The British diaspora in India, though comprising only 37,700 British nationals in 2006,^[1] has had a significant impact due to the effects of British colonialism. The mixing between Britons and native Indians also gave rise to the Anglo-Indian community.^[2]

In the centuries before the "Second" British Empire, the motives of British individuals arriving in India generally centred around gaining wealth.^[3] One example of contemporary British views of India can be found in Shakespeare's writings, whose mentions of India paint a picture of a mysterious, wealthy land.^[4][5] The Indian perspective of European travelers was less flattering, as they were seen as "wondrous" yet "untrustworthy";^[6] Emperor Akbar described them as an "assemblage of savages", and had considered trying to civilise them.^[7]

When the East India Company, formed in 1600, began to trade with Indians, its officials generally showed respect towards Indian society, though in some cases they may have suppressed their criticisms as a way of facilitating trade.^[8] Britons who went to India in this time period were apt to learn the local culture, as they were coming from a weaker polity and generally were only able to marry Indian women;^[3][9] British women were initially banned in Company settlements, being seen as distractions. British women started to come to India after the 1661 British acquisition of Bombay because of the need to populate the islands.^[10] They came in much greater numbers after the 1869 completion of the Suez Canal, which enabled a faster journey between Britain and India; by then, British men's dalliances with the local "bibis" were seen as improper, and were being expunged from official records of earlier generations.^[11] British men outnumbered the women to a substantial degree for the entire period up until India's independence, with gender and racial identities having a role in determining hierarchies. Some men enjoyed the ability to unconstrainedly flex their masculinity in a foreign land, and British families in India stratified based on how white (non-Indian) they were and how frequently they were able to visit Britain.^[12]

As the Company came to rise in Indian politics, a greater level of contemptuousness became apparent amongst Britons,^[8] and they came to isolate themselves to a substantial extent from the local population.^[13] The trauma of dominating a colonised population was a factor in pushing some British officials to isolate themselves from Indians' day-to-day life;^[14] the failed 1857 Rebellion also played a role in encouraging tensions and racism, as it increased fear of the locals.^[15] The rise of evangelicalism, encouraging negative views of non-Christian cultures, was another factor.^[10] However, children raised in India were fonder of the local culture, and even though they were generally sent to Britain to receive education, they often returned as adults.^[16]

By 1921, at the peak of the British Empire, 20,000 civil and military personnel had established themselves in India.^[1] The British related their exploits in India to those of classical empires; they saw themselves as inheriting the Greco-Roman heritage, and compared their efforts in civilising India to those of the Romans in ancient Britain.^[17] On the whole, they did not seek to settle on a permanent basis or to own land; as late as the 1860s, there were even arguments against opening up the sale of "waste" land, because it might encourage excessive European immigration.^[18]

India's 1947 independence from British rule saw the departure of British troops; the last regiment left in February 1948.^[19]

Food played a role in how the British adapted to the local climate; a variety of "sick food" guides were available. To counter the high rate of death to tropical disease, Britons used the medicinal quinine; however, to mask its taste, they would mix it with soda and sugar, giving rise to "tonic water", a natural complement to gin.^[20]

During the Raj, soldiers would play British sports as a way of maintaining fitness, since the mortality rate for foreigners in India was high at the time, as well as to maintain a sense of Britishness; in the words of an anonymous writer, playing English sports was a way to "defend themselves from the magic of the land".^[22]

• India–United Kingdom relations
• Britons in Pakistan
• Nabob

• Empire Families: Britons and Late Imperial India