Irish Indians

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Irish Indians
Annie Besant.001.jpg Sœur Nivedita.jpg
Total population
(15,000+ [1])
Regions with significant populations
Dublin, Galway
Languages
Irish born: Irish · English · Indian born: Indian languages
Religion
Catholicism · Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Irish diaspora

An Irish Indian is an Indian who is fully or partially of Irish descent who is aware of such ancestry and remains connected, to some degree, to Irish culture. As per article 366(2) of the Indian Constitution, an Irish Indian can be categorized as an Anglo-Indian.

History

Irishmen have been known in India right from the days of the East India Company. While most of the early Irish came as traders, some also came as soldiers. However, the majority of these traders and soldiers were from the Protestant Ascendancy. Prominent among them were the generals Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington who later became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and his brother Charles Wellesley, both of whom were from the English landowning class of Ulster. Later in the Victorian period, many thinkers, philosophers and Irish nationalists from the Catholic majority too made it to India, prominent among the nationalists being the theosophist Annie Besant. It is widely believed that there existed a secret alliance between the Irish and Indian independence movements. Some Indian intellectuals like Jawaharlal Nehru and V. V. Giri were certainly inspired by Irish nationalists when they studied in the United Kingdom.

Culture

One of the cultural activities that Indians of Irish descent (who are aware of their Irish ancestry) participate in is Saint Patrick's Day.

Notable people

See also

References

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