Paper short abstract:

Indian influences on British academic, cultural, and social institutions were significant, but often went unnoticed. This paper will shed light on several architectural landmarks in contemporary Oxford and its surroundings that are connected with India.

Paper long abstract:

Indian influences on British academic, cultural, and social institutions were significant, but often went unnoticed. This paper will shed light on several architectural landmarks in contemporary Oxford and its surroundings that are connected with India. Indian maharajas and businessmen initated, financed, and built museums, mansions, and wells in and around Oxford between the nineteenth and mid-twentieth century. I will explore the establishment of these buildings as well as their interpretation and reception. What was the purpose in creating such landmarks, and what was to be demonstrated by building them? I argue that firstly, this could reflect the notion that Indians and Britons should be equal, for instance, in terms of actively determining and defining the discourse on India. Secondly, it illustrates an understanding of india as a nation in its own right within the imperial framework. Thirdly, these buildings could be understood as self-referential -- in order to create a home-like atmosphere in some parts of the metropole, but also, in order to shape the self-perception of Indian communities in Britain. The elephant on the roof was but one element in this story.