'Desi angrez', an endangered species

Once again, holding up a mirror to the country's many complexes and petit paranoias, the electioneering politician has thrown up yet another bogeyman: the 'desi Angrez'. Like the ABCD - American-Born Confused Desi - and other archetypal stereotypes (or are they 'stereotypical archetypes'?), the desi Angrez is a figure of both derision and envy, the former emotion covering the latter. The concoction created is infused with a few cliches: one, as the description suggests, anglicisation, or a penchant for speaking not just in English but a kind of hifalutin English; two, as a corollary of the first quality, covertly harbouring derision for 'vernaculars'; three, holding everything that is 'Indian' to be subpar and all things 'phoren' to be of quality, including, say, 'chicken tikka masala'.

While this kind of person may still exist here and there, he or she is no longer the epitome of elite in circa 2024 India. How one holds one fork while delving in sweet Greek salad with spiced feta is no longer seen as an 'issue' since the relative democratisation of such 'Angrezi' khana. But having 'Angrez' in the descriptor still holds a bugbear appeal that allows for a quick denouncement to the 'burey din' of Angrez Raj that, for many, lasted till May 2014. But as far as the entity goes, 'desi Angrez' exists as much as Soorma Bhopali does today.