food came to be anglicized. The changes in Anglo-Indian food also took place, replacing Indian wives and mistresses with wives from Britain, who were responsible for maintaining the household, making it similar to back home. French cuisine also influenced Anglo Indian food and eating habits with a desire for artistic cooking. Modelled along French practice, the Vitorian dinner parties were divided into courses with more attention on the appearance of food rather than having large joints of meat; more attention was paid to tableware and etiquette. Unlike the nabob Anglo Indians who enjoyed Indian food, Indian spices were relegated to an inferior position. Even when the weather was hot, British food unsuited to the Indian climate was still preferred. Despite the anglicisation, the influence of Indian cuisine that had crept in during the time of Nabob’s remained. Some Indian dishes, like kedgeree, a combination of fish, rice, and eggs, were perennially adopted, an adaptation from Indian khichri made of dal rice and spices. Kedgeree also made its way to Britain, where, ironically, despite its low roots, it became the aristocracy. Curry and rice were other staples that Anglo-Indians ate for any meal. Curry, unlike the nabob Anglo-Indian version, was adopted to be mild and better suit British sensibilities. Hence, Indian cuisines were accepted only after they were transformed to suit the milder tastes of the Anglo Indians.
In the last half of the nineteenth century, the anglicisation of food was further consolidated, but Indian influences remained nonetheless. From John Beamnes's account of what he and his wife ate in 1869-1870, we get an idea of their food regime. There was a chota haziri or early breakfast, then a large breakfast or brunch called the tiffin, which included Indian food curry; dinner was served at half past seven or eight and consisted of soup roast sweets. Before dinner, tea was enjoyed; the habit of drinking tea in the afternoon came into vogue from the 1840s onwards. From tea time on, the food they consume reminds them of Britishness. Indian dishes no longer occupied a central position on Victorian dinner tables, unlike in the eighteenth century.
A new food culture
At the end of the First World War, the British were forced to adjust to new political circumstances, which required inter-racial cooperation with native Indians. Food took on dual roles of fostering friendships with natives and asserting dominance over them. Despite increasing friendship, racial power relations continued to govern the food exchange, as the onus remained upon the Indians to adopt British customs, not vice versa. Hence, food remained a medium of asserting dominance over natives. During the Second World War, when the control of the British over India was loosening, the Anglo-Indians continued their lavish food consumption to assert their ruler status. Now, their attempts to rule lavishly were seen as reminiscent of Nabob's wanting to return to the initial claim of maintaining the right to rule through the practices of traditional Indian aristocracy. Hence, in the face of losing control over India, the Anglo-Indians wanted to project dual images of superior British values and Indian aristocracy through food to maintain legitimacy and dominance over the colony.
Throughout the political journey of imperial Britain in India, food remained a medium through which power was maintained. Hence, the evolution of food from that of nabobs to the gentile dinner parties maps the British imperial power in colonial India.
Picture Credits - https://www.prints-online.com/new-images-july-2020/english-dinner-party-india-servants-20141999.html
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