City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi

by William Dalrymple

Even in the home of his closest friend, Skinner was unable to escape the growing colour prejudice of the British. In the Spanish Americas it was military heroes of mixed Indian and colonial parentage—men like Bolivar—who came to dominate and rule the colonies. But India was different. As Skinner’s career demonstrated, Hindus and British were both too proud of their blood for ‘half-castes’ ever to be really successful. As the nineteenth century progressed, such horrible prejudice only increased. Any hint of ‘black blood’ brought out the worst of Victorian bigotry, and in Delhi, Skinner’s children became the butt of snide British jokes. ‘The whole [Skinner] family was a marvellous revelation to anyone fresh from England,’ wrote Emily Bayley sometime in the 1870s. ‘[They] were very dark in complexion and spoke English with an extraordinary accent … although they looked upon themselves as English people and held a prominent position in Delhi society, they had very little education and were more native than English in their ways … ‘[Joe Skinner] was a marvellous creation … his visiting dress consisted of a green coat with gilt buttons, claret coloured trousers, patent leather boots, white waistcoat and necktie. He always carried a gold-mounted Malacca cane and talked of the time when he was in the Guards, though he has never been out of India … [His] children are named after the Royal Family, but are all black.’ The Skinners remained in Delhi, filling first the pews, then the g...