The Parental Academic Institution started by the
Anglo-Indians was the most progressive school in Calcutta.
The curriculum included Scripture, English Literature,
English Grammar, Indian Vernacular, Geography, Roman,
Greek, English and Indian History, Astronomy, Natural
Philosophy, Latin, Mathematics and political Economy. (12)
Another entrepreneurial Anglo-Indian was James Kyd who was
a shipbuilder. (13) He saw the benefits of introducing
technical and vocational skills to young Anglo-Indians.
(14) In 1825, he and other Anglo-Indians formed the East
Indian Club. This was a name by which the Anglo-Indian
community was also known in the nineteenth century. In
1827, The Calcutta Apprenticing Society was formed by other
Anglo-Indians and in 1828, The Commercial and Patriotic
Association was also established, to encourage industry,
trade and agriculture. (15)
In 1828, Henry Derozio formed the Academic Association. He
was a charismatic intellectual, who was appointed at the
age of nineteen years as a Lecturer in English history and
literature at the Calcutta Hindu College. He died of
cholera when he was twenty three years old, and the
community lost an educationist who had leadership
potential. (16)
All this activity reached a peak in 1829, when Ricketts led
a deputation to England and placed a petition before the
British Parliament. The petition marked a significant
change in the Tknglo-Indian community's attitude to the
British. Their grievances became public knowledge.
With the community's growing awareness of their size,
educational potential and political will, a leader emerged,
whose humanitarian work for the community was outstanding.
John Ricketts stands out as a great leader among
Anglo-Indians, because he stood up for the rights of a
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