“The Queen’s Daughters in India” written by Elizabeth W. Andrew & Katharine C. Bushnell in 1898 uncovers a tragic truth of the British rule in India. The book exposes British’s exploitation of Indian women who were used as sex slaves for the soldiers of the British Military.

The authors have considered it necessary to print a more extended account of the work in behalf of the women of India, in which they have had a large share. If the exceedingly simple style in which they give their story seems to some readers almost an insult to their intelligence, and lacking in the delicacy of touch that could be desired, it must not be forgotten for one moment that they are writing with special regard for those in the humblest ranks of life, who have often had scant opportunities for education; for it is upon the daughters of such that the oppressive laws for the licensing of prostitution fall; and in large part the supposed advantages of licensed prostitution accrue to the upper social classes, which are, in fact, the lower moral classes.

The crusade against licensed fornication is a war between respectable daughters of the poor and rich and powerful men and women.

When the British first took control of Bharat, they built “Cantonments”, as separate mini towns for the residences of British soldiers & officers. Cantonments were not governed by the civil laws of India, but separate British laws allowing them to abuse the rights of Indians. These “Cantonments” were special British residences. It was mentioned that about 100 such Cantonments were established. The purpose of these “Cantonments” was to guard against any rebellion or uprising and protect the British soldiers. 

Sometimes these Cantonments have few inhabitants besides the soldiers and a few traders in groceries, etc., for the soldiers; and again in some places a whole city has grown up within the Cantonment, and many Europeans reside therein, feeling more safe in case of threatened trouble from an uprising of the people against the Government, than outside under civil law only. All the land of a Cantonment belongs to the Government, and in case of war the military officials may seize, for residence, all the houses within the Cantonment without regard to the actual owners of the buildings, and the commanding officer has the power of expelling any one he pleases from the Cantonment, without assigning any reason for so doing.

Cantonment Acts of 1864 enabled prostitution in these Cantonments and also regulated them. Rights of the Indian women were openly abused and the Britishers officially created brothels and called them Chaklas on the pretext of giving economic independence to the poor Indian women. Apparently, only 12-15 Indian women served an entire regiment of 1000 British soldiers. But the Britishers justified prostitution as a necessary precaution to protect the British Army from the evils of homosexuality.

The book noted, “The Raj was convinced that without sexual contact with women, the British army would verily become “Sodom and Gomorrah”. The imposition of section 377 starting in 1860 that punished sodomy, buggery, and bestiality as offenses wasn’t sufficient — reports stated that the military men were a willing market for homosexual acts on young boys, were women not readily available. In 1894 Viceroy Elgin declared that a lack of prostitutes it would lead to more deplorable “oriental” and unnatural evils. The threat of homosexuality, not only as a vice but also as potential damage to the reputation of the empire — was cited to justify the making available of prostitutes to the armed forces.”

Over 30% of sick British soldiers had STDs due to their promiscuity. In contrast, Indian soldiers had very low infection rates. The British medical journal, Lancet tried to dismiss this discrepancy by claiming that Indians were immune from childhood due to hereditary syphilis!

British medical officers blamed “a warm climate & a country of lax native morals” for tempting soldiers. They justified their promiscuity & reinforced racial superiority, by asserting that tropical diseases were “more virulent” than European & that Indians had lower morals.

In 1864, “The Contagious Diseases Acts” mandated testing of any Indian woman suspected of STDs at “Lock Hospitals”. They were forced to go for weekly medical exams to check for STDs, so that soldiers could continue using "prostitutes" without risk of infection.

The compulsory examination was like a surgical rape. Any infected woman was confined & forcibly treated with medicines containing arsenic until symptoms subsided to resume providing sex again. Unlucky ones with advanced disease were thrown out on the streets to suffer & die.

The Britishers at the same time issued a memorandum speaking against Sexually transmitted diseases and warned the British soldiers of infective contamination “lurking” in Indian women. Indian women were subjected to regular tests for STD just to ensure the safety of British soldiers who used prostitutes. These tests which were undertaken at the prison hospitals were considered to be like surgical rape during which every part of the body was examined for a possible infection.

But British soldiers were not subject to any such exams for signs of STDs. The excuse was that soldiers would feel “brutalized & violated” by such exams. Yet it was fine for them to brutalize, violate & infect helpless Indian victims forced into the Chakla brothels.

