Paper short abstract:

Edinburgh's residents who had lived and worked in India had varied impacts on its social and political life. Contrary to the stereotype, not all held reactionary views. This paper explores India's role in the campaigns for women's medical education.

Paper long abstract:

Scotland's capital was affected in many different ways by sending so many people to India - and receiving some of them back. In some years, 10% of those leaving its schools pursued careers in India, and about 10% of students on its medical courses were born in India towards the end of the 19th century. Unlike other 'imperial' British cities (such as Glasgow and Liverpool), Edinburgh was more heavily involved in the trade in people and ideas, than in commerce and finance. Not all of those who lived in Edinburgh after their Indian experiences were Scots-born, and many returning Scots lived elsewhere in Britain. Attention has been paid to the returning nabobs in the early 19th century. This paper, however, will consider the India-returned from 1871 to 1901. In the latter year, the census reported that more than 1,250 people born in India were living in the city - the largest number for all the censuses up to 1911. Who were these people? What impact did they make on the city and its role as an intellectual, social, economic and political hub? Using a case study of the campaigns for medical education for women, this paper will show that at least some of the 'India-returned' played a prominent role in this movement (and the linked campaigns for women's suffrage), and will also discuss why Indian experience might have been significant.