By the beginning of the twentieth century, something resembling a German community had actually evolved in Bombay, as several commentators noted. Whatever interaction the Germans in India may have had with wider European society, it seems clear that a distinct secular German community had evolved and become politicised by the outbreak of the First World War. Children remained at the centre of the German missionary families, whether or not they followed in the footsteps of their parents, as in the case of British children, whether or not they had missionary parents. While relationships between the Basel missionaries and other Europeans operated upon an equal footing, interaction with Indians partially worked on the basis of a racial hierarchy, with Germans at the top. Within the emerging religious communities of mixed ethnicity, German identity survived.
While most of the Germans who suffered expulsion during the First World War lived within British shores, the Royal Navy brought Germans from throughout the world to face incarceration in the their network of camp. This book offers a new interpretation of global migration from the early nineteenth until the early twentieth century. It examines the elite German migrants who progressed to India, especially missionaries, scholars and scientists, businessmen and travellers. The book investigates the reasons for the migration of Germans to India. An examination of the realities of German existence in India follows. It then examines the complex identities of the Germans in India in the century before the First World War. The role of the role of racism, orientalism and Christianity is discussed. The stereotypes that emerged from travelogues include: an admiration of Indian landscapes; contempt for Hinduism; criticism of the plight of women; and repulsion at cityscapes. The book moves to focus upon the transformation which took place as a result of this conflict, mirroring the plight of Germans in other parts of the world. The marginalisation which took place in 1920 closely mirrored the plight of the German communities throughout the British Empire. The unique aspect of the experience in India consisted of The Birth of a National identity. Finally, the book places the experience of the Germans in India into four contexts: the global history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; German history; history of the British Empire in India; and Indian history.