The women in Chaklas had no other choice as they were very poor. Their “fees” was fixed by the British military. It was so low, that the British enlisted new recruits by advertising how sex in India was almost free & assurances that sexual diseases were fully treated.

When the soldiers travelled to camp for military activities, tents were set up for the women at the back part of the encampment. As the soldiers marched, the women were carried like cattle in guarded carts or trains to the destination of the regiment.

 Many girls were tortured, abused & savaged by the soldiers. They were beaten, cut, forced into unnatural acts, and even burnt or strangled by drunk soldiers. Such violent crimes were hidden from the outside world as Indian women had practically no rights.

On June 17, 1886, a military order, known as the “Infamous Circular Memorandum,” was sent out to all Cantonments of India by General Chapman, in the name of the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Roberts. Its contents were shocking.

The order specified an urgent need to find methods to acquire many more attractive & younger Indian women as soldiers’ demands for “prostitutes” were very high & Indian women were not willing to be prostitutes. The British soldiers were desperate for fresh flesh.

The official record of what followed, as a result of effort on the part of under-officials to carry out the instructions of the Commander-in-Chief (Lord Roberts) is truly shocking, as might be expected. The officer in command of the 2nd Battalion Cheshire Regiment sent the following application to the magistrate of Umballa Cantonment: “Requisition for extra attractive women for regimental bazaar, in accordance with Circular Memorandum 21a.”

“These women’s fares,” it continues, “by one-horse conveyances, from Umballa to Solon, will be paid by the Cheshire Regiment on arrival. Please send young and attractive women, as laid down in Quartermaster-General’s Circular, No 21a.” Then he added a note to the effect that some of the women already at hand were not very attractive, adding: “Application has been made to the Cantonment magistrate of Umballa for others, but up to date none have arrived; therefore, it is presumed a great difficulty exists in procuring the class of young women asked for.” Evidently it was an amazing thing to these self-styled Christian military officials that heathen women would not flock to their slave pens!

British officers sent out Indian Sepoys to forcibly capture at least 12-15 of the best looking girls as young as 14 from every village. Once the Colonel approved them, they were forced into service & old “prostitutes” with sexual diseases were thrown out.

The British justified this disgusting practice with the blatant lie that Hindu women in the Chakla system belonged to a “prostitute” class or caste. But prostitutes were never treated as outcastes by Hindus Such a caste never existed & was created to malign Hindu society.

Shockingly, many Anglo Indian kids born of these encounters were especially victimized. Many were raised till teenager-hood & used as fresh slaves, because of their European features. It was the British who created their own sub class of mixed blood progeny as prostitutes.

Imagine such a cruel system which continuously preyed upon fresh, young & beautiful sex slaves & mercilessly culled those with STDs to protect the soldiers who molested & infected them in the 1st place. This was how British Christian colonizers “civilized” heathen Hindoos.

In 1886, the Acts were finally repealed due to increasing awareness & protests by feminists led by Josephine Butler. But it was only after WW1 & the abolitionist movements had weakened imperial power that prostitution was abolished by the British in the 1930s.

History books often gloss over this horrific fact that the British brutalized & violated thousands of Bharatiya women to satisfy their insatiable lust. How ironic when these same British claim to have saved Hindu women from the falsified myths of Sati & Child marriage!

These heart rending facts show us how the racist British Empire institutionalized sexual slavery of Indian women. Forgetting such heinous crimes would be a grave injustice to the souls of those innumerable Bharatiya women who suffered indescribable humiliation & torment.

The book noted, “A memorandum issued by the British on the perils of Sexually transmitted diseases warned soldiers of the infective contamination lurking in local women also proclaimed the assumption that diseases caught in the tropics were more ravaging than those acquired in the “gentler” climates of northern Europe. It was commonplace for venereal disease contracted in the tropics to be represented as a worse and more savage entity, affecting the “refined white constitution” with greater severity.”

“The Queen’s Daughters in India” unearths shocking facts about the British Empire that often pretends to be the savior of Indian Hindu women from socially fabricated myths of Sati and Child marriage. That the British forcibly tortured Indian women and subjected them to prostitution and sexual slavery deserves much greater attention than it has received.

References:

Levine, Philippa, “Gender and Empire”, 2004
Elizabeth W. Andrew & Katharine C. Bushnell, The Queen's Daughters in India, 1898
Available at https://gutenberg.org/files/47288/47288-h/47288-h.htm
opindia.com - OpIndia Staff
Mumukshu Savitri - @MumukshuSavitri