The reversal of the traditional telling of the British presence in South Asia is being presented by Beyond the Frame: India in Britain, 1858-1950.
The joint project with the British Library and funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council celebrates the often overlooked story of the Indian presence in Britain.
It was launched in December at the offices of the British Council and the National Archives of India in Delhi (pictured above).
Dr Florian Stadtler, OU Research Associate accompanying the tour with OU Professor Susheila Nasta and Penny Brook of the British Library said: “At the launch and during the school workshops it was clear the exhibition presented a little-known aspect of the history of the relationship between Britain and India.”
Some schoolchildren who visited said they had never been told in detail about Indians in Britain.
“It has always been about the British in India,” said one.
At a panel discussion in Kolkata British Deputy High Commissioner Sanjay Wadvani said the exhibition’s accompanying Asians in Britain website and database should be ‘required reading’ for anyone joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s South Asia team.
Beyond the Frame, which features extensive material on the part Indians played in trade, the military, politics and culture in Britain has now been seen in several cities across India and will continue to tour into February.
Reaction from the Indian press has been positive with coverage in many leading newspapers, magazines and websites.
At the National Archive of India the exhibition panels with content from the former India Office Library were joined by the NAI’s own material – thought to be the first time the two have been displayed side by side.
The OU-BL team were given a VIP welcome and the NAI entrance was garlanded with flowers in their honour.
Thought-provoking, enlightening and fun were just some of the words students used.
One said they had learned a lot of things they never came across in text books.
Another said: “I wasn’t interested in history before, but I am now.”